Mmmm, I had a '71 Datsun 1200 - also called the LB-110 - with the A-12
engine. That little engine was nothing like the MG 1800. It had all
the flanges cast into the block - No plates on the ends IOW. It had an
aluminum head, mushroom tappets and external oil pump. It was an
oversquare engine with a Hitachi 2-stage, 2-bbl carb and double valve
springs. It developed its max HP at fairly high RPM. Is that similar to
the Spridget 1275?
The LB-110 I had was a fastback coupe with a fold-down rear seat, a
floorshift 4-speed tranny and 12" wheels. That little car would go
anywhere and got 35 mpg at 70 mph. We used it for deep woods camping
trips and long distance highway trips for years. Rebuilt it completely
at 300,000 miles. Probably the best car I've ever owned for basic
transportation. We finally got rid of it when it got smacked in the
rear by a large hunk of Detroit iron.
The A-14 (or was it A-16?) in the B-210 was a larger version of the
A-12, same layout. The later 810(?) used a SOC 4-cyl called the L-16.
My '79 Datsun P/U has a larger version, the L-20 in it. The 240Z L-24
was the same layout, with two more cylinders and three carbs. All this
is from memory; I drove and worked on 'em all. I often wondered how an
MGC with an L-28 and 5-spd from a 280Z would have worked out.
Cheers,
CR
Richard Feibusch wrote:
> Listers,
> As a former Datsun 1600SSS sedan and 1600 Roadster owner (mt brother had a
> 2000 roadster) I can enlighten the group with this:
>
> The "Fairlady" roadster was introduced a year ahead of the MGB and there
> were no combined plans or espionage - The car was actually designed to
> resemble an Austin Healey 3000!!! Check out the grille, the hood scoop and
> the tailights! The first examples were actually smaller than the post '64
> models and the body panels do not exchange but look quite similar! The
> earlier cars used 13" wheels and had wheel arches designed with that
> proportion.
>
> The engine used was a twin Hitatchi/SU carb version of the 1200 sedan mill
> that was built under licence to BMC. This all started in 1954 when Nissan
> started building Austin Sommersets under license with the 1200cc mill
> de-bored to 1000cc because of Japan's tax laws.
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