I'm not sure if I'm going to do this or not but I did manage to pickup an A15 motor for less then $50 bucks so I couldn't pass it up. I'm looking for opinion & tips as to the best setup for a general purpose motor. I want peppy and able to go on the hwy.

Heres my idea, feel free to comment/criticize & add improvements:
strip down to just the A15 block, use a h72 A14 head (have one w/new valves, have double springs as well)single sidedraft canon oval port w/weber DCOE 40 - I have all this stuff - is this worth the effort?

I also have a 60A 5 spd. to attach to this & a 4.365 center for the rearend. I also have a mildly built A12 that I could drop in & not deal with the A15 issues, I'm just trying to figure out what direction to go.

Also, Im not sure what I need for the crossmember or where the mount placement needs to end up, I tried reading all I could on the wiki but its not specific on those issues. I talked to one guy who says he's built many A series motors & thought by far the best was the A14 not 15, couldn't give me a specific reason why other then some head compatibility issue. what are you're guy's thoughts on this?

As the old saying goes "there's no replacement for displacement" was my line of thought. I'm also at the point of spraying epoxy on the body & if I need to mod anything I'd like to do it now instead of after more painting work.

Just looking for input guys, any ideas are appreciated especially from those of you who've dropped an A15 in.

Thanks ,Evan

if you have a coupe with an a12 dizzy at the front of the block under cyl 1, you only need to make some metal plates to space the engine mounts about 2 inches further back.

1200rc has the dimensions some where, not hard.

I currently have an a15 and rate it way better than a stock ish or mild a12, but then if you had a balanced and preped a12, boofheads approach of handeling would be better.

Id be more woried about a 4.3 diff ration with a 5 speed than the motor, a 3.9 with a 5 speed or a 3.7 would be more suited to hwy use, just not racey enough.

I am also looking at a similar transplant. I am moving from a A14 to A15. What sort of gains would I get from the displacement alone? I also belive that the A15 has less compression ratio because of the dished pistons. Should I get the head shaved to compensate?

so is it worth having the stock pistons milled down to flat tops? Also are there any issues with using the head I have regarding water or oil ports on the head not aligning properly? What about the cam if one's going to all this work?

the same guy who mentioned the A14 vs. A15 said he thought the Weber 32/36 & stock manifold was better overall then a single DCOE - any thoughts on this?

Quote:
I have that style A12 motor but the body's a 73 ( I do have the original motor elsewhere, I'll look & see if its that style) if not, whats involved in the fab process?

Quote:

I've got 2 other 3.9 diff's but wanted to try this one first, worst case I can switch back to the stock 3.9

Thanks all, please keep the ideas / comments coming.

Evan

Quote:Just leave it stock. You'll be amazed at the power difference.

A15 and A14 heads are the same.

4.365 diff with overdrive transmission is a great idea.

1974 is when the engine mounts changed.

Be prepared to break the H145 diff gears with the torque of the A15. It may not happen, but has happened to several of us.

Rear engine mount (transmission mount) is a bolt in, you just need to cut a flat plate for an adapter. Use stock driveshaft and the 5-speed rubber mount.



60-series rear engine mount

Quote:

so what needs to be done to the cross member to get the A15 to fit? Or is it just an offset for the motor mount I need to fab? what have others done when installing this block? Now I wish I'd kept the cross member out of the coupe I gave you the A14 block from DD.

rear tranny mount looks pretty simple, I like the "C" shaped one, looks simple & clean.

Virtually no one modifies the cross member. Only the mount brackets that bolt to the engine need to be modifed. Well technically you don't need to modify them, a simple flat plate can be added. But it's better to slightly modify the mounts to keep the engine in the standard location.

See this for specific details and photos: A-series Engine Swaps

I get the feeling people haven't figured out how to search the new Tech wiki: Use the search box at the bottom of the Tech wiki page, not the left side search box.

Quote:perhaps I should clarify this. The A15 used heads designed for A14. However, there are many A14 heads, some of which were not used on the A15.

They are mostly oval-port (85HP) heads. EXCEPT for Canada B310 5-speed used a round port FU head (65HP). And perhaps the H95 heads.

Here are the A15 heads that I know about :
JDM
* 11041-H8904 HEAD ASSY-CYLINDER S,K.A14S 7904-8010, A15S 8011-
* 11041-H9204 HEAD ASSY-CYLINDER A14E 7908-8010 A15E 8011-

North America
FU Head - Round Port -- 5speed models only
* 11041-H7285 A15 CANADA 0880- °11041-H7284, A12A CANADA 0880-, A14 FED (KFU), A14 CAN 0678-0678 ^11041-H7284

Federal Oval Port
* 11041-H7702 A14,A15 FED 1979 [Hollander]
* 11041-H7761 A14,A15 FED (EXC KFU) -0778
* 11041-H7762 A14,A15 FED (EXC KFU) 0878-0779 ^11041-H7761
* 11041-H7763 A14,A15 FED (EXC KFU) ^11041-H7762
* 11041-H9901 A14,A15 FED 0879-0780 °11041-H7763
* 11041-H9902 A14,A15 FED ^11041-H9901

Round port???
* 11041-H9500 A15 FED 0880- °11041-H9902

California
* 11041-H9161 A14,A15 CAL -0778
* 11041-H9162 A14,A15 CAL 0878-1078 ^11041-H9161
* 11041-H9163 A14,A15 CAL 1178-0779 ^11041-H9162
* 11041-H9164 A14,A15 CAL ^11041-H9163
* 11041-H9911 A14,A15 CAL 0879-0780 °11041-H9164
* 11041-H9913 A14,A15 CAL -0578 ^11041-H9911

??? Oval? Round?
* 11041-H9500 A15 CAL 0880- °11041-H9911

The FU head (round port, shrouded) in my garage has "H95" on the top face.

If you want to take a gander at my car, just PM me and we can set up a time.

thanks for all the info on heads DD, I'll go look at what I have as I think I've got at least 4 out in the shop.

datsa73, I'd love to take a peek at your ride, I'll shoot you a PM w/contact info, much appreciated.

Evan