Say what you want about Wynnes motor honey,all the cool kids claim this is the real 'rebuild in a can'
Back in the 1970's, a co-worker bought a brand new Chevy 454 crate motor. Dis***embled it and had all the rotating parts precision balanced. After re***embly, he tried the Bon Ami trick... All his wife had in the kitchen was Ajax cleaning powder. NOT the same abrasive as Bon Ami. This engine got torn down <again> and got a 0.030 bore.
My engine of choice is currently the 472/500 Cadillac. I'm finding that many/most/all parts to make the engine perform are a lot more expensive than Chevy parts. Duh! I have two of them and am thinking about buying a couple more while they are reasonably cheap and available. I want to build a 32 Ford and want the look of a Cadillac under the hood because I have had 2 Cad powered cars in the past. I also don't want to be like the Hemi guys and have to build a 331 instead of a 392 because their just ain't enough of em anymore. Once everything in the car is set up for the Cad, I don't want to ever have to change it,and I may also put one in a 49 Chevy truck I'm working on. So the logic to me is to stash a few of em away. Thats why I was thinking that eventually I might be able to reuse the pistons on a fresh build. Seems like a lot of other guys have done similar things and it has worked out OK for them.
I have never understood this point of view. A hemi is a hemi and stands on it's own because of it's appearance. If your worried about getting that last bit of power, get an LS crate motor. But nobody wants to do that. I will admit to having two 331's and I also wish they were 392,'s but only because parts are more easily available and cheaper.
Back in the day when I first got married and didn't have a pot to piss in I had a '50 Dodge that one piston was slapping. Took the head and pan off, pulled the piston, brought it to a bone yard and found a match laying in the dirt. Brought it home, cleaned it with gas and brush. Installed it and ran great. After two years later I sold it.
I also don't want to be like the Hemi guys and have to build a 331 instead of a 392 because there just ain't enough of em anymore. Well, thats exactly my point. Yep, they look good.............but any rodder will know which cars can back up their looks and which ones are just for looks. I sure don't want to ever get outrun by a soccer mom in a hybred.
The standard size piston rings are too heavy for high rpm use on an old $200 motor, they flutter and lose their sealing ability. Your average low dollar short block will need rings and bearings after about an hour of 6500 rpm usage. Maybe a full season on a claimer series dirt track, or a few seasons on a bracket racing or mud racing truck. Anything thrown together with even the slightest care will run for years in a Street car.
When I was racing, a small garage was a luxury to just to store tools and parts... the car sat outside under a tarp. I welded outside, could maybe nose the car into the garage if it was raining. I ran a claimer cl*** and used junk motors were the way to go, just keep moving those go-fast parts to the next engine. It was rare to tear down a short block.
Unfortunately, I don't share this opinion. You walk up to a well-built hot rod at a show with a hemi does it really make any difference if it's 331 or a 392? I think not.
Probably does to the guy with the 392. But hey, Chevy guys with 396's instead of 427's have been using this same excuse for years....
Its kinda the same thing as admiring Linda Vaughn at one of the shows and then finding out later on that your ***** date stuffed her bra with socks...............appearances can be deceiving but when its showtime it makes a difference. All I'm trying to say is that to me, how something performs is more important than how it looks......"within reason". Have you ever taken your car to a drag strip just to see what it can do ?
It's a circle track car without a clutch. A friend with a radar gun did get me at 108 mph on the front straight at Arlington, MN Speedway (1/2 mile) about 10 years ago, though.
Speaking of used pistons,,,,,,, There used to be a guy on here that reused them many times . He runs a Hemi in an old Hot Rod,,,,can’t remember what ch***is or engine size,,,,,but seems it was a Chrysler 354 maybe ? Anyway,,,it was his daily driver,,,,,he put many , many miles on it a year . As the block wore,,,he would bore next oversize and save the old pistons,,,,,Mark them and box them up . When he ran out of room to bore,,,he would replace the block and use his old pistons again. I think this has been about ten years since I read the thread,,,,,but he was a popular guy here at the time . This made sense to me,,,,,he was driving like a 100 miles a day seems like . Does anyone here remember this guy,,,,or are you this guy ? I hope he is still around . Tommy
I have heard knurling not only helps with tightening skirt clearance, but also helps with oil retention that minimizes subsequent wear. Obviously knurling is a crutch. But it has worked for many lower budget ring and bearing rebuilds. I don't hear about it much anymore. Sent from dumb operator on a smart phone
I run used pistons, on every single vehicle that I own, every time I start the vehicle. Haven't had a piston failure yet.
Another alternative to knurling old pistons to fix excessive skirt clearance is the modern sacrificial abradable coatings used on many new pistons. Line2Line is the company I know of that does it, they can build up from .0007" to .020" on pistons with their APC(Abradable Powder Coating) service, at about $33 per piston they had better be something special or unreplaceable to make it cost effective.
Yes, if someone went that route they could save the cost of boring and rehoning many old engines. Just hone and have the original pistons coated to fit. Many old engines don't really have a lot of miles on them, they just sat for a long time. I think the beauty of doing that is that it still gives someone the option of still being able to bore a cl***ic engine in the future.
Reusing used pistons..... Mmmmmnn. This must be different than simply using used pistons. Does this mean using used, used pistons or reusing reused pistons?
Just re-used the pistons in the motor I put together last Wednesday...well, all except for one that had ended up with a crack in the bottom ring land and tried to drop a skirt. Still not sure what caused it other than a possible flaw in the forging or something. Anyway, as mentioned for street use, I have never worried much about replacing pistons unless a motor needed bored because it had too much wear to run the pistons as far as clearance. And, the piston in question that I mentioned only had around 40k miles on it and was a TRW forged. The motor always had a slight noise in it that sounded like valve train. Glad I finally pulled it apart to find the noise before it grenaded.... Oh, and aren't all pistons used as soon as you run them a few minutes?
No,no,no........Its simply "reusing used pistons". Its like the difference between flamable and inflamable. Clarification: Reusing reused pistons is only correct if they are being used a 3rd time.
Just like that fancy new car coming out next year; you can PRE-ORDER it today. Isn't that the same as just ORDERING it?
I once asked a person in charge of an event "How does pre-registration differ from good ole' regular registration?" "Pre-planning" is another good 'un, or even "planning for the future." The H.A.M.B. is good for our vocabulary and writin' (and cipherin' too) I guess!
On a sincerely serious note, which is the opposite of a insincere satirical memo..... By experience... Factory Small Block Ford cast pistons should always be replaced when doing a overhaul. Some piston designs are better than others but the cast SBF pistons ain't it. #1 and #5 are prone to cracking and breaking off skirts.
We had a great engine builder who worked in a local parts store. He would check and resize rods, do the standard bore and hone, even did some cylinder heads. My brother had a 327 in the shop, when he got it back, the pistons looked like new. The skirts were knurled with the Perfect Circle logo.
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