Guys, my machinist is currently setting up to machine my 8BA. I scored some (Badger?)3 5/16", 4 ring pistons from Reds. But there lies the problem....my machinist reckons they weigh around 600 gms. That sounds real heavy to me for a Flathead piston....how would that compare to other 3 5/16" pistons? i know this questons been addressed before, but for a hot street engine, are 3 or four ring slugs better ? This mill's gonna be mildly blown later on as well so please consider that in your responses.... Anyone used these pistons and if so, how were they longevity/reliability wise ? Any info would be great.... Thanx....Rat
big thing is balancing the motor ,aint no waste weight on the flathead rods,so you would be mixing and matching to get a nice balancable set,as far as blowers go engines are you cant run high compression pop up pistons for yours with a blower ,ust make sure you are building the engine for what you are doing with it and dont hope it works for cruising cam should be stock, you dont want any overlap in a blown motor ,i wopuld do more searching in the web and read some flathead sites give your self a real education
Been there done that - im just askin' about the weight of these slugs. The combo has been worked out fine - compression, cam,gearing etc....Ive done the homework. All I want is to hear from people who have run these slugs...thats all. So, has anyone run them before....? Rat
Hi Rat! I have a set of .080 over 4 ring Badgers that will go in my 8BA when I get to the engine building part of my AV8. I was told by an extremely well-versed-in-flatheads veteran automotive machinist friend that Badgers are not the finest but by no means the worst and that he had used them from time to time over the years with nothing bad to say about them. Mine have no "T" or other type of expansion slots in them and therefore will require about .003 clearance when they are fit to the bores. Hope this helps! Regards, Dave.
If you don't already have it, I highly recommend getting the book, Blown Flathead by Joe Abbin. I'm not the person to recommend pistons, but you might try emailing Joe directly - tell him Ernie sent ya. You'll find his email on this website: Blown Flathead
Thatx Dave....this is what im hearing...its just that i got these from a reputable supplier in the US...he knew my application, and still recommended these. So if i was looking at somethin else....(other than forged) what would it be? Rat
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