Quote:
The A12 timing chain is extremely quiet ... if it becomes noisy, replace the set, but this is rare, they are very durable.

Dear Bob, I run track B110s in Singapore. Can you recommend someone who can supply steel cranks/ con-rods, race valves, pistons etc for A14 engine. How much work is required
to fit E15 head?
Cheers, Brian

Hi Scott,

Sorry for the delay getting back to you. Your right about the tube frame car. Its a fabricated chassis with twin control arms up front and a 510 station wagen rear end housing. Coil over
shocks suspend all four corners. The body on car is a Sentra SER all fiberglass except the roof. Nissan motorsports gets the bodies made. The latest body is the 200sx. There was some talk
about a new Sentra body being the works.

We also have a tub based 1200. This car is built off the street car. Struts with a coilover kit in the front and leaf springs in the rear. I just got this car and we are going to test it
next tuesday for the first time. We're looking forward to that!

As for HP I've seen dyno sheets in the 155 range for a tall block A12A. A tall block A12A is an A14 block with long rods an an A12 crank. I don't know what the gain is with the E15 head but
the guys that are making the change had very good engines and they think its worth it. The conversion is not legal for the GT class that we race in. I'll have to get more info when I see
the guys that are running it.

Go to the Yahoo Club "SCCA GT5 racing" there are some good pictures. Check out Jim Burke's 200sx I think you'll enjoy it.

See Ya,Bob

Looks are a big part of it I'll admit. I love seeing those belts and pulleys spin around. Call me sick I don't know what it is.
The other reasons are quieter running. A chain stretches over time and gets noisy.
And it is a lot easier for cam timing adjustments and dial in. Obvoiusly you don't do this often but its very handy during a dyno session. The ultimate idea is to have an adjustable pulley
to get fine timing adjustments so you can get it 100% spot on.
I don't think it will be a pain either if my initial thoughts and comparions come off as what I am hoping is the crank pulley will slide straight on. The cam pulley will be no real problem
as at worst the outer can be welded to inner of the chain cog. I have a spare you see. You are right that the gains might not support a lot of work and cost so it will only go ahead if it
is mostly a bolt on affair.
The mini conversion is a piece of cake as they make a new backing plate that has the required oil seals to seal against the inner surface of the new pulleys and bingo that's it it bolts
straight on in place.

Im a bit sceptic at this idea. It sounds good on paper but i bet its a real pain to try an do. I see no real reason for the belt drive. Except for the fact that it would look cool. But other
than that what else does it achieve? Possibly a bit of cam adjustment and one hell of a headache.

As for putting an E15 head on the A series, i think it would be worth the effort. Obviously alot more work will be needed. If the head bolt holes line up that must be a damn good start. Do
the E15 heads have a fair bit of metal around the ports for opening up?

Bob. Welcome to the 1200 club. Any info on the E15 head swap would be greatly appreciated by the club! You say your 1200 racer is frame tubbed. What exactly is involved in frame tubs. Do u
mean the whole floor pan and chassis rails have been removed and custom floor made up?? Sounds like a madman machine!! How many HP are the A series pushing out?? What about the E15 head
engine? Anyway, cya'Z

Scott
Davo

I'm in the US, New York to be exact. I'm an SCCA racer, we run a rear wheel drive tube frame Sentra powered by an A series engine and a tub framed 1200 of course this car also uses an A
series. Both of these cars compete in the SCCA GT5 class. Before we switched to the Nissans we ran a Civic 1200 that had an adjustable cam pully. Believe me a small change in cam timing can
result in good power gains as well as getting the power where you want it.

I'll try to get more info on the E series head swap. The guys that are doing this run in the sports racer class. They are formula cars with envolope type bodies. All of these engines are
dry sumped and use a belt driven oil pump. I don't know if they run a cam in the block or not, I also don't know how they get oil to the cam in the head, I don't remember any external lines
but I'll try to find out.

Let me know when you build the belt drive

Bob

Rgrinder1, thanks but I don't totally understand what you are saying. I don't know if its your typing but you lost me with "as in the oil pump on the E series is the cover for the lower
front of the block and the oil pan".
To me and i must admit I have only had initial looks it looks like the layout and spacing of everything is the same. My intention would be to ditch the cover or at least cut away the front
section leaving just the back and sides. If I ditched it it may be possible to run the E water pump and use the E front crank seal if needed. This wouldn't be needed if I kept the alloy
cover.
Please explain again the importance of the oil pump as my idea (before I compare further)is that the toothed gear will slide straight on the front of the crank and I just have to mount the
outer section of the E cam pulley onto the inner of the A pulley.
I like to have something different as long as it doesn't cost an arm a leg and two tits and as I grew up with Fiats I have a fondness of belt drives and a dislike of cam chains. Longevity is
not an issue with the cheap cost of belts.
Again stress that my comparisons are not complete as initially I was looking to see if the E15 head could be used. Any further help would be appreciated.
Machining etc I can get done cheaply as I have many friends with the necessary lathes etc.

Where are you Bob. What is your name BOB. It starts with a B Bob and ends in a B Bob. Sorry that's a line from a Cheech and Chong movie I once saw.
I have had a look at the E15 head as that was my original idea. The bolt holes line up but the water jacket and oil galleries are not even close, any idea how they do it.
The front of the motors look the same. If the alloy housing is removed it looks like the E15 water pump would mount straight in the same place but straight to the steel block not the
alloy case. My guess is that you wouldn't need t seal the front of the crank but maybe use the E15 front seal anyway. You would have to block the oil feed hole for the timing chain.
The E15 still runs a pulley in what would be the A series cam position as they still have a dummy camshaft that is there just to run the fuel pump.
As I say it all looks so similar but I didn't measure exactly as I thought it was a lost cause with the mismatch in the head.

Ypu miss the point. I am not interested in the E15 crank. I want the E15 cam and crank pulleys to make a belt driven A series cam drive instead of teh sometimes noisy chain. Then if
I can that set up I will look at a vernier adjustable cam pulley for perfect cam timing adjustment and dial in.
I must also admit that looks also play a large part in the thought process.

oh yeah and timing belts are used because they are cheaper to prouduce
than a chain.