You would be much better off buying custom pistons with the correct compression height. That way, you could have a zero deck motor with a clean up cut on the block deck. Not sure what the availability of custom pistons are for the 350, the 455 has lots of options. Your motor will not be 10:1 with the TA1602 pistons.
I can ask shop price for taking a few thousands off my 72 block. Custom pistons seem like they might be easier but possibly pricey. Not looking for more than 10:1. Tired of my car pinging on pump gas last 40 years because I had timing advanced as much as possible.
Just looking for the most bang for the buck with the 212 cam stock converter and port matching and 308 gear.
True zero deck makes the engine MORE detonation resistant. Custom pistons also allow you to tailor the valve relief cc's to really zero in on your intended compression ratio. Compare the added cost of custom pistons to the cost of milling. Then see what really makes sense. If you are going to rebuild the engine, I think it makes more sense to spend some more to do it right for now, and in the future. If you build a really nice short block with forged pistons with reliefs, and zero deck, you will be all set for the future when you might want to swap on some ported aluminum heads and more cam. It's like that Fram commercial from years ago, pay me now, or pay me later. I know lots of guys will disagree with me saying all that isn't necessary, and they have a point, but in the future, you might want to upgrade the performance of the motor. I say build the best platform you can for now and the future. JMO.
With iron an open chamber head design there is no quench zone so it doesn’t matter if it’s zero decker or not. The TA alum heads are closed chamber, that’s when this becomes important. To get 10:1 with those pistons either material off the block or heads will get him there. No need for valve reliefs or $1000 pistons for his combo.
I wouldn’t call it a quench zone it’s more of a thin sharp lip that can cause pre ignition. I always make sure the head chamber isn’t any smaller than the bore diameter on these open chamber heads. It normally takes a quick die grinder touch up to remove the sharp edge. Although I also radius the sharp edges on valve reliefs which most people don’t bother doing. Plus most of the time the pistons sit so far in the hole that when you machine the block to get zero deck then you end up with intake fitment issues. As people said, custom pistons is ideal however with the open chamber heads it’s of little value performance wise anyways. Durability wise yes the forged pistons are awesome! They are also key when using a huge cam (and or really high compression) and you need valve reliefs. If justifying the expense of custom pistons then forged rods are a no brainer and now it snowballs into a situation where you might as well take advantage of the extra RPM ability of the bottom end and add TA heads so it makes power to 7000 RPM. Under 6000 RPM the nice rods and pistons are almost a waste unless you need them for other reasons.
For most, an engine rebuild is something you want to do once. My rationale is build the best rotating assembly you can with zero deck, so that in the future, you can add the TA heads and as much cam as you want. If costs are an issue, and you know for sure you'll never want anything more than what you have, yes, it's probably a waste of money. That's a question I think anyone building a SBB should ask themselves today. Too many guys rush this kind of thing without doing the research here, and thinking about what they might want in the future. Just wanted the OP to think about that.
Having spoken to the OP on the phone for an hour, he has no interest in spending an extra few thousand at this point. All good info and input it’s great to get differing opinions.
Thanks for all the input from you kids that have an abundance of knowledge on the subject. I'll ask shop tomorrow how much it might be extra to take some material off the deck. Planning on purchasing a thin head gasket.
The GN pistons are the right bore size however the pin height is way off so they don’t work. actually that reminds me, the 3.0 GM v6 pistons work in a 350, they are flat tops that sit further in the hole but still raise the compression and there is no valve interference. My spare set of ported iron heads ran 12.00 @112 mph using these pistons at 10.5:1 compression with a healthy cam. With no milling the 3.0 pistons give 9.8:1 which is perfect for a 284 cam and the pistons are WAY cheaper than the other options. Or mill a bit and it’s an easy 10.5:1 if you want.
I saw threads on those earlier. I'll ask if I am able to add a couple extra to the set of six. Seems to make sense in my build. Then I guess I'll ask summit about rings for those.
12's @112 now that is rich That must mean Mart should be able to go 11's I have this same thing here I wonder why mine didn't go that fast I got big cam 10.5 comp I must not have it tuned right. must need 456 gears to do this I bet that is it, my bad. lol
Uem suggests hastings rings 2m6960 plasma moly for the silvolite 1734 pistons. Glen in tech at uem says ok to add 2 more pistons to the set at the same discounted price.
This is the fellow that was running 12.0 @112 with the cheap flat tops abs ported heads: https://www.v8buick.com/index.php?threads/looking-for-advice.288865/#post-2380619
BTW I still want to run my exhaust manifolds. Just port match correct? Also read threads on exhaust crossover blocked w freeze plugs or brass plugs. Where exactly do those go?
Bracket racer... You bought those irons? Those aren't the welded closed chambers are they, what are they going on?
yes I bought those heads from another member that had bought them from the original poster. Those heads went to my buddy James Murphy who has them on his stroked, forged 350 with twin turbos. No they aren’t the closed chamber heads, just very well ported irons with oversized valves. my head porter is currently going over the closed chamber heads for my 13:1 NA combo.
