BlownMGB-V8 Jim Blackwood 9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042 (6469 posts) Registered: 10/23/2007 12:59PM Main British Car: 1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS |
Re: Piston Skirt?
It might be. You'll know more when you get the pan off. See what identifying marks you can find on the piston once you have it out and we'll try to help identify it and look for a replacement.
Goes without saying, you're excused from the upcoming weekend here. But just to be clear about it. You need to get your ride back together. Whatever we can do to help, we will. There's some chance I'll have my car off the rack before the weekend. So we'll be swapping that pumpkin in the RM. I'm sure three of us can handle that. Jim |
MGBV8 Carl Floyd Kingsport, TN (4512 posts) Registered: 10/23/2007 11:32PM Main British Car: 1979 MGB Buick 215 |
Re: Piston Skirt?
Plan A is out. It is #7 & most all of the full shirt below the wrist pin is gone all the way around. Bee rockin' itself to pieces for awhile.
So, I need one good 1963 Buick 215 JN block 11:1 piston, standard bore . Almost a flattop. Markings say 1353005 Buick on one side & C, then a circle with a 6 in it & BOHNALITE. Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/16/2017 11:20AM by MGBV8. |
BlownMGB-V8 Jim Blackwood 9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042 (6469 posts) Registered: 10/23/2007 12:59PM Main British Car: 1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS |
Re: Piston Skirt?
Looks pretty good actually. Any ring land in the cylinder? Bearing OK?
Have you gathered up all the pieces? You should do that so you can get the total piston weight. Flat top? Should be able to measure the pin height. Match the pin height and piston weight, slap it back together and run. It doesn't look like the Silvolite that Summit is selling, but close. They have a slipper style that should work if the weight and CH is close: [www.summitracing.com] I wouldn't worry too much about the compression ratio. Jim |
MGBV8 Carl Floyd Kingsport, TN (4512 posts) Registered: 10/23/2007 11:32PM Main British Car: 1979 MGB Buick 215 |
Re: Piston Skirt?
May have lost a few smaller pieces years ago doing an oil change. Never saw any, though. It is very, very close to being a flat top. I would think a slipper piston would be much lighter. Dale said if this was a slipper, it would have likely grenaded the engine.
I had this idea that Dan Lagrou might have one way back in the corner of his shop somewhere. I am trying to reach Mark. |
BlownMGB-V8 Jim Blackwood 9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042 (6469 posts) Registered: 10/23/2007 12:59PM Main British Car: 1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS |
Re: Piston Skirt?
There must be other vendors that might have one as well. Phil Baker in Washington comes to mind. Also, Moss could possibly have something. Even TA Performance, they used to be Kenne-Bell. All the old vendors. Probably no Vintage OEM though, it seemed the High Compression Buick 215 supply dried up just about completely in the 80's so you really are looking for something in the corner or take-outs. Which could be a possibility. You're at a stock bore size aren't you? (Better check it.) Mine are long gone so no help there.
Seriously though, I wouldn't get all that hung up on CR. First off, the Buick 4bbl engine was 10-1/4:1 so I'm wondering where you got this 11:1 figure from. Then, the Buick factory CR specs tended to be flexible and optimistic, and the only engine in the series that I know of that really could have been 11:1 was the Olds Turbo motor. (Weird, right?) But it had the same chamber volume as the 4bbl Buick heads. Then what if one cylinder is lower compression? It'll still run just fine. Lose a smidge of power maybe but how long do you plan to run that engine? Now, let's review CR a bit. All Buick heads have the same chamber volume? So they changed CR with the pistons right? All Olds used the same pistons so they changed CR with the heads? I think that's right. Harry used 2bbl Buick pistons to build a 2bbl Olds and got about 6.5 CR out of it. Still ran. Worked as a spare, but idle wasn't great and mileage sucked. With a turbo mounted on it it was tolerable. Even carbed it beat hell out of an 1800. So a any Olds piston would also work. How about 3.5 Rover? Do a quick calc of chamber volume and you might find one of those is also close enough. Jim |
MGBV8 Carl Floyd Kingsport, TN (4512 posts) Registered: 10/23/2007 11:32PM Main British Car: 1979 MGB Buick 215 |
Re: Piston Skirