This has been buging me for a while,

I've got a nice original 1200 wagon with minimal rust only in the doors.

the shell is clean.

It's currently my daily driver it does about 20 miles a day top speed limit is 70 km/h. and has about 38000 on the clock. but weekend country trips I'd like to do in it but it does not like the freeway much.

I like the economy max $20 per week. I don't like the brakes and the lack of power... or the fact that 110 is a major effort and factory aircon has it's disadvantages :(

I've modified cars before so I'm happy to change anything but I still need to keep it a daily driver and economical so,

Plan A
L20b stanza 5speed
single 40mm weber of special manifold (NOT LYNIX)

this destroys the economy still grumpy in the morning but quicker in a straight line and it will cruise at 110 easy.


Plan B
4age 20V Black top T50 gearbox add a waterline kit and remove the dizzy (using a megasquirt comp maybe) I can solder and I have a spare laptop with a d9 port. ;)
(I can use the standard dash and speedo, not a large change is capacity for engineering)

happy in the morning, nice gearbox, good economy. power is nice a but less torque down low but it will rev...

I'm not keen to turbo a daily driver as insurance is a issue, I've been there before...

so I'm up for some input

Also I've got late model stanza struts to fit but I'm not happy with the change in track so it anybody has a better setup I'm interested as currently I'm rolling on 4 drums:(

Plan A or B both involve changing the front crossmember and the gearbox crossmember, tailshaft and exhaust. This is something I have to deal with,

This will be done in Victoria so if anybody has a good engineer please forward me the details.

I've got about 5k budget for the engine and gearbox change assuming I do most of it myself.


any input or advice would be great.

sorry for the long post.

thanks

The A12 should easy pull 160kmh.

Sounds like your valves are all coked up. Get your head and valves cleaned up and reconditioned. You could easy double the power output. This could also be the reason for your fantastic fuel economy.

Slightly drilling out some of the jets can yield a good improvement also.

Going L-series or injected frankenstein is a slippery path.

L-series and 5 speed is not too bad an idea.

Chris

Although if it's your daily driver I don't expect it seeing much daily driving for a while if you are looking at a complete engine change.

An A series A14/15 could easily be done in a weekend - much like a bigger cam and some decent carbies could make the difference on the current A12.

A14/15 + some Z brakes on some stanza struts should make it a goer and a stopper. Still doesn't solve the climate control problems....but better than nothing.

go L series and use 180b aircon

done and done

what is 90mph in kph, thats as fast as my 1200 ever went under a series power, down hill

Quote: 'Factory air' in an Australian 1200? I have not heard of that before & would love to see a pic.

This car is a daily driver, yet you are contemplating a 4age swap. That's pretty radical if you need to use it every day as this swap wouldn't normally be seen as a weekend job.

For a good reliable daily driver, perhaps you could think about a strong A15 with single Weber with extractors & a 60 series gearbox. This could be built up with say a 1mm overbore [giving 1527cc] a mild cam, a 1200 flywheel & an electronic ignition. This will certainly pep up the old girl while keeping structural mods to an absolute minimum & it's the kind of job that can be installed in a weekend, particularly if you get yourself a later 1200 ute crossmember & the block-mounted engine mounting brackets from the same car.

This should provide you with an easy starting, strong running, affordable to run & reliabile car at a very reasonable cost. Particularly if it's a daily driver.
I call it 'Plan C'

P.S. As a bonus, these engines were designed for the aircon compressor to be mounted on the side of the block & a modern swash plate compressor will draw a lot less power than the old factory-original twin cylinder York Compressor does.

Yeah I have another backup car while it's off the road,

Hmm the L20, yes old school was the original plan then I found I could get a 4age 20v blacktop for about 1k and that got this hole problem started...

cheers

The a15 would be plan A if I could find a good motor and a 5 speed but they are just to hard to come by. I've spent the last 6 months looking for one in vic but no luck.

I've upoaded a couple of picks of the factory aircon to my album.

Yes I've since removed the fixed 7 blade fan and fitted a 4 blade gemini unit and a gemini radiator. it will actually rev now :)


cheers

OK, I had a look at the aircon pics & I suspect that it is an aftermarket instalation as I don't recall that rotary compressors were around in the 1971 to 73 period.

I still think that you will get more bang for buck, & more satisfaction with an A15 swap & if you keep your eyes open in the Trading Post & elsewhere, look for a late Sunny Sportswagon.
Most of these came with an A14 & 60 series, but the late ones had an A15 with 60 series. These ones also had a 3.7 to 1 diff which can be used in the H145 axle housing if you uses a 2mm spacer & a second gasket. Use the Sunny tailshaft too.

Buying a whole running donor car will be the best way to go. They're out there, you just need to look.

That's where my A14 came from - an entire Sunny Wagon, $250.

Bit of a bargain - the VIN plate had an A15 engine number - when I got the car home read the A14 number of the engine! Doh!

But A14/A15 pretty much the same top end power....stock.

i have a spare a15 that was recoed 30,000kms ago, just needs inlet, exhaust manifolds and a flywheel... aprt from that its a runner!
Pm me for detials, im in melbourne too.