Has anyone ever considered putting in a mazda engine of the same era eg. 1000, 1300, 1400, 1500. They were overhead cam and used a cross flow head. Also they cam from the factory with headers and a decent sized exhaust.

My dad used to own a mazda 1000 ute with a 1400 with a big cam and twin strombergs and it would easily outperform most worked datsun 1200s that i have driven and seen with only these minor mods.

also it easily reved to over 7500rpm

ps. it is also much easier to source 5 speeds

for all the hassle of going through an engine swap, why would you raise the power by only tens of HP. in theory I suppose it would be ok, but in practice I believe you might as well add 100HP while you're at it.

About the only mazda engine i have seen in a datto 1200 would be a rotary, either a N/A 12A or 13B or a 13B Turbo

the mazda four pots are a VERY underrated plugger - turbocharged versions of the 1400 can make in the vicinity of 150 RW kW - believe me, i've witnessed it. the D5 is the engine to get though, and the later the better.

import engines are available still, along with their matching 5 speeds and EFI intake manifolds.

however,one would have to question the merits of such a conversion. you could get an A15 to make just as much power wth half the hassle of converting the car take it (sump is different,gearbox bellhousing has starter on the wrong side ala 4AGE).
but i do understand what you're thinking... it always pays to be a little different.

but if you want 'different',what about a G13B suzuki swift GTi 1.3L twin cam, with a 90deg distributor drive (like in the sierra conversions) and a celica box?

now THAT's different!!!!!

What about this one?



Mazda piston engine in Datsun 1200

yes a 13B Turbo is a nice fit in the 1200 engine bay :)

Nice !!!!!

I know it is still the hassel of the conversion but it would be a good conversion for someone who would still like to keep a small capacity engine.

I like my datsuns but this little mazda engine is a much more modern style engine with its crossflow heads and overhead cam while the nissan engine is a 60s design.

Also what would be so hard about this conversion. My dad recons he could easily fabricate it.

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Yes, but what will the newer engine get you besides a newer engine? Not more power from what some are saying.

Most on this board (myself included) would say, "Why switch unless it's to make more power?".

hey look! if you want to do it, then do it! who are we to tell you what your car should have under the bonnet...?

if you like the idea, and have the funds to do it, then do it. and post some pics.

remember, engine mounts will be the easy bit...