The Datsun 1200 came only the Nissan A12 engine, a nominally 1200 cc engine that matches its name (it is actually 1171 cc). This four-cylinder A12 engine is a superb little economy engine with good performance and legendary reliability.

Nissan A Engines: Overview | A10 | A12 | A12A | A13, old | A13, new | A14 | A15

Overview

See also: A12 engine for more details about A12 Engine

The Datsun 1200 came only the Nissan A12 engine, a nominally 1200 cc engine that matches its name (it is actually 1171 cc). The A12 debuted in 1970 in the first Datsun 1200, and is a redesign of the earlier A10 engine used in the Datsun 1000. It is a traditional type inline 4 cylinder, with overhead valve cylinder head. The A12 engine is a superb little economy engine with good performance and legendary reliability. The Datsun 1200 GX trim model came with a Twin Carburetor version of the A12, the A12GX Engine.

The A12 is a four-cylinder inline engineᵂ (a straight engine i.e. I4ᵂ or L4).

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Reihenmotor_Vier_Zylinder_1-2-4-3.gif/400px-Reihenmotor_Vier_Zylinder_1-2-4-3.gifWIKI go to Wikipedia

The advantage over a boxer (flat) four-cylinder (famously used by Porsche, Volkswagen and Subaru) is that the inline four has a single cylinder head, meaning it is simpler to maintain. And it has less vibrations (is better balancedᵂ) than the relatively uncommon V4ᵂ design used in motorcycles and in 1960s/1970s Ford/Volvos. While an inline four is not a perfectly balanced design, the small bore of a 1.2 liter class engine is pretty smooth (balance shaftsᵂ are often used with larger fours). Contributing to the A12 smoothness is that the Datsun engines are precision "balanced and blueprinted" at the factory — unlike the engines from many other manufacturers.

A12 Engine (single carburetor engine)

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