Will a w53 head work on L16 motor?

[allen dodson]

Hi. Have a good complete w53 head with exhaust manifold. I was wondering if this head will be any good on my L16?

[banzai510(hainz)]

Yes I have one on my L16

 

any L series 4 cly head will work . Just some are better than others and the exhaust manifold has to match the head.

[allen dodson]

Hi. Thank you. So should I have the head shaved? Yes i have the matching exhaust manifold for the larger square ports. This head is a peanut head but putting this head on my L16 will it lower the compression? Thank you guys.

[banzai510(hainz)]

in theroy yes. the stock L16 head is a 38cc and the later W53 are 40/41cc

 

But they have the bigger intake valves and exhaust valves(not all) and have bigger intake ports 1.25 while the stock L16 210 cast head is 1.125 intake.

 

PS I have seen late modle L16 crate motors with W53 heads.

 

shave if you really need to,a minimum amount.

If it was good on another motor,who cares bolt it ON.

[datzenmike]

Milling 1mm off a P-nut will remove about 5cm to 7cc of volume. Before any milling, cc the chambers. It might have been milled already.

[Nismo4eva]

i tried that years ago and it did not go well. Lucky for me the only thing that got pounded were the lash pads.

[datzenmike]

Milling the head will only retard the cam slightly, if at all. Shouldn't affect valve train geometry at all.

[zed]

Datzenmike, a newbie question: if milling the head only retards the cam slightly - why do engine builders go to the trouble of shimming the cam towers after a skim? And Honsowetz book warns that the cam chain tensioner needs to be extended after milling the head...

[banzai510(hainz)]

milling ..010 isnt a big deal

I would if going over .015 maybe start looking at getting shims. I got GOODSON headsaver shims. I dont know if still around. lat time I cked they were NLA

 

I had my head shaved .015 on bottom and .015 on top so total of .030 and I stacked 2 .015 shims on top of each other.

 

L20 motors cams were advanced on #2 timming setting Stock.

 

advanceing the sprocket makes up for a stretched or slacken chain just up 1 # on the sproket if you think its a big deal.

as for the tensioner I take out all the slack by adjusting the slack side guide so the tesioner shoe back side is up against the housing.

 

nismoforeva, I dont know why the lash pads would get pounded was a differerntt cam installed and the lash pads were the wrong size?

[LenRobertson]

Was there a peanut version U67, or were they all open chamber? I saw one yesterday at a wreckers. Even if it is open chamber, isn't the U67 considered one of the better series heads, as far as valve and port size?

 

Len

[datsunfish]

No peanut u67 but there was a peanut w58.How would a peanut w53 lower the compression?It has to be less than an open chambered 210 head.

[datsunaholic]

An open chamber 210 has less volume than a closed chamber anything else:

 

Open Head vol 45.3cc (U60, U67, N56, A87 Open, W53 Open, W58 open)

Closed head vol 41cc (219, A87 Closed, W53 Closed, W58 Closed)

210 open vol 38.5cc

210 peanut 37cc

 

These numbers are from the Honzowitz (sp?) book, which I don't put too much faith in as his stuff was very Z-car oriented, but folks seem to believe those numbers. Those numbers were also for stock zero-time, non-remilled heads with original valves.

 

Remember that the 210 and 219 heads were the only ones specifically designed for the L16 (the 210 was actually designed for the L13 and the 219 for the L14) but all 3 (L13, L14, L16) had 83mm bores. Compression was set with the piston crown (L13 and L14 came with flattops and the L16 with small dish except true SSS L16s which had flattops), The later heads (the "letter" heads) were all designed for the 85mm bore of the L18 and L20B.

[LenRobertson]

Any way to tell if a head is close chambered while it is still on the block? I saw four A87s at U-pulls yesterday. I didn't realize any could be close chambered.

 

Len

[datsunaholic]

Any way to tell if a head is close chambered while it is still on the block? I saw four A87s at U-pulls yesterday. I didn't realize any could be close chambered.

 

Len

 

Yeah- need a colonoscopy probe though...

 

Actually one fairly safe bet is if the A87 is on an L18 AND the car/truck shouldn't have an L18 in it then the engine might be a JDM L18 which all had closed heads. With so many parts swapped cars it's hard to find anything that's truly "original". A87s were only stock in the US on '73-74 L16s (MAYBE in '72 as well) and '73-74 L18s, but were open chamber. But those are relatively rare (my Mom's '73 620 has one, it's the only ones I've verified is an A87 open though others have said they had 'em).

[datsunfish]

Thanks Doug.Good info.I need to read up on my Hansowetz manual here.

I have an open a87 that came bolted to a rebuilt l16 from who knows where. It was in the back of a 76 620 a friend bought. I also have a peanut a87 that came on the l18 in my 72 620 which I have assumed to be a jdm replacement since the 72 came with a l16.

I also have a w58 peanut that was in a 80 720 l20b. And a open w58 that was bolted to a stovepipe 76 l20b. So yeah,you never know where it came from but everything is out there somewhere.

[datzenmike]

Datzenmike, a newbie question: if milling the head only retards the cam slightly - why do engine builders go to the trouble of shimming the cam towers after a skim? And Honsowetz book warns that the cam chain tensioner needs to be extended after milling the head...

 

I don't know, maybe because they are after every scrap of advantage for racing. Shimming the towers would change the wipe pattern necessitating changing the lash pad thickness too.

 

I did some measuring on a cam sprocket and chain I have. Each cam sprocket has 40 teeth so that works out to 9 degrees of cam turning for each tooth. Each chain link is 9.5mm apart so the teeth at the chain are 9.5mm apart OR 9 degrees equals 9.5mm at the sprocket.

 

Now, if I were to shave 1mm off one of my heads (0.040" an insane amount but just for an example!) and because the chain is a loop and the head is now sitting 1mm lower there would be two 1mm lengths of extra chain. So now there are 2 mm of extra 'slack', and remember that each tooth is 9.5mm and only 9 degrees apart, this 2 mm of additional 'slack' is really not even 1/5 of a tooth, not quite 1.9 degrees of cam timing.

 

When you move your cam to the next timing hole on the sprocket, (presumably to remove chain stretch) this represents 4 degrees of a advance or about half a tooth. Milling 1 mm from the head is less than half of this. And that was for 1mm, most shave far less so the change would be less.

 

A race car might notice a degree or two but I doubt you or I would, besides, if you already have a worn or old chain another degree might put it into the next cam advance hole on the sprocket and be adjusted out anyway.

[zed]

great info - thanks