U20 Engine History

[Ralph]

The engine number in my car is 12348. It has another number on the head near the temperature sensor … AD2540.
Can anyone let me know more about what year the engine, is based on either number, or anything else that might be important to know?
More out of curiosity since the rest of the car (except the tranny) is 1968, 1600

[jhayden]

Looks to be a late '69 U20 based on Dann's table (scroll down to "Engine Numbers"):

http://www.datsunroadster.com/INFO_PAGES/what_year.htm

If in error, don't blame me -- it's the fault of the Guinness.

Jon

[Ralph]

Thanks Jon. That helps…. And adds another layer of mystery.
The “spare” 1600 engine that came with the car is numbered 58849…so is nowhere close to the frame….
Not a big deal
I’m sure there is a thread on the site saying that there is not really such a thing as”number s matching “ on our cars

[theunz]

If the number on your engine doesn’t match the number on the identification plate then it’s not number matching. Now, at this time numbers matching doesn’t mean much for our cars, but who knows what the future holds. With the amount of money some are spending on restorations numbers matching may come more into play. Of course with reproduction identification plates readily available and no known record keeping by Nissan it’s kind of a moot point!

[Ralph]

Thanks Mike. The car doesn’t have an ID plate…just the frame. I imagine there’s probably no way to find out what number engine originally came with the frame.

[spl310]

Unless you find the ID plate, probably not. If you look through the registry, you can get close

[sports imports]

R58849 is likely the original engine to your SPL311, 1968. 67.5 1600 started at R40,000. I will check my stack of ID tags to confirm but my bet is that’s the original engine to your car. Engine and chassis numbers are never the same.

Ross

[Ralph]

Thanks, Ross