i bought my car with an a14 and am putting an a12 back in it. the a12 i am putting in is out of a 1200 coupe but the mounts that are on the engine have plates moving the engine about an inch further back. does anyone know why, or if they are needed. only idea i can come up with is that maybe it is from when the other 1200 coupe was changed from auto to manual if it was? it seems that it might be sitting too far back now to get my gearbox in which is bigger than the 1200 and 120y ones, its a 4 speed and has a flat bellhousing, not the type with ridges like the 120y and 1200 ones, does anyone know what this may be out of?

All the A-series engines should sit in the same position (distance from firewall).

It sounds like you might have an early-model A12 (1971-73, distributor under #1 plug) that was fitted to a later car. Since the later cars have the mounts in a different place, maybe somebody modfied the engine mounts?

In any case, take off the plates from the block and let it set where it is supposed to.

it might be ouyt of a ute they have different mounts to the coupes dont they im probably rongf so dont listen to me

Yes, utes starting in 1974 have different mounts. But 71-73 utes have the same mounts as coupes & sedans. So I'm told.

ddgonzal is the all knowing.. I'll back him up on that..

Sounds like you might need to do the reverse of the conversion that most of us normally do. The Right Side (aussie drivers side) mount should be the same, the Left Side mount will need an extension plate.

Whether Auto or Manual, the 1200 uses the same engine mounts.

I hope this helps.
Chris