Can anyone tell me the best way to differentiate between an A12 and A15 (apart from the engine number). Does the A15 have a taller block?, is there anything else that distinguishes them visually?
tah.

Yeah the block is physically bigger. Howerver you can't tell the difference between a a14 and a15 in appearance. Why can't you just look on the side of the block and see what it has stamped in big writing. A12 or A15.

Maybe james is wondering if somebody were to stamp A12 on an A15 would anybody be able to tell the difference?

I have an A15 that has been stamped with A12 numbers. I just want to be 100% sure it is infact an A15.

Sure, the A15 (and A14) is about 3/4 inch taller. You can measure the difference. Drive up in your A12, and measure the difference above the water pump to the bottom of the cylinder head.

I have been wondering th exact same thing. lets say if you had 2 engines on the ground, one an A12, one an A15, both with no numbers on them what so ever, are there any tell tale differences, besides the 3?4 of an inch in height difference & engine mounts. is the dizzy located at a different location, fuel pump, enything, a tell tale sign that you could use to determine the difference between an A12 and an A15, it seems to be quite tricky yes? any help is much appreciated.

The 1200 engine, used from 1970 untill '73, & maybee even later in South Africa, had the distributor just above the oil pump. From 1974 the block was redesigned & the distributor was moved back, but it was dimentionally identical. The A14/15 family of engines used a taller engine block, so if you have both, then measure them.

The only other one is the A10, which is not as tall as the A12, but is easily identified as it had only three main bearings.

If the head is off, you can measure the bore diameter. That's a dead giveway.

Is it a big deal to get a ruler out and measure the deck height? I think it is the best way.

To distinguish between A14 and A15, look for the "A14" casting numbers on the side of the block (not stamped, but cast in). A12s don't have such casting numbers. I'm not sure about A15s.

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that is why i said, blocks with no numbers, i.e numbers been grinded etc.

A10 also has the dizzy on the opp side from A14 if i remember correctly.