depending on how far forward or back you position the engine the oil filter can clash with the suspension mounting gussets.
I got around it by using a small filter from Toyota.

See picture attached of :
Large filter which came with the engine
Medium filter which is what i was given at the motor factors before realising i had a clearance issue
Small toyota filter i ended up using.

Also picture of the box from the small one for the part number

Attach file:

---

  oil filters.JPG (33.29 KB)


  oil filter clearance.JPG (28.45 KB)


  oil filter box.JPG (36.92 KB)

By the way, expect some excitement the first time you let the clutch out: british master cylinders don't talk all that well to datsun slave cylinders, so you get full engagement in a couple cm of clutch pedal movement and it's pretty neck-snapping.

I put an A14 in a Spitfire. Some things to consider about getting the engine in the frame and under the hood: 1200 and a lot of A14/15 engines had front sump oil pans, and that sits right in the middle of the frame cross member that joins the front suspension towers on Spits and Midgets. Some B210's had mid-sump oil pans, and that'll get your engine 15cm lower by itself. (Get the matching oil pickup tube as well.) I ended up chopping the front out of the oilpan and welding in the back of a front-sump pan, so there is only enough clearance for the crank. That got me another 10cm. If you can move the engine so far back that the sump is behind that cross brace, you can drop it way down. I don't know how the frame rails are on the Midget, but I couldn't push an engine back as far as I wanted because the 60-series transmission wouldn't fit between the rails anymore.
The position of the oil pump, and specifically the filter, also was kind of terrible for a low/back placement. I ended up going with a remote oil filter, the filter itself on the backside of the front bumper, and that helped tremendously. The drag is that to mount/unmount the oil pump side of the remote, I have to remove the oil pump, to screw the adapter on, but in theory that should be a one-time thing.
It's way easier if you have a RHD midget. LHD means the exhaust wants to be just about where the steering linkages are (and you can't scoot off to the right because of the oil pump.)

And yeah the A14 is way lighter than the stock Brit engines, and the result is quite nice when you get it running.

Texasmidget I am familiar with Sprigets and 1275 A-series motors. The run group I'm in at the vintage races has several Sprigets and I have a couple of friends who own them. The ring gear is rather small much like the 1200 which is roughly a 5 11/16 ring gear. The fastest 1275 cars are putting out around 110hp to the rear wheels. The rear end housings look stock but I know they have heavily modified internals. Some the cars are using $5000 Hewland gearboxes so I expect the diffs are similar high end stuff as well.

As for the clutches pictures I'd run which ever has the most meat left on it. If you can get the 1200 flywheel turned cheaply then go for it otherwise just bolt it on.

Tom

These are just different manufacturers. Same diameter. I notice they are all high-quality 6-spring discs (cheap discs use 4 rubber springs).

You can reuse the clutch disk if they aren't worn down too much (examine the depth to the rivets). Also make sure the springs are still tight. Valeo is good quality from my experience.

You can reuse the pressure plate, if not crazed or heat marked. The A15 pressure plate can be used, regardless of which flywheel you use. The Ampco is Nissan OEM, so it will have a specific rating. Aftermarket A12 plates may be stiff enough for A15 use.
* B310 A12A: 573-684 pounds
* B310 14/A15: 739-849 pounds

Thanks for the info Tom. If I didnt have end play on my crankshaft I could probably get away with doing a complete rebuild in my shop based on all the information I have so far. These Datsun engines are impressive to say the least. I will disassemble the GX head and check how the valves seat in the ports as well as check the guides. The block has 200,000 miles and will be interesting to see if the machine shop recommends boring. It looks in real good condition and the crankshaft turns freely. What I dont want is a blue smoke coming out the exhaust. That is my problem now with the British motor. 95 HP may be a bit much for the British differential. If that is what I end up with I'll have to be careful with hard accelerations. The original stock motor is a whopping 65HP.

