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MG MGB Technical - Datsun Cyl. Head ? Which one

I know there is a Datsun head that fits A - series engines , my buddy has one on his three main 1800 engine , it really gave him quite a bit of extra power , any one know what Datsun it is from ? .he has no idea , the head shop sold it to him after his original head cracked several years ago .

TIA ,

-Nate
Nate

Gee, a A series is a midget engine. A MGB engine is a B series. He has put a head from a 1500cc engine on a B block?
gerry masterman

Nate-
It's not commonly known that when Japan was rebuilding after World War II, Nissan built BMC Austin automobiles under license, complete with BMC engines, just to get the company up and running. That was ages ago. Any Datsun that old would be a collector's item. Finding a head for a Japanese BMC engine would be like a quest for the Holy Grail. Consider having your head reworked by a professional like Peter Burgess instead.
Steve S.

Check with fork-lift companies for the Nissan (Datsun) head; maybe you meant MGA rather than "A" series.
HTH, George
George B.

Might not be too quick to dismiss this- a couple guys' racing an MGB at the Portland historics last month told me they were running a datsun 1600 (the old roadster) cam as the oil pump/distributor drive on it had three (?) more teeth than the B, and was better able to take the loads they were seeing. I'm assuming there was also some change to the didtributor driven gear.

I have no information beyond this- no second source confirming, but, as I was not a competitior, why would they tell me this if not true?
Greg Fast

I can second the info provided by Greg. I too was at that race as a spectator and was talking to everybody with an MG. When I asked those guys what kind of cam they were running they told me it was something a little different...
Jared Snider

OOPS ! you are right , I meant the B series engine !.

I am planning on using Burgess or the guy in Oregon but I have several engnes I'm fiddling with , plus customers who just never want another cracked head and don't really care about speed & etc. .

I believe the head was from a Datsun 1600 Roadster but I'm told it came on other , more pedestrian models too and I have good junkyard supply here in L.A. but _only_ if I know what I'm looking for ! .

I am quite familiar with the under license cars Datsun started with , the old Blue Birds and such . - that's not the engine I'm after .
-Nate
Nate

Your best bet from my research is to check out the forklift lead. We can use their head gasket, many people do, and more than likely then, their head. Whether or not a 1600 roadster head will perform miracles, I don't know, but some publication like Grassroots Motorsports is more likely than most to have possibly run an article or blurb about such doings. Don't forget, there is a whole world of experience in performance available by joining SCCA as well as your local car club.
Bob Muenchausen

Not all Datsun heads are created equal. A friend of mine had one of these early heads (I believe the Datsun engine family was either an "E" series or "J" series). It was identical in size, and would interchange with an MGA 1500 head, but the port size was tiny (ports were about 1/2 the size of the MGA). It also had a tiny little Nikki downdraft carb and a horribly restrictive intake manifold. The only other discernable difference was that the Datsun valve cover was held on with 4 screws around the perimeter, instead of the two rocker studs familiar to MG.

I'll bet Datsun used the same general head on everything from Bluebird and Sunny sedans through the first mini-trucks, to the early Fairlady roadsters - but not all have the same port size.

A more interesting engine to play with would be the "U" series from the Datsun 2000 roadster - I believe this had a bottom end similar in configuration to the BMC B-series, but it used a single overhead cam. I have also heard that Datsun 2000 5-speed transmissions can be directly bolted into MGBs!

Cheers,
Paul Kile
Paul Kile

Using the 2000 5-speed was pretty common when they were too, but not so much anymore. The key to it all, as I recall was the bell housing configuration. There used to be books that mentioned that stuff years ago. Perhaps some rummaging through second hand book stores might yield something on both scores.

I would imagine that Paul K. is right about the size of the valves and restrictive ports. I sometimes think that there has been more info and knowledge about these cars lost than saved, and memory has a habit of playing tricks on all of us.
Bob Muenchausen

I've got a friend who races a Datsun 1600 roadster. Next time I see him I'll ask if he has a used spare head gasket and I'll compare them.

May be interesting- If the 2000 roadster bore spacing is right- you might end up with a SOHC aluminum head MGB. Hmmmmm....

Another friend in Protand runs a 510 May be time for a call up there, too
Greg Fast

Nate, I was recently talking with some Datsun gurus and they told me that the 1600 and 2000 Roadster engines were copied from the B series. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the head bolted up. That would be a cool swap, overhead cam and cross flow I think. That bolt up 5 speed doesn't sound too bad either.
Good luck with that.
Bill
Bill Mertz

This thread was discussed between 27/08/2002 and 30/08/2002

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