need used 308 piston

hoggyrubber

#5 piston I pulled today has a piece broke off the end of the upper compression ring and it wedged in the ring land ad spread it out about0.040" for a strip about 1/2" long right next to the pin. since this is the end of the ring it will I figured be the most sensitive area for this kind of slop. I thought the upward motion might make the new ring break. what do you guys think?

the ring land is about 0.112" wide and it wollered it out to .155" at the widest point. the whole spread part id only 1/2" long. does anyone have a used piston they can part with? if so let me know how much. thanks, stacy k

TwinH

I've got a "new" set of standard 308 pistons and pins from an "old" Hudson crate motor. The crate motor had been stored badly over the years and took a .020" overbore to clean the cylinders up. These are new never run Hudson pistons,pins,and rings as removed from the crate motor. Some of the rings are stuck in the ring lands and I never removed them. $80 plus shipping if your interested I'll take a closer look at how many stuck rings there are.  Worn out ring lands were the kiss of death for my old 308. The old Jahns pistons had broken top rings on 4 of the six yet held good compression and leakdown #'s. When the second ring on #5 let go on a roadtrip it let combustion into the crankcase and turned it into a mosquito fogger out the oil fill breather and road draft tube.

hoggyrubber

doesn't sound like a bad deal for what you got. if I don't hear from anyone else, in a few days, I will get your set. I hate to buy more than what I need. do the rings look usable? I have had to polish a little surface rust off the "new" set of rings I got for this engine so I'm not too picky. thanks again for the help. stacy k

Browniepetersen

If you are going to go to the effort of breaking the engine down and do some machining to clean up the block why would you not purchase new aluminum pistons and install slotted racing rings? What am I missing here?

TwinH

Brownie,not sure if your comment was for me or Stacy. I pulled these out today and 3 of them are plug and play, no corrosion, wear, etc.,rings are free and new. Of the other 3, one has just the top ring stuck and the other two have both compression ring stuck in the lands and one is missing the top oil ring as it was broken when it came out. I think even the stuck rings are very usable with some soaking and careful work to unstick them. The pistons with stuck rings all have minor corrosion above the top ring land and tops but nothing that would disqualify them from being serviceable. All 6 have the new pins and keepers matched to there original piston.

Here's # 5.  #'s 4,5,6 are in similar condition.




Here is #1 and 2 showing corrosion.

SuperDave

Keeping a matched set (By weight) is very important.

hoggyrubber

those look good Twin H, I will take them. how do you want to do payment ? paypal or check? my zip code is 65804 if you need it to figure shipping, or flat rate box might work. I can send you a message with my address.

I hear you guys about having a balanced spinning assembly. new pistons my be down the road for me in the future. thank you all for the help and suggestions. stacy k

Browniepetersen

I am not picking, but for me, once I have the engine apart I go nutz with the close tolerance machining with line bore, flatness and such. I get five new aluminum pistons and balance them before I install them. I have never liked the idea of "Pinned" rings. I know a lot of manufactures did them but I feel a lot more comfortable with the slotted racing rings. When I put the engine back I have the knowledge of knowing that it does not have a weak point and also know that it will outlast me or any car I put it in. Part of my goal of "no stress" driving out on the road..... Did I also mention that the time and labor in the machine shop is the best part??

Browniepetersen

I tried to "edit" the five pistons to six pistons and it will not work. I guess I will never catch on to this new computer program we have on out forum... Between forgetting to hit the Write comment button and such I have a rotten time posting.

hoggyrubber

totally agreed Mr Petersen. the pinned piston and rings are a bit of a hassle. I do get a kick out of using the original stuff if I can. this engine is just under the upper limit before needing a bore, I had the nos set of std rings, and i am unsure of the hydromatic tranny's working condition. this is a 55 twin h I have installed in my 27 Essex coupe. I have went all out on machinging and balancing the chevy inlines I have done in the past, so I know the value of what you say. never had a problem one with any of them. I hope to get this car on the road for less than $1000.