Yes it is.

The pioneer himself's next conversion is going off the shelf waterpump, cheaper, more reliable, lasts longer and what he has chosen looks excellent. Electric water pump was only a stepping stone to the bigger picture. Evolution takes time, perseverance and lots of tinkering. What you see as complications others see as a worthy challenge.

The lighter cranked A15 with the mazda head sounds smooth and sweet and goes like the clappers!.

I dont see it as complications. See it as keeping it simple and yes then improving it as development continues.

At one time I thought the A15 block was a huge improvement over the A12.

Mick wrote "Saw this today. Nice unit. I think you may be overcomplicating it slightly d with the water pump etc. Even a davies craig elec pump would do it. " - Its the opposite as I wanted mechanical from the start when I first salivated on the pics posted and he is already there with a mechanical setup for his next one! bonus!!.

This engine sounds so smooth at idle and through the revs its simply glorious.
Its like a Japanese version of the Lotus-Ford Kent 116E but at a fraction of the cost. Now A lovers are lucky enough to have another choice to make our A series sing more tunes. Twin cammed mini A series are also a costly weaker joke compared to this conversion on a bigger & better 5 bearing Nissan bottom end.

Just an update, the main part of this conversion is the front plate and headgasket while the rest just falls into place so Rob is in the process of finding out how to have these parts available for those interested.
If you are interested and havent contacted me, pls do so so I can get back to him as his internet connection and usage is limited.
I was lucky enough to see the ins and outs of this conversion and must say its easier than I thought. This head can be used with carburettors if you use a megajolt jnr crankfire ignition system from autosportlabs.com
The ignition kit is posted to Oz for under 250 USD which includes most parts required except for a coil pack which can be sourced locally from a holden v6.
Otherwise efi is also very easy from factory mx5, 323, protege, laser etc.
The original sump is left unmodified as Rob cleverly worked out a simple way to make the front plate seal the front of the sump without issues.

Im planning on doing an A15 to use factory 78mm mazda mx5 pistons to suit the head, also r1 carbs and ebay headers modded to fit my 1000 coupe. This head conversion using mazda matched pistons makes it a non interference engine.

Would be cool to grind the cam cover smooth and paint it Datsun blue

Sound like this is starting to pan out, yesssssss

If I could find out the specs of RB20 pistons I'd say use those with CA18 rods or opened up stock rods

Most A15 engines can go easily to 78mm therefore using stock mazda B6 pistons is possible then you can have a non-interference type engine like factory mazda b6 was originally designed to be.
There is a bonus I found out recently on the miata forums that going Mazda B6 or Ford Laser B6, exhaust cam duration is 250 degrees and around 8.5mm lift, therefore miata peeps found a cheap way for performance cams. They use 2 exhausts cams ground to 270 degrees / 9.5mm lift, still using hydraulic lifters and springs and redline at 7800rpm. Cheap and great results.

Edit: Here is a link to a bp or 1.8L with stock non ported bp head and block
170+ hp at wheels from a 1.8L there is another build I can find atm
with 168hp atw in a 1.6L. Not bad considering 264/264 degrees & 10mm lift.
http://clubroadster.net/vb_forum/59-i ... ottom-end-no-porting.html

video, sounds good
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5qGAasccK8&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ye2Fn62xDc&feature=player_embedded