New Pistons Question

Flathead

Flathead

Well-known member
I have seen a lot posts about trouble with new pistons. Some people suggest there are foreign pistons to avoid. I don't want to start a discussion about "off-shore" parts but I would like to know what pistons I might be able to trust for the motor I am building. I have a set I recently bought from a respected Model A supplier, they are imported but look fine, weights are OK, diameters are consistent. Should I be worried? I just don't want problems down the road.
 
Hi Flat,

On any vehicle Forum, there always appears to be a lot of differences between one (1) or two (2) user's occasional experience with one particular part such as new pistons, and that of one's experience with selling many, many thousands of parts such as new pistons.

Customers of Model A Parts Suppliers often both praise and complain.

After 20 years of asking what I thought were highly technical questions about quality parts, there were two (2) persons who have been "right-on" 100% of the time.

One was Mr. "Rainmaker Ron" who sold his parts business.

The other was Mr. Walt Bratton, both of whom were "extremely" sensitive to customer satisfaction and providing only the very best.

If you call your parts supplier owner/manager, you may feel far more comfortable.

Hope this helps.



Have no doubt there are others who are equal, but this is just one (1) experience.
 
Most piston problems are caused by too-little clearance. Ford said a maximum of .002" but this is not enough for modern times. I bore to .003" and then hone another .0005" and have had no problems. I use more than that on high performance engines.
 
Tom endy posted in a thread about piston ring drag (last post date 7-11) few days ago about Taiwan manufactured pistons being supplied instead of silvolite pistons. Apparently him and a couple of others have suffered piston failure after approx 1000 miles. Piston #4 looks like it's being dissolved by heat, the others arnt far behind.
Look up the post, it's on page 3 at the mo.
Sorry don't know how to link a thread.
I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with the findings, just put it up here as I'd seen it and thought it relevant.
Martin.
 
I fitted EGGE pistons to .0045 clearance this past February, 1800 miles later no problems or complaints. No slap, no issues at all. Fast order fill and decent price FWIW
 
We have used Snyders pistons, which are foreign made, in 190 engines, with no piston problems. You have to have the correct clearance , and if you do they work fine.

Steve @ Bert's in Denver, CO
 
Thank you all very much. This is just the kind of information I wanted. I have a set of Snyder's pistons that I will use with carefully set clearances and not worry about it. Thanks again to those who replied to this.
 
SteveB31 said:
We have used Snyders pistons, which are foreign made, in 190 engines, with no piston problems. You have to have the correct clearance , and if you do they work fine.

Steve @ Bert's in Denver, CO
Click to expand...

There have been several references to correct clearance, but no definitive numbers.

I have always used 0.001 inch per inch of diameter plus 0.001 inch on pistons, bearings and all related items.

Hope this helps.
 
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If you were in Australia, I would highly recommend JP Pistons in South Australia. They will even do custom one off sizes with matching rings and pins.
 
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