Bugeye Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 which head would be a better head to put on my l20, right now it has the w53 head, but I have an a87 I pulled off of my parts rig l16 before I sent it to the crusher, im asking because I am getting ready to rebuild my engine and I want the better of the 2 heads (keeping in mind I still have to smog) Edit, Im a dumb ass, I have the w58 head currently on the truck..put there are now pics of the a87 below Quote Link to comment
zerow Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 Both heads are good ones. Is the A87 open or closed? That would probably be one major deciding factor. I have the nasty ass W58 on my L20B, I have a W53 ready to be rebuilt. IMO, the W53 is a bit rarer than the A87, but on that note, the A87 is more widely recognized. There will be no dispute at a show when someone sees the W53 casting mark, you definitely have a closed chambered head. Quote Link to comment
Bugeye Posted July 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 I was looking at the a87 looks to be open chamber but im not sure, im gonna snap some pics of it, when it comes to cylinder heads i cant tell the diff from open or closed. looking at the picture of the closed chamber head at http://olddat.com/html/tech/head_ID_2.htm, it looks like that.....what to do what to do Quote Link to comment
Bugeye Posted July 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 correction, I have the crappy w58 head on my l20,guess my mind saw what I wanted it to see, but here are the pics of the a87 and the crappy w58 thats on the truck Quote Link to comment
Bugeye Posted July 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 it looks to be a closed chamber from the different photos I have seen, 2 of the chambers have what appears to be a hot spot near the spark plug (#1 and #4) #2 and #3 look like the pic from the620resource.com.....Im an so confused....I hate trying to figure out head work...will this head be a good replacement for my w58, I kept the exhaust manifold from the a87 since i know the w58 is a round port exhaust (see I am doing my homework...somewhat) thanks guys Quote Link to comment
zerow Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 it looks to be a closed chamber from the different photos I have seen, 2 of the chambers have what appears to be a hot spot near the spark plug (#1 and #4) #2 and #3 look like the pic from the620resource.com.....Im an so confused....I hate trying to figure out head work...will this head be a good replacement for my w58, I kept the exhaust manifold from the a87 since i know the w58 is a round port exhaust (see I am doing my homework...somewhat)thanks guys The W58 (which I had to do a quadruple take, my mind saw what it wanted to see, too) is the US market smog head. Not real good for performance, but with you having to still smog your truck, might be good at smog time. It has steel liners in the exhaust ports to burn off extra emissions. But, the A87 is available, is closed chamber (see the kidney shape, tell tale indicator), and is much better for performance. Go A87! Quote Link to comment
Cuts metal like mad Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 looks to me like a semi closed chamber head... :D See the recessed circle around the "kidney" shape? the "peanut" heads are flat up to the "kidney" shape. Its still good, and you can actually have that recessed circle area welded up so its a full peanut head... I wouldnt worry about emissions TOO much cause you can always throw on a cat and detune the carb at emissions time... Quote Link to comment
datsunaholic Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 Of course, the W58 has larger intake ports and valves, and the A87 will require a different exhaust manifold... Quote Link to comment
Burabuda Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 the w58 is an l20b head guys like to use them on bigger displacement (aka stroker) l-series the w58 doesn't boost up the compression like the a87 but the a87 should be fine on an l20b Quote Link to comment
Bugeye Posted July 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 Of course, the W58 has larger intake ports and valves, and the A87 will require a different exhaust manifold... I understand this, that is why I kept the exhaust manifold from the a87 looks to me like a semi closed chamber head... :D See the recessed circle around the "kidney" shape? the "peanut" heads are flat up to the "kidney" shape. Its still good, and you can actually have that recessed circle area welded up so its a full peanut head... I wouldnt worry about emissions TOO much cause you can always throw on a cat and detune the carb at emissions time... only the number 1 and number 4 cylinders have that recessed circle, it looks as if the spark plug got to hot on them...as for emissions, the truck is still running the stock carb (looking for weber and the adaptor to use the stock air cleaner) and it has a brand new cat on it.... on to cam choices, should I run an L20 cam and rockers in it, or is there something else that you guys would recommend? Quote Link to comment
Cuts metal like mad Posted July 15, 2008 Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 only the number 1 and number 4 cylinders have that recessed circle, it looks as if the spark plug got to hot on them...as for emissions, the truck is still running the stock carb (looking for weber and the adaptor to use the stock air cleaner) and it has a brand new cat on it.... on to cam choices, should I run an L20 cam and rockers in it, or is there something else that you guys would recommend? I think I know what your saying... :D whoops... I was refering to the large circle AROUND the "kidney" shape ;) Or is it just the lighting and the soot making an illusion? clean it up a bit and take some more pics... Quote Link to comment
