What do you think of TRW pistons?

I found a guy whos got some TRW pistons without rings for my 351 C. I've never heard of them nor know anything about pistons really so if you could give me some input i'd appreciate it. BTW they're 49 bucks

 

TRW was one of the premier names in replacement and performance parts. If you can buy TRW pistons for that price, jump on it.

 

I think they have fallen from grace, over the years a bit, but...then again: $49.00...

 

I used them for two seasons in a limited sprint car without any problems.

 

They weigh about a gazzilion grams,but they're plenty tough.

 

I've used their flat top forged pistons in four different cars. Never had any problems. They are (or were) generally a step up from stock pistons. They can handle more horsepower or abuse than stock pistons.

Are they flat tops? Pop ups? Recessed head? The flat tops might give you a bump in compression if your old pistons had recessed heads. Have a shop with a good micrometer measure them for you if you're not sure on the bore size.

 

What he said...theyve been the standby for years , till the compe***on upped the ante a tad.

Still for the price , and depending on the intended purpose of your mill, theyre cheap as.

Grab em.

Rat

 

Good pistons are that much each.


Check the width of the ring grooves,
street rings are wider that race rings.

Double check the diameter of the wrist pins.
Ford uses .912" IIRC.
Chevy is .927".

If you can get the TRW #,you should be able to
research them online somewhere.

 

First figure out what pistons you need. If they're the wrong compression for your heads, or they're cast and you need forged, then free is too much. But if you can use em, that's a great price.

 

not nearly enough info to know if they are what you need for your particular engine.

Chevy put TRW forged pistons in all their high perf engines in the muscle car era. They're almost traditional.

and generally they cost $49 each these days (Speed Pro sells them now)

 

I have used them in SBC's with nos and had no problems.

 

I've got a 1978 vintage TRW engine parts catalog right here handy. If you can come up with the number off the top of the slug, I can tell you what they were made for.

Roger

 

If they're 2211's I want 'em!
I had a set of 301 chevy pop-ups that were 12 to one....had my machinist mill off about 1/4 inch from the domes [they're solid!] to give me 10 to one and lighten 'em up a bit....Balanced them and they worked wonderfully....great product but as already mentioned...they're heavy

 

Right on guys thanks for the input i emailed the dude to see if he can get me some specs or a part number. Im not really looking to build a high performance motor just something to get me around for as little cash as possible.

Well the guy wrote back saying the part # is L2379

 

more info about them here

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=TRW%2DL2379F

Pay attention to your head chamber volume and compression ratio. Also it's a good idea to get the engine balanced if you are switching from cast to forged pistons.

 

like these others have said, i've used trw parts many times and never been an issue

 

High quality "performance" piston. Today's lightweight pistons are intended for racing applications and you end up having to remove a lot of weight from the crankshaft counterweights. The TRW's will probably balance up pretty good with the stock crank and be great for performance street use.

 

I'm running flattop forged TRW's in my Y block now, good to 6000 rpm so far

 

For $49 or whatever it is I read I'd buy 'em anyway.
They make nice ashtrays if nothin' else.

 

Those are stock bore?

That's why they're cheap. Very, very little demand for stock bore performance pistons on an engine that hasn't been produced for 20 years. Generally speaking, performance builds require boring for proper piston-to-wall fit.

There's 2 kinds of performance engines. Those that have been bored, and those that are about to be bored.

 

Or you can overbore a smaller block to the next standard size bigger (example: punching a 396 chevy out to 427), but that won't work on them Ford small blocks that are all 4" bore

 

It has been my finding that fords don't need bored as often as chevrolets. With a forged piston you usually need more clearance than you probably now have. A balance job is probably in order as trw pistons are usually much heavier than stock. That and a quality hone job should put you in business. If you have the know how you can lighten the trws up to stock piston weight and get by.

 

TRW was based in good ole Cleveland Ohio, Still pop out blanks here and sell them to some of the top named piston manufacturers. You'd be suprised who uses TRW Blanks and then finishes them and slaps their name on them.

 

I have run them several times.