Hello,

I have just this week got my Datsun 1200 sedan I purchased from overseas and totally fell in love with it, I have always liked the look of them in pictures but never seen one in the flesh and it was instant love at the docks! I had plans to drop a SR20DET in it but after firing up the stock A12 and heard the wonderful rumble of the 4 cylinders & 1171cc working I now feel I must keep the engine.

So now I want to modify the A12 engine to get as much (reliable) N-A power and lovely exhaust tone out of the engine as possible. It is a 50,000km car in near perfect condition for age.

What do you experienced A12 1200 owners recommend I do to it.

Thanks in advance...

Dave

Welcome Dave. Congrats and hope you enjoy the 1200.Dave you will never regret the choice the datsun 1200 is one great car.I have a 350z and 2 datsun 1200's and i prefer the 1200.I have had a 1200 since 1975 and the only problems i had were mickey mouse.[alternator,condenser,rear gearbox seal] if you have twin carbs its quite a bugger to get them 100% otherwise will take more of a beating than my 350z.I think you should post some pics before asking about mods -- that way the chaps can throw around a few ideas and they are all ready to help[ideas] choice is yours A12 ,A14 ,A15 etc. Where in the UK are you?

Thanks for that,

I will put a few pics up soon, I am away with work for the week so will try for next weekend.

I am in Buckinghamshire, I have been having ongoing conversations with the old owner and he has made a few suggestions but I am keen to hear what people have to say for some direction, the A12 is completely stock standard and still feels pretty tight so a great building block, though when the engine is out I am going to have it stripped down and gone over then build it up from there.

Only 11 1200's left in the UK to my understanding so I may be getting some bits from OZ & Japan for the build.

Dave the reason i asked is because my son is in the UK but he is not interested in datsun 1200's [pisses me off]Spoilt. There is a lot you can do with the 1200 eg, Use alfa junior diff [lsd]like i have you just gotta change the studs cos they are 108 and datsuns are 114.Shocks can use Vw or there's members here that sell [camber plates too]I have an A14 motor with A15 crank --also few changes there --but best is to go through the project builds and see what you like. Question -- Is it a GX or Deluxe. Gx twin carbs & deluxe single carb Enjoy

Hello again,

I am lucky enough to say that it is a deluxe, and the interior is like brand new!

The suspension is already done with coil overs in the front and blocks in the back and it seems to handle well, as I only drove it around the block before tucking her in the (carpeted) garage.

I am general Nissan fan and owned Skylines (GTR, GTS-t and R30 TI & RS) but the 1200 is something really special that a lot of cars just do not have, like character or soul.

What I am really looking forward to is build up a path in my head how I want to see the engine build unfold. Frankly the cars I have owned in my life are generally turbo & fuel injected so this is all new to me and I am so excited about learning it.

Once I have some pictures up it worth me talking about how I envision the car and seek advice from there?

Where do you live, SA, South Australia, South Africa or neither.

Thanks again.

Dave,

I run a 1200 coupe in vintage races in the USA and we've had the car for 30 years, from a bone stock street driver to budget racer and now A15 powered vintage race car.

We started with a budget suspension;"lowering blocks and cut down Z car sprints up front. We then went to the ubiquitous 280ZX coil overs and Nismo springs in back look at the competition suspension manual on this page.

As for the motor we went from stock, then put on a header and Weber DGV to a stock GX twin carb motor, then ported the motor, then added Keihin flat slide carbs, at that point it made 73 whp, a more aggressive cam (not streetable) got it up to 80 whp. In this trim some kind of close ratio box is a must. In present A15 trim with what I would call a rally cam, the ported GX head with 37/30mm valves, 39mm flat slide carbs and header it is probably around 105-110 hp at the rear wheels. It could be street driven but in traffic it would be great.

A streetable A12 I would expect to be around 70 whp (90 at the crank?) which sounds sad but it is near double what they are stock. In that trim the big gap between 2nd and 3rd gear wouldn't be a big deal (the rpm dorm I something like 2800 rpms).

If swapping to an A14 is not a issue for you this may be the way to go as it's worth an extra 12hp.

Starting out small you,could go with a GX cam, header, Weber DGV, clean up the ports, the larger 37/30 mm valves and the thinner GX head gasket. This would probably net 15-20 hp.

Tom

The first thing I'd try is to get an electronic ignition kit or complete distributor. This will be a good hot up for the stock motor, even if it's only a few HP, the engine should run better through the entire rev range. A small Weber, a 32/36 DGV or from some other model, will make the engine better with proper tuning. All this & you still haven't opened the engine or changed the exhaust. Maybe a service on the head, so all the valves seal properly & the valve guides do their job.
Should still be a nippy little beast, as they were from
the factory.

Dave i'm in South Africa --time wise about an hour or two ahead of UK in winter [ours]Well like i said just check out some of the builds --there's a bit of e/thing. eg rotary,A12,A13,A14,A15,SR20,SR20det,single carbs,twin carbs and fuel inj and some rare stuff like datsun block and mazda head oh there are some nice 1000 as well.The deluxe is very economical std but there's still lots of options.Anyway just ask --all keen to help here.Parts you can get here or peter Zekert [usa],bprojects etc.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the ideas, loving the feedback - all gets me thinking and checking stuff out!

I really want to keep it 'old skool' running carbs and simply tuning around the 70's period of time.

I have had on off conversations with the old owner and he was saying that using the A12 block (light rebuild) with a A15 head, port and polished with tickled cams running some 40mm carbs (twin Dellorto with K&Ns - could I have light secondariness on this?) better distributor, ignition coil and leads etc, alloy radiator, a custom exhaust manifold and maybe even look at higher compression running 98 unleaded would all give some good power and in keeping with the car.

Even a short shifter for the 4 speed box - I would not have thought this existed!

Naturally I would like to upgrade the brakes as well - anyone had experience with this?

What are your ideas and recommendations on the above?

As I said I am new to these engine types, if I wanted to go nuts (which was my intention) I was going to drop a SR20DET in it and have a real little beast but I really don't want to rush into that now I have heard the rumble of the A12!

Thanks again guys.

Best regards - Dave

Yes, for sure it'll pep up that 'lil A12. Instead of the stock 69 hp, you would get around 85 hp (at the engine). Or you could fit the A15 or an A14 and get 80 hp stock.

Remember that the alloy radiator won't add any HP, but is the cheapest way to go as brass/copper radiators are more expensive.