Bugeye Posted July 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2008 clean it up a bit and take some more pics... after almost 2 hours in the parts washer..... Quote Link to comment
zerow Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 after almost 2 hours in the parts washer..... Peanut chamber head, to be sure. Looks nice. What are you looking for in a cam? I have a good reference: http://www.webcamshafts.com/pages/automobile/datsun/datsun_l_series_(69-80)_sohc_8v.html This company not only provided new camshafts, but they also nitride them as well, for durability. Of course, you could get the reground cam, for a lower price. Quote Link to comment
Bugeye Posted July 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 What are you looking for in a cam? I have no idea, something to give the truck a little more pep, but still smog legal, im also going to need 2 new cam towers, the first and last one have score marks Quote Link to comment
zerow Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 I have no idea, something to give the truck a little more pep, but still smog legal, im also going to need 2 new cam towers, the first and last one have score marks Go with the 94a grind. It's supposed to be the same grind offered by Iskendarian Cams (read: Isky) from the '70s and '80s. Quote Link to comment
Bugeye Posted July 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Ok, thats what I was thinking of going with, you have any idea where I can get a set of new rockers, valves/springs, and lash caps, and cam towers? Quote Link to comment
Cuts metal like mad Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 MUCH better, looks great! Agreed, definately a peanut head you got there... measure the exhaust valves to see if you got the 1.30 or 1.38 valves... you can keep the smal intake ports for more torque or hog them out for better flow and more HP. If you need new cam towers, the "right" way to do it is have the tower line bored so they are nice and straight... cam towers can come from just about any L-series head I believe... as far as rockers, valves, spring etc... depends on what you want, ebay... or nissan... Quote Link to comment
Bugeye Posted July 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 MUCH better, looks great! Agreed, definately a peanut head you got there... measure the exhaust valves to see if you got the 1.30 or 1.38 valves... you can keep the smal intake ports for more torque or hog them out for better flow and more HP. If you need new cam towers, the "right" way to do it is have the tower line bored so they are nice and straight... cam towers can come from just about any L-series head I believe... as far as rockers, valves, spring etc... depends on what you want, ebay... or nissan... how would that work if there is no bearings in there, the cam just rides in the tower with oil between them?:blink: Im confused:blink: but then again, I just build bottom ends, this is the first top end I am going to build Quote Link to comment
Cuts metal like mad Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 well I think Hainz said that he just slaps them in and lets the cam "wear in" but the head being made of aluminum, tend to change shape ever so slightly, the towers bolt in... so a change in towers would change the alignment, make sense? If your using ALL brand new towers (do they even make them?) then this would not be "as much" of and issue. Others may disagree... some may agree... you may be able to get lucky enough that the "new/used" towers line up enough that it wont hurt anything Quote Link to comment
Bugeye Posted July 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 let me rephrase that, new to me towers..:lol: but I get what your saying Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 looks to me like a semi closed chamber head... :D See the recessed circle around the "kidney" shape? the "peanut" heads are flat up to the "kidney" shape. Its still good, and you can actually have that recessed circle area welded up so its a full peanut head... I wouldnt worry about emissions TOO much cause you can always throw on a cat and detune the carb at emissions time... Here's my W-58 from my '78 when it up and decided to blow the gasket. Definitely semi open. It had the p-nut shape and looked like the top had been milled out to the gasket ring. Did not look cast but had tool marks on it. http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/datzenmike/motorW-58openL20B78620.jpg[/img]"] Quote Link to comment
Bugeye Posted July 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 Now I can see the diff, thanks mike Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 I wire wheeled most of the marks off, but just above the #3 exhaust you can still see a small line in the shape of an arc. Quote Link to comment
Cuts metal like mad Posted July 16, 2008 Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 looks like that w58 of mikes has the same "indentations" that you a87 has in 1 and 4... :D Quote Link to comment
Bugeye Posted July 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2008 look at the marks at the top of the "peanut", it has been cut with a tool, mine still has the "peanut" shape to it, uncut Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.