kelly bakies

66 442 E block 400, L2243 pistons TRW
Okay I just bought this car recently with a motor that has been rebuilt and run very little and think it sat for the last 20 years or better. I wanted to go through and check somethings before running it because it looked rough and intake gone. I am tearing it down and it has L2243 TRW pistons. Does anybody know how friendly these pistons will be on the street. What compression pistons are these. They are flat top pistons and .060 over. What other pistons could I go with, lower compression, that is out there and not cost a fortune.

Thanks for the help. Kelly

66-3X2 442

I would say those pistons are the discontinued correct 400 units. There's not a correct cast 400 piston you can buy off the shelf except from Egge Machine. They have repo cast pistons for the early 400 engines. If your pistons are flat tops,they are the correct CR for the 400 as the OEM pistons were flattops. You can buy 350 Olds forged pistons from Sealed Power but they are flattop too. The standard 350 Olds pistions are 4.057 size which is .057 over for a early 400. There's one option you can use if you can find them. The Badger P518 cast piston is the 68-70 4 barrel piston that has a 2" wide X .070 deep dish. I have these in my engine and I have a final CR of 9.6 so I can run pump gas. I called Badger a while back and they said they could supply the pistons,here's their link.
http://www.badgerpistons.com/

Run to Rund

Those pistons will work well on the street. Check the distance they are down from the deck. Combined with a Fel Pro .040" gasket and a valve job (which usually results in 77-78 cc combustion chambers), your compression will be significantly lower than the factory advertised 10.5 to 1.

kelly bakies

are you saying to run the badger pistons are the TRW pistons I have. Presently the heads on the motor are a set of A heads that are redone. I have a set of B heads that need a lot of work. i also have a set of C heads that I could bolt on, would they be better and maybe lower the compression or would they raise it. Is there a chance that the A heads are lowering the compression.
Kelly

66-3X2 442

You can run either piston but to get the CR for pump gas,the Badger piston will help get the CR down. I've run flat top pistons on pump gas with no problem. You just need to run the thick head gasket,do not cut the heads/block but the bare minimum with the flat top pistons to maximize the CR. The deal is,the factory 10.5-1 CR is based on the engine being dead on the minimum specs. Most engines are so far away from that you can get away with a less octane fuel. I'm not sure what the head CC #'s are for each head is but you will have to check them anyway. Your engine shop can check all of that for you. Be sure to check the piston to wall clearance,that may determine if you need new pistons or not. If you do need new pistons,you can use either the Badger P518 350 or the Sealed Power L2320F. The Badger is a cast piston and the Sealed Power is a forged piston. Again,you will have to determine what the CR is now by checking deck height,head gasket thickness and head CC's.

Run to Rund

I much prefer the forged pistons. A, B, and C heads are all good, especially if they have the 2.06" intake valves. A heads use a different rocker setup, however.

kelly bakies

I was reading that the A heads have a different rocker arm setup. The heads I have must have some machine work done to them because they have the later model setup. I also read that they all are 80cc heads. I added a pic here so you can see the motor I am working on and it is rebuilt on the inside, it looks to be run a minimum on the inside.
Kelly

Boldsmobile

Chevy carb?

kelly bakies

yes, thanks
Kelly