[DeTomaso] Forged pistons and deck height

[JDeRyke at aol.com]

In a message dated 11/3/07 3:29:44 PM, pantera at kommevalla.se writes:

> Should I zero deck the block to 9,198" or keep it as is or do someone know 
> about any other flat forged pistons for floating pin?
> 
I'd zero-deck it, but first check the block to see if it needs 
corner-to-corner squaring. If so, this may take care of whatever block-decking you need. 
THen you can adjust the piston crwns individually to get absolute zero height for 
all (some may be a little off but can be lathe-corrected). Second, I'd 
suggest forged pistons, not 'hyper-eutectics' which are good but brittle and will 
not absorb much pre-ignition or detonation- which you can assume will happen 
when debugging an aftermarket EFI. Instead, they crack the upper ring lands. 
Finally, don't let a machinest change pistons from pressed-pin to floating pin on 
a piston hone and a lathe unless you have the proper wristpins in hand for the 
job. There are at least 3 different pin-locks available and two of the 
choices take different types of wristpin ends. Attempting to change pins from one 
type to another by grinding sometimes alters the metallurgy and you can crack a 
pin with disasterous results. JE pistons (www.jepistons.com) in southern CA 
can make about any piston you need for a 351-C, and Randy Gillis who works as an 
advisor there is a Pantera owner and quite knowlegable in engine building. 
Another possibility is Wiseco pistons in Ohio (www,wiseco.com)   but I have no 
contacts there. Good luck- J DeRyke


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