Thread: I can't find pistons

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My small block 400 buildup just hit a brick wall. I wanted a set of .040 over Keith Black KB147's or I could use the KB168's. I tried to get them a wholesale warehouse I deal with through my business with no luck so I ordered them from summit. They gave me a ship date and I waited. Now the ship date has come and gone and now they say two more months. I'd like to drive this car to Louiville in two months. I can't find them anywhere so I'm looking for an alternative. I'd like to stick with a d-cup but I can't find anything suitable. I need around 9.5:1 with a 72cc head and 5.7 rods, I don't mind milling the heads a little if required. what's a good piston under say $350?

the problem is the .040 over---nobody stocks stock or 40 over size---generally jusy 030---060

You probably could find them in a ch for a longer rod or higher quality level but most the cheaper stuff will only be 030 060

We just ran into the same thing, we wanted TRW L2323F30 pistons for my Kid's 455 Olds. Found out they are on National backorder, and it could be a year! Then I thought maybe we could find them in 40 over instead of 30 over and I made a few calls. Turned out Jegs had some of those in stock, so we took the engine back and had 10 thousandths more taken out of the bore. He ended up with a few more cubes, and we didn't have to wait another year.

Maybe you can find some in another size. As mentioned it sounds like these are 40 over already, so maybe you could go to 60 if your particular block can take it. I know that kills most chances of a rebore down the road, but it might solve your immediate problem.

Don

www.competition products show them 275.99

Something is going on in the piston business. I just made a call to Jegs for you on the off chance they might have them. They said they are not ordering anything from Keith Black at the present time, and I had the same situation with TRW's. Maybe the economy, or maybe they just do a huge run every so often and you and I were between runs.

He said a comparable piston would be a SpeedPro 844-H615CP40. With 72cc heads it yields 9.44 compression. He is out of the 40 overs but said if you call them tomorrow they can call SpeedPro and see if these are available. You might try other sources for these too.

He said these have the coated sides too, same type we got for the Olds. Supposedly that cuts down on piston rock according to him. I just thought they looked pretty neat when we got them.

Good luck,

Don

OH, their price is $ 50 each, but if you need them price becomes moot.

piston manufacturing has been moved to India---and the first ones to arrive were junk, which put the companies even more behind

and then of course---these engines that we all love that haven't been built for years are not generating the sales that they need to keep up the supply chain----

if you want to try Diamond, Mahle, Srp, Ross , etc------but they will cost more

Originally Posted by jerry clayton

piston manufacturing has been moved to India---and the first ones to arrive were junk, which put the companies even more behind

and then of course---these engines that we all love that haven't been built for years are not generating the sales that they need to keep up the supply chain----

if you want to try Diamond, Mahle, Srp, Ross , etc------but they will cost more

and the speed pros are still not very hot jerry.. i just used some speed pros hyper s and the pins look very bad like the were done on a belt sander the speed pros were so bad last year they did not have any that they could sell . so i bored a 351 and used cast mahle pistons and they were under size by 0002.5 then for a 040 over bore ? i was happy i did not just hone it to 4.040

We just got a set of Diamond pistons for a 351c ford, coated skirts, etc--looked super---took the Trend Performance pins out of the box---found nicks on the ends, wall thickness was off by up to .040 , junk, junk, junk----called up -----oh, those are free and are bottom of the barrel --
ordered some from PPPC----nice, nice, nice


Oh---how did we get to .040????? Motor was already .030 with some wear, we honed it to clean up and measured---would need to go to .040----Diamond had .040 available with coating, pins include---pistons are great, but they really need to do something about there choice of pins as they are junk---and yes phone calls were made to Trend--reply-you need to talk to your supplier----called Diamond---reply-you need to talk to your supplier---called xxxxxx-they got another set of pins ( look good ) called PPPC =got overnite set of high qual pins----called Trend customer service/sales for feed back---voice mail and haven't had return call---customer came by, saw the three sets of pins----said put in the PPPCs

i got to 040 by the fact that. i pick up the block by the top of bores by my finger nails i use the. precision products performance center wrist pins as well .if the stock pins will not do the job . i buy my pistons with out pins on custom pistons as well as fit the pins . diamond makes a fine piston . i would like to deal with them there in MI . but alot of stuff i do the SRP will do just fine . i like the mahle power pack pistons. but they do not make much of the size i use .the CP look like a very nice piston next time i think i going to try them on a set of custom . i do know who i will never buy a set custom pistons from ever again

Jerry is correct. With the low volume on "our" engines and moving ALL production off shore, the combination means NOTHING is available. Throw in the fact that businesses are moving out of California to lower tax areas and speed parts are REALLY hard to come by these days. I just changed the cam and heads on my '33 and used five suppliers to find everything. Took me 4 vendors to find something as simple as shim head gaskets for a 350!!!

we are doing a lot more of the old time engine but everything new aftermarket stuff---with the Dart SHP blocks for the sbc and now fords along with just convincing them to do a LT type reverse cooling block and all the head manufactures, we can really build a new engine for about the same or less than junk yard cores with cleaning, checking, machining

A big bore block that needs .010 hone to fit pistons and is then ready to go is easier than junk yard core, disassemble, clean, machine and put together and still have questional wall thickness, lifter bores, etc

New alum heads with guides, hard seats are cheaper than machining old set of cast iron cores with guides, seats, seals, resurface

stroker crank assy let the engines grow to some awsome torque monsters for street cars--

well thats how i feel about the sbc heads.use new casting give them a bit of a tune up and go. better then playing the hot tank mag game with crack up junk. i get worn thin play with busted stuff. but i still like to bore /mill and do rods still nice to have the shop machines when you have to tune up stuff. nothing much is 100% out of the box in this game you know

Here's some of the stuff in my 351C.
Not including the canton oil pan with screen and crank scraper.
For the money you would think they would sell a dip stick that
you could tell how much oil was in it.
The plug where the dip stick goes in is strait in to the side of the
pan instead of at a angle. The screen blocks the stock dip stick
by the timming chain. I guess I could drill a hole thru the screen
in the front. Eagle floating rods,SRP pistons, BG 750 holley

nice stuff....well what the boat builders did . if they wanted the stick s on the same side on two engines on a side by side they just used a street L or a 90 fitting in the pan used a steel tube that had a tubing nut that screw in the pan on the side of the pan.the boat pans had two drain holes one on each side of the pan . they could put the stick on L or R side.it would still read. if you did not want to add another drain. get a T fitting lay if on it side I- like that. the bottom would be your drain plug and the top would be your oil stick tube. i think they used a 3/8 tube brake line. you may have to find a stick and trim the stick and tube to read

Well, I Finally got my pistons for my 400 from Keith Black. I decided to wait for them and fix my 350 in the meantime so I could ride.......ordered a piston for the 350 and these showed up the same day. Took 2 months to get them......they told me it would take 3 so it's all good.