MGB Nissan Engine/Head Equivalent ??? Datsun B-Series?

[dklawson]

I have a friend who is running an Austin Marina in Lemons racing. His car runs an MGB engine and gearbox. While taking engine parts to the shop this week the machinist showed him something that surprised him.

The machinist had a cylinder head from a Nissan forklift. There are some differences with the rocker arm oil feed and heater valve takeoff but the heads are surprisingly similar. The machine shop has had the head just lying around from a customer who left it years ago. My friend is curious about whether this head would fit the B engine he is working on.

He put some pictures in his PhotoBucket account. Please take a look at them using the forward and back buttons on the page that opens via the link below.
https://s1270.photobucket.com/user/...pg.html?&_suid=139179378372805847910819276496

I know that BMC shared A-series engine technology with Datsun/Nissan during the late 1950 and that the Japanese developed their own version of the A-series but I have not heard of them doing anything similar with the B-series. Is there any history to suggest that the Japanese got the technology from BMC for the MGA engine or later MGB?

Thanks for looking and sharing your comments.

Doug L.

 

[Marvin Gruber]

They can be make to interchange. A friend of mine put a 1800 B head on his Datsun pickup truck engine many years ago and drove the truck for years. Seems like the truck had a 1600 engine. I think I remember him saying it would ping some if he got on it hard.

Marv

 

[Billm]

The heads that fit are from the "E" and "J" series engines (mid '70's mostly)
They both just bolt right on but you need to port them and put in bigger valves to get good performance.
I have put them on MGB's many times.
The nice thing is that they were made with good metal using the PROPER casting/cooling processes so they will almost never crack which is more than you can say for the BMC versions!
BillM

 

[dklawson]

Thank you very much for the information I will let my friend know what may be involved if he decides to pursue this Nissan head.

 

[hihara]

私の1967年式MGB GTは日産のヘッドを装着しています。バルブはまだ小さいですが、問題なく動作します。ただし、キャブレタージェットの位置が高すぎます。

 

[hihara]

My 1967 MGB GT has Nissan heads. The valves are still small, but it runs fine. However, the carb jet is positioned too high.

 

[Jerry]

Not MGB but the 240 Z engine is an almost copy of the Austin Healey 3000. Actually, it is better, higher HP. Motor mounts are the same also.

 

[YakkoWarner]

Learn something new every day! How common these days are E or J series Nissan heads to find? I have had cracked heads on MGB's before and sourcing replacements wasn't fun - knowing in a pinch that a Nissan head could work is a good back-pocket trick if those heads are more readily available. Do the Nissan heads use metric fastners and threads or are they SAE like the actual MGB head?