I got a 200SX for $150, complete car......it was our safety car at club races,donated by Nissan. So knowing CA20's are maybe not ideal............need opinions. Also the car has no title...........never did.

Tom

In stock from, it's perfectly fine.
115 hp with 108 lb-ft

And it's very fuel efficient. Up to 43 MPG.

I'm not a fan. Locally they came in S3 Bluebirds and R31 Pintara's. Sluggish SOHC twin spark heavy monsters. Most blokes piss them off and fit DOHC CA18's.

115 HP in a big pig like a Bluebird with 3000 pounds of weight to pull will be slow, your are right about that. But 115 HP (for practically free) in an ~1800 pound car is another matter.

The SOHC design was very sophisticated for 1981, the twin-plug design allowed it to make 43 mpg on lean burn. The engine runs even better on rich mixture.

Not the best engine ever made, nor the most tuning potential. But not bad for what it is -- especially if you get it for free and can do the swap DIY style. If you have to pay a shop a couple thousand to fit it, then it's not the best choice.

Yeah dog of an engine get it revving to often and it will develop some knocks in no time, then very shortly after throw a leg out of bed. Don't waste your time.

Im not going to get into arguments here again but Ive known and have owned a ca20s and it still used as a paddock car after clocking more than 420,000klms. Trolling through wreckers I rarely have seen a CA20 pintara, bluey or sylvia with less than 320,000klms with original engine.
They have taller blocks same call them thin but there have been 2 instances where owners have put the ca18det head and another the ca18et head and with mitsubishi shaved rods from 4g63 and were revved to 8000rpm and never missed a beat.
It has thin conrods (powder cast white metal) which are its weak point for high revvs or high hp but apart from that they are a good unit much better than most other brands.

There was a speedway ca20et engine for sale and the person I spoke to said it made 312hp with just on 190+ lbs of torque and had different dyno sheets to prove it on methanol though.

The other in a race car is well known in the S12 forums and got initial times around northen Oz tracks faster than this supposedly better sorted SR20DET bodied s12 racer.
He said he kept the revvs low to avoid a paranoid issue of
blowing it up with the original prepped rods but later with
the mitsu prepped rods was making his best power at lower than
required rpm so kept it below 8000rpm.

The factory ca20 efi or carbed have horrible large EGR setup like the NA Z motors, horrible cast iron exhaust manifold and a camshaft thats made for torque only yet when a good exhaust is fitted they perform quite well for what they are.

Mistu rods, balanced internals, ca18det top end, Porsche or Volvo cant remember longer belt with boost will make a nice engine but not worth it compared to a ca18det straight bolt in engine which are cheap these days.

I would fit the ca20 with bike carbs and exhaust revv it to 8000rpm constantly until it pops before changing its engine or just fit headers, club reg and make a nice eco and tow car.

Here is the scoop................IF I did a swap I'm only after 150HP, which is more than the A12 in the car or the A15 I picked up will produce.

In fact the idea of the 2 liter was a low revving motor with broad torque curve. So the question is with a moderate cam, headers, side draft carbs what kind of power is possible with out turning it into a holy hand grenade. The car only has 3000 miles on it so if tuned wisely it should go a long way.............or not.

(D due note it can't be made into a road car..............I seem to recall it doesn't even have a VIN plate, it's the way the club got it from Nissan).

ca20 would be better with twin cam head. Can you find out where the head was cast? if its an aussie cast head forget it casting here is only marginally better than Peru.

Let me just add a little to what i said. That's my personal experience others may have had success with them but I'm talking about a stock CA20 engine unmodified in a R31 pintara/skyline. You can't argue with that you can just share your experience and leave it at that. To many people think they have to convince other people into there beliefs, It's just a waste of time.

I believe in fairies- I believe in fairies