corners

I didn't think the 86-95 5.0's had forged pistons. But, you're right about replacing stuff with equal or greater value. However, if the stock piston's rating exceed the block's, what's the point of stronger pistons.

Oh, and why is this. Look here:

http://store.summitracing.com/Compar...FEM-MHP174-321

The non-forged piston engine rebuild kit has a compression ratio of 9.08:1, and the equivalent forged set has a ratio of 10.13:1. All the forged piston sets have this ratio. Why? I don't want to be increasing my compression ratio if I'm going forced induction.

94Yellow50

man..its just not completely clicking for you...hes saying it wouldnt matter if your pistons are plastic in there now...when you bore it to a 306..those pistons will be just a pile in the driveway...youll have to get new pistons so it doesnt matter what you have in there now..and ur link didnt work..but are u sure the ones ur looking at arnt domed?...and yes the foxes up till 92 had forged pistons just so ya know...in 93 they started the hyper pistons..

nacanitihs

ok for his sake and my own do you guys have a ball park estimate of what it would cost for a machine shop to bore .030 over, polish the crank, balance it, and clean up the block?

i kno all machine shops are diffreent but i have absolutly no idea. and also when you send the machine shop the pistons/crank/block will they assemble it too or no? and should it be taken apart first? or just go in as a stripped shortblock?

not to hyjack the thread but i think the OP might want to kno this aswell.

my77stang

everything should br broken down when you drop your stuff off for machining.

let them clean, magnaflux, knock in new cam bearings, bore and deck the block, grind the crank, recon the rods with arp bolts, and do the heads (a valve job and resurface unless your buying new heads)

corners, compression ratios are based on the design of the piston. there are dished, flat tops, and domes. a dish will have the lowest, and a dome will have the highest. stock pistons have small dishes, and the crappy kit you were looking at was basically a stock replacement.

another thing. the motors 92 and down had the forged pistons BUT also anything older than what like 87?!?!?! had hyper or even cast pistons (cast is worst). but AGAIN that means nothing because you'll be getting new pistons.

to be perfectly honest with you, if you are having this hard of a time wrapping your head around what we're talking about now you shouldn't be building a forced induction motor. i'll almost promise you your going to be throwing this money down the drain. really, you should be starting with a basic build - and before you do that you need to spend some time reading a how-to book or at least watch a few episodes of horsepower tv LOL

nacanitihs

what do you recommend as a GOOD rebuild kit?

67mustang302

The kind where you select all the parts yourself. Get all the best Fel Pro gaskets, especially the 1 piecers(oil pan, valve cover etc). Cometic makes good head gaskets if you want to use those instead of Fel Pro. Melling oil pumps are pretty standard for the most part, I prefer high volume myself, others high pressure,but that's a whole OTHER issue. Get a good oil pump drive shaft, either the hardened that comes with some of the Melling pumps, or an ARP. Pistons and rings should really be determined by what you want to do with the application. Good bearings, like Clevite or King etc. Durabond makes good cam bearings. Also get moly lube for assembly, I use it on all the internal connecting hardware so the threads are lubed. And better head/rod bolts etc, ARPs. No sense in building an engine and skimping on $50 worth of bolts only to have a head gasket blow or a rod come off the crank*shudder*.

ampman_27

the scat 9000 is a good kit, plus its around $850 the last time i checked.

corners

I completely understand that. However, you're missing the point. If the stock ones were cast, and could withstand more power than the block is capable of holding, why would you replace the pistons with anything stronger? And, maybe you were confused with me using the term "stock". When I said replace them with "stock", I mean, REPLACE them with the stock/OEM MATERIAL piston (yes, it was covered in a previous post, that if you do a bore, you buy a pistion to match). In other words, if the OEM pistion is stronger than the block, why not REPLACE them with an OEM pistion (of the correct bore)?

Here, I'll try this. On a strengthscale of 1-10, if the stock block is a 6, and the stock pistons are an 8, why would you put in forged pistons with a strength of 9, when the engine's weakest link (the block)remains an unchanged6?

However, thank you for pointing out that the 92's and below had forged internals. I did not know that.

corners

I'll be buying new heads (and cam), so I won't need a valve job.

I understand the shape of the piston is directly related to the compressons ratio (all about the volume). But, those kits were supposedly identical, except one had forged pistons. They both list the piston style as "flat".

Here's another link:
Forged: http://store.summitracing.com/partde...p;autoview=sku
Cast: http://store.summitracing.com/partde...p;autoview=sku

I know you have been building engines for awhile, but I'm sure you started somewhere. I had a few questions, like anyone starting would, so I didn't appreciate the jab at my intellect. I said in my first post, that I know I would probably be better off buying a block already built, but I said that I WANT to learn and do it myself. And no, I won't be throwing my money away, because I'll be asking questions (here, and I have some friends that have build a few), even as stupid as they may seam to you, to make sure that if I don't understand something completely, I'll get all the information so I can do it right. I'm not just going to bolt this thing up blindly (which I can do right now without any help). As youknow, any monkey can bolt an engine together, but todo it right, there are a bunch of fine details that I'm trying to learn. I'm sure there was a time in your life when you built your first engine and you asked a bunch of stupid questions as well. So, thanks for the help so far, but please keep your pessimistic comments to a minimum. I'm going to continue to ask basic questions, possibly "annoying" to the expert builders, until I get it done right, and I'll be smarter for having gone through the trouble.

BTW, are there any books or DVD's you'd recommend that go through an engine rebuild? I helped 2 other friends, one of who had built engines before, build up a Chevy 350, but the guy who knew what he was doing already had the machine work and all the pieces bought and layed out before I got involved, which is why I'm asking about all the machine and prep work.

I really do appreciate the help so far. If you think my questions are stupid now, just wait until I actually start the build.

94Yellow50

hey man i wasnt tryin to burn ya or anything...an i checked those two links n went back n forth page to page..and ur right they do list every detail the same except the comp rating...as for the strength factor deal...say u bought the hyper ones n god forbid had some detenation n toasted a piston..u wouldnt have cracked the block but your piston would be toast...if you had bought the forged ones you would have had a better chance at keeping the piston because with boost forged pistons are better than hyper because of the material