I have a line on a "New old stock" USA Datsun 210 engine. The lady who runs the salvage yard said that she got it from a salvage yard in Texas that went out of business, and it had a tag that it went to a 1980 210. The casting on the engine (it was in the dark she said) was A12 with the serial number 190453. Other castings on the block were HA6 NO26.

Is this an A12 or can it be the A12a that I'm really looking for??

Please help.
dog

Generally speaking, US A12s have the distributor under #1 spark plug, while A12As have the distributor under #3 spark plug. But this is not the ultimately identifier, as the engine could have been an import (there were additional types of A12s for other countries).

The serial number is the real key. Does anyone know what year or model this number matches?

In the Tech section of this web site, under engines and A12 it says all A series from 7/73 on had the distributor moved back.

If I plan to bore it, does it matter if it is a A12a or A12? what other differences are there besides size of bore?

dog

i've seen an a12a here in australia,& the engine number was definitely a12a,so it sounds like its just an a12.also,you said it was from a 210 (b310),& a12a's seem to be out of a commercial vehicle ie van.

We didn't get Nissan vans in the US until the late 80s or early 90s I think, but we did get the A12A in the B310 ("210"). It was the fuel-economy engine, while most B310s had A14s. A lot of the wagons seemed to have A15s. I'm speaking of the US only.

> the serial number 190453

Hard to say. My 1972 had A12-148601, but A12-470084 was listed for the head-bolt torque change, which was talked about pre-A12A

The salvage yard is e-mailing me pictures.
Unless the yard women read it wrong, the engine could have been marked from a B-210 (USA Spec) and is an A12.

Are there any other changes besides displacement on A12 vs. A12as?

thanks again for all the help on my uneducated questions.
dog

Quote:

There is no displacment changes between the A12 and A12A the last two numbers are the displacement eg A10 - 1litre / A12 - 1.2litre / A13 - 1.3lt etc etc.

A12A has higher compression due too differnt head the short block is exactly the same altough differnt dizzy location.

The Head has double valve springs.. tell her to take the rocker cover off to verify thats what i would do.

The A12A is a larger displacement engine (about 60cc) and apparently the cylinder thickness is different. But the biggest difference is that the A12A does not bolt-in to a Datsun 1200 without some minor motor mount mods. It is more like an A14 than an A12. The US version has the small round-port head with low compression.

Note also that the A12 was never available in US model B210s.

See Datsun A12A engine and What's the best engine to put into a 1200?.

I just received pictures, the distributor hole ( there is no distributor) seems to be right under #2, unless I'm confusing my front and back. Could I send (post?) the pictures to you, I'd like your opinion on it before I put the $$ up. It looks like a new engine!

dog

Ok I just looked at the pictures in the best engine section and now see the valve cover orientation, the distributor is right under the #3 cylinder

dog