G'day, I have searched the forum about opinions on these conversions, but I wanted to be more specific.

I have a A14 powered 1200 coupe, I just sold a 12A turbo Rx-2 and have always owned rotaries but found the turbo ones not real enjoyable to drive and maintain.

The engines I'm thinking of are, SR20de vvt, CA18det or a 12A extend port with a weber carby.

The car will be 90% street driven, weekend blats through the national park corners so want good handling, and the odd track day.

Fuel economy is not an issue.

I've owned bridgeport 13B's before and found them lacking in real grunt, but that was in heavier RX-7's. Also too noisey

I do enjoy torquey engines, especially out of corners.

I didn't find the 12AT fun through corners with the boost hit.

I am kinda over turbo motors, but the CA18det looks like the main engine swap to go for. Bu are they laggy and not real big on torque?

A 12A with weber may be an easier / cheaper conversion, would I be able to run the standard fuel lines etc?

Any advice would be awesome

cheers

s14 sr20 vvti is just awesome when suspension is set up right. they are a little bit front heavy. and the sound they make when the vvti hits makes you want to keep it there and they have plenty of pull. i have a mate with one in his ke70 corolla and its just a fun car full stop

CA18 on with t25 on stock boost...cant say lag is something you would ever experience, even with a t28 they shouldnt be to bad. wether its lacking torque all depends on what you compare it to. it would have loads more torque than the A series

and probably best to go bigger fuel lines whatever engine you go for, most people run larger fuel lines with carbied cars due to the lower pressure being pumped through them, therefore lower supply kinda thing

Cheers for the replies

Doesn't make it easier but!

Woody, thats pretty much what I want, just a good fun car that pulls well and isn't a lag / boost monster.


Though, I can see the point about a CA18 with a responsive turbo

There all probably similar in conversion cost from rough calculations

I think the 12Aep won't have enough grunt for me sadly,

the SR20de vvt should make with extractors, cold air intake around 120-130rwhp?

Yeah I don't want to go spending $5000 on the A series and be dissapointed, don't really want to ring it's neck to go fast

13b with the gilmore drive... you know that sound i mean...

The 12a is the cheapest with an extend port done right for 150-180hp.
Just need to look at The Moff :) (Alan Moffat).

An NA SR is real expensive to make HP from or to buy the Neo spec one
and convert to RWD. The Ca18det is magic but maybe Im bias here.

A close second to the 12a is the Qr25de with factory ars.e slashing torque
They are cheap to buy and with a few mods you can make 200+hp or get the 2007
spec V with 200hp from factory.

The 200hp and 180lbs is hard to beat for the street in a light datsun
and even the subaru ej25 can only make 166lbs of torque, less hp and worse redline even though it has better rod stroke ratio.

A friend of mine has an Xtrail 2005 model and its beautiful to drive on the freeway.
It overtakes with a sinch and also in traffic it records good economy.
With LPG it will give you all you need, power economy and lightweight as its 20% lighter
than most nissan 4 cylinder 2 litre engines.

On straight LPG you pee off all the wiring and hoses and just run a megajolt jnr lite.
If you get an earlier qr25de you just need to change the rods to Mitsubishi ones and
reduce their width a tad, remove balance shaft unit and get some Jim Wolf pipes or
someone to make them.

Look up some jim wolf articles on the qr25de it will really surprise.

if you are happy with 130rwhp and want torque, ive got an L18 and full L series to 1200 setup that would suit you

was dyno'd at 94rwkw/126rwhp a while ago and was built for torque more than power, then i went for a CA as i had one lying around
oh and you think a sr20 sounds cool, L18 with twin 45s on full song...well its something else

would the qr25de be engineerable in NSW?

I thought a 2.2L is the biggest n/a motor you could pass in a 1200

I did a quick search on the qr25, I don't reckon they'll a cheap purchase like a SR or CA.

Nice concept for sure but I don't have enough cash to be a pioneer

pm sent PIGDOG

Also what really is a good fun amount of power in a 1200 coupe without wrestling to keep the thing straight and swapping lanes on it's own?

I'm guessing 130-160rwhp? Am I too low? I'd hate to start a conversion and find out it's lacking in power later