The distributor location does not designate an A12 from an A12A...both of these engines are normal A12 with the same 73mm x 70mm bore/stroke. The A12A is as Mareo says, a diffent motor.
The only A12A I have ever seen had a load of emmisions crap on it ( I don't believe A12A's were ever used in the UK) and did look different externally. I have no technical data on the "A"
suffix motor but have always assumed it to be a low emmisions version of the original A12.

Eddie

The fires look pretty bad on the news here. The said they stretch for up to 450 miles ...that's like half
the length of England!

Good luck to the firefighters and all those folks in and around Sydney.

Eddie

I am in the US,but let me wish you guys the best and stay safe,and hope those arsonists get caught and jailed for the next 70 years to death,whichevercomes first.Death
sentence would be to easy,long time is the lesson.

Eddie,
The A12 has a 73mm bore but the A12A has a 74 mm bore if I remember correctly. I do not have any paperwork on the A12A. You may put the distributor from an A12A, A14 or A15 into an A12 but
you will not get the holddown bolt screwed in until you either modify or change the holddown plate. I am sorry if people on here think I am crazy for not wanting an A12A called an A12 but
the difference is there and that is a fact. With motors, you deal with facts. Misrepresented facts cause wasted time and money. If someone that didn't know better read the post that said to
use an A12 cam into the A14 and they actually used that information to buy a cam and it didn't fit, they wouldn't like the person that misled them and they would never listen to them again
or they would check out any future information that they gave out for sure. I am that way and I assume that most people are.

I am not perfect but I try to tell when things are fact from things that I think. I try to keep the facts separate from generalizations. If you want to give information to the hundreds of
menbers in this club, make sure they are facts. Don't bull shit your way through because bullshit walks, facts make for more performance at the most reasonable price. Does anyone disagree?

Mareo

Mareo,you can make a A12A out of a A12 by boring it out.We do it all the time in racing.In fact
a friend with

Mareo,
Unfortunately we have a bit of a difference in the naming conventions of the engines that is causing this concern - the Australian A12 came out with two versions - a front mounted
distributor and a midmounted distributor. I think Shadow has already covered this. The midmount distibutor parts will fit, and is a "sportier" profile than the standard A15 cam.

Effectively we got what you called A12 and A12A both as A12 - the two engines even appeared in the same car shell made in the same years. Also we got other peculiarities like Sunny wagons
getting A14's while sedans got A12'.

We also got different variations of the A14 engine - a electronic ignition and a points ignition model. We even had front wheel drive versions of the A14. This is one of the difficulties
you get with dealing with international models. Some engines were never available in Australia - but we probably got a few you didn't too.

I understand where you're coming from - don't give out wrong information as it can hurt people. However, with the right versions and a bit of common sense (ie make sure you use the same
distributor location or there's no gear for the dizzy to drive off) then this is a valid suggestion.

As has been suggested before there needs to be some international database set up so people are exactly sure what we are comparing is apples and apples....

okay, so there are heaps of a12 versions.
after stripping the engine to find no 2 piston missing and gettein anothe a12 blok, bearings pistons, gaskets etc, the new block has a 73mm bore where the old burred block that is
knackered has a 77mm bore with standard cats nissan pistons. it doents seem to have been bored due to the original rods and pistons so whats the go. It has the spec of an a14 to me but the
old block shows a12 cast markings.
Would my extractors for the a14 head bolt up to an a12 head as well (oval shaped it was)
happy new year.

Sounds like you had an A14 and not a A12.Most of the A12 heads are round ports and not oval.Measure your rod lengths and match them to rod sizes to see which rods you have,yes you
can bore a A12 out to 77mm,but you need to sonic test the block for thickness.

I am over this A12 A12A thing, you can bore an A12 to the same bore as an A12A but you can not use an intake gasket from an A12 on the A12A therefore you will only have an A12 that is bored
and it is still different from the A12A. The cams are different also. The A12A that came to America had the distributor in the middle not in the front like the A12 and that is the reason
that this A12/A12A hassle started. I would also bet that the cylinder walls will be thinner on the bored A12 than they are on the A12A. An A12 is not an A12A, no matter how much you change
the A12, the other differences are still there.

Mareo

Mareo, I thought I would throw in my 2 bits worth to enlighten or confuse you further. I live in Australia and have a 1200 sedan with the B210 engine fitted to it. This engine has the
mid mounted distributor and requires the same engine mount mods as do the A14 and A15. According to my B210 manual, it has the same 73mm bore and 70mm stroke as the standard 1200 engine
so it cannot be the A12A engine you are speaking of if you are right about the bore. The block is stamped A12 so if Nissan still consider it to be an A12 then who am I to argue with
them.
I had the head off recently for repairs and bought a new 1200 A12 gasket set. The head and manifold gaskets both fitted OK. Looks like there are more engine variants around than people
imagine. Barry