Hi all, My uncle and I were discussing this last night and we agreed to disagree. He is a bonafide Chevy nut and has never owned a Buick BB. He has owned an Olds BB and says they are the most reliable BB out there (we won't go there):error: . Anyway, I told him i found a great deal on some forged pistons and rods for my 69 400 project. He said i will regret it because they will chatter and slap, especially in cold conditions. The car will not be driven in the winter, but will need to be started and ran to keep seals in working order and to keep everything else lubed well. This car is being built for the street, but will occasionally see the strip. When i told him the cost difference was why i was considering the forged versus cast aluminum, he said unless it was an all out race motor, he wouldn't even think about it because in cold conditions they will be too noisy and possibly damage the block and crank. Is there any truth to this with the Buick block? I hear alot of you guys are going with forged and also mention it for a street/strip combo like what i want to do. Any concerns here? 2-3 startups in the winter? I need some been there, done that, am doing that info, please!! Thanks!:beer
Thanks for backing up a fellow Buick man. He really knows his stuff, though. I was trying to tell him that everything I've read, heard, and seen was that you can't compare the different blocks. He swears his 68 olds w30 had forged pistons, and he had a ton of piston slap on cold start ups. Just want the best bang for my buck!!:beer
Between the addition of Silicon, different alum. alloys and mixes of alloys, and the actual design of the piston shape itself, forged pistons can be run at MUCH tighter clearences today. Let your uncle know that the 60's are gone. Welcome to the 21st Century!
Man, your 400 has the 455 water jackets. Buick engineers knew they were about to increase the cui. You more then likely could go all the way out to 4.3125. 430 forged pistons are not in production but you can get those really nice new speed pros. I have run forged pistons in every buick engine I've had since the early 80s. Never heard any piston slap although I've had plenty of noises over the years.p I've got 25,000 miles on this motor and its just now wearing the bore/hone marks off in the pin area. I've seen it resently when my heads where getting pumped up.:laugh: I'd say don't worry about forged but I would worry about not having them. What if you got some bad gas and pinging destroys cast pistons. Plus!!!! you can spray the heck out of speed pro pistons. Ask my how I know that one.:bglasses: get it sonic checked for thickness before boring it to much. Now go out and kick some OLDs a$$. I know you will....:Brow:
forged vs cast Yeah, two seperate times now I've broke hypereutectic cast pistons in my 462. Once in the pin area, another in ring lands. Don't go over 500 horse with cast!:ball: :ball: :spank:
