Hi Pete,
I have three engines one with a bolt on and 2 with the thread from behind, the engine with the nut is about a 76, while the other engine with the thread from the rear is an SD1, but not sure on the year, I also have a 1990 with a rear thread
If I had to guess I would say the engine was older if it has a nut on the front, might be worth looking at your spark plugs as the older engines had a shorter plug I think, with about 15mm of thread and about 20mm on the newer models.
Someone will be along to put you right.