So I attached images of 3 pressure plates and 3 clutches and noted the markings. As you can see the 1981 pressure plate housing has more metal. Any reason why? The 1982 and 1972 PP are similar but different. Are these parts salvageable or should I just replace both PP and clutch along with the throwout bearing? Can I salvage the A12 flywheel, have it lightened and then get a new clutch and PP to match it as you suggest staying with the A12 flywheel?

Left -1982 B310 sedan- no marks on clutch, Luk pressure plate
Middle -1981 B310 sedan-Nissan clutch (180CBL), Ampco pressure plate
Right - 1972 sedan - Valeo clutch (made in Korea), no marks on pressure plate

Attach file:

---

  Pressure.Plate.Clutch.1982.1981.1972..jpg (25.85 KB)


  Pressure.Plate.Clutch.1982.1981.1972.*.jpg (30.73 KB)

A couple of things I will throw in:

First on the flywheel, you'll find a diagram here on the site for turning/lightening a flywheel which will take it down to 14lbs (7lbs lighter than stock) note that this is double the weight of a racing flywheel. As mentioned with a light car it will be totally streetable.

I have a 14lb for both an A15 & A12. I use the A12 flywheel because all of the throw out bearings and other parts I have are for an A12. Note I use this in the 1200 coupe I Vintage race and the car will chug along in the pits with no worries. Note I'd part with the A15 flywheel cheap.

On the GX cylinder head; the valve springs won't float till around 8200 rpms, I used GX springs (that I never bothered to check) for 10 seasons and only changed them because I went to a very aggressive cam. You should have no issues. Next on the ports check where the valve seats meet the port as the seats protrude 1mm into the port. If you do nothing else grind/sand/file this down so the seat matches up to the port as this will open the port up to 2mm. I used a dremel and flap wheel to clean this area up on my heads.

Also note you can order up thinner head gaskets than the standard Felpro ones. B-Projects in Japan sells .6 and .8 thick head gaskets at very reasonable prices. This will bring back the compression to near 10-1

You can order flat top pistons from JE or Arias they are $500 a set but as they are forged not preferred in a street car.

On the camshaft, the GX cam is very mild, Delta Cams in Tacoma can regrind the stock cam for something like $75 and they have done quite a few for A-series motors. I think something with around 260 duration and .375 lift will still be very mild.

Note a 60 series 4 speed is 54lbs and although the overdrive would be nice an A15 will rev to 6000 rpms all day long. The A15 in my car revs to 8500 rpms on the stock bottom end with no issues.

With all that said if you simply just reringed the motor and put iłt together with the parts you have you would easily reach the 85hp goal. If you cleaned up the head and upgraded the cam it would likely be around 95hp at the flywheel.

Tom

the mini engine is an anchor of heavy cast iron while A15 with alloy head should be lighter even though box wont be.

At worst you can still run a mazda, ga16de or vauxhall head on an A series and see some big numbers.

Datsun has made it easy for clutches -- they are all the same diameter. The A15 pressure plate has a heavy duty spring so it is stiffer than the A12 pressure plate, although if you buy an aftermarket clutch they are all heavy-duty "generics". Genuine Nissan clutches are fine-tuned to the application.

Yes, a light flywheel can be a pain in stop-and-go traffic, but many like them even so. The flywheel, engine plate, transmission and release bearing sleeve are a matched set -- so if you change the flywheel type (A12 vs A15) you must compensate by changing the sleeve length or by removing/adding an engine plate. When fitting the thinner flywheel to A14, remove the Engine Plate to compensate. If there was no engine plate to begin with, fit the shorter release bearing sleeve.

Well these A series engines continue to amaze me. According to my application, the Flywheel link says that lightening is for racing applications. Would I benefit from doing this for street use? It does say that the flywheels are interchangeable. For my purpose, would you recommend putting the A12 flywheel on the A15 engine? It is 2.2 lbs lighter. I do recall the clutch and pressure plate are different diameters. So I would use the A15 clutch and pressure plate on the A12 flywheel?