That's too bad about the Egge pistons. I've also liked the old Zollner's that I've used, and nice that Tom continues to help the cause
Man oh man! I feel for you guys with the Nailheads because they are a great design but such little aftermarket support for them. The 350 has the same battle as the Nailheads, pistons are a pain in the but as well as rods... Aftermarket crank? Nope find a good core and PAY for it LOL... I feel for you guys, hang in there.. In the end the 350s and nails will still be running!
I tend to NOT agree on the rod "Stretch". We have been using them on two of my friend's engines for years, one with ONLY .025" going as far as 6500RPM's. When the heads come of for whatever reason there is NO visible sign of ANY contact, & this is with over 13-1 compression. I'll repeat as I've said in the past, "It's all about the details". Tom T. ---------- Post added at 04:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:42 AM ---------- Forgot to answer Joe. You measure the head gasket thickness ALSO when measuring for the "Squish".
Mark me down for possibly getting in on a set of pistons as well when they come to fruition. Wouldn't mind a shot at a set of roller rockers either if that ever gets straightened out.
I will also need a set for 425. I just need to take my heads off this winter and measure what bore i am at now.ray:
OK guys, this is going to be a GO. As of this moment a complete package will be $795.00 until the end of Jan. 2014. I am asking for a $500.00 deposit sent & made out to myself. A timeline will be 5-8 weeks. For a break-down of the normal $$$ before 1/31/14. Pistons, $695.00, $72.00 pins & locks, $40.00 pin fitting, $135.00 rings for a total of $937.00. This is less costly than some of the options out there just for forged pistons alone. 2/1/14 & after will be at least 10% more. This complete package will include conventional rings, pins, locks, (if using full floating pins) pin fitting & of course the pistons themselves. Moly top/cast iron 2nd. & quality oil rings. Some sizes will ONLY be available with cast rings. 5/64x3/16 or 1/16x3/16 to what is most readily available as far as rings go. The rings will be available by the various manufactures by Hastings, Perfect Circle or Total Seal. Don't forget there are gaps in the various ring sizes between the 401 & 425, but with the ones chosen there shouldn't be any major problems in the supply. Anything other than conventional will be additional $$$$, gapless, 1mm, 1/8 oil, low tension, plasma/moly, etc. In my mind by the manufacturer supplying the rings there can be NO questions as to the compatibility of the rings to the pistons being made. There won't have a question mark as to the rings being proper for the piston. No one can say, "You used the wrong rings", they were what was supplied by you, the manufacturer. The pistons can be made to accommodate just about any pin diameter. .927"/.980"/.990"/1.00". Depending on diameter will be 2.700"-2.800" long & made from "5100" steel. Unless in an all-out racing application these are plenty strong enough for our "Nails". Anything other can be accommodated for additional $$$. The diameters will cover from 4.1875"-4.350". The domes can be anywhere from .330"-.550". The compression heights will range from a minimum of 1.250"-2.000". The top ring land will be .300" thick to accommodate using NOS or pressure feeding. Also by going with this thick top land you will be able to more readily control the "Squish" area or correcting a mistake in ordering on YOUR part. YOUR responsibility is giving the correct dimensions for deck height after checking & correcting main saddle diameters & squaring of block if nec. Length of connecting rod AFTER reconditioning. What head gasket you will be using, shim steel (.015"-.016") compressed or one of the various composite head gaskets available compressed, (.036"-.042") depending on manufacturer. There will be enough "Meat" under the dome & valve reliefs to customize each individual compression ratio for YOUR application. Depending on what needs to be done to accomplish YOUR compression ratio is going to be enough to further lighten the piston. The piston, pins & locks should be about the same weights as stock & further lightening can be accomplished. With the "Nails" combustion chamber design most will tolerate about 10-1 compression with today's fuel & depending on what the dynamic compression is depending on the cam you will be using. This design will give you many options to customize YOUR "Nail" the way you see fit. Give me any feed-back you can think of or any questions you may have. I need to get this done & a check in my hands BEFORE 1/31/14. Tom T.
Great News Tom! Thanks for all the hard work!:TU: I posted a reply in the dedicated forged piston thread here: http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.p...stons-for-the-Nailhead!&p=2284041#post2284041 Lets use the new thread for replies and leave this this Egge thread behind.
I'm running S/S oversized T/A valves, valve job and some porting. EGGE's are garbage. I totally regret using them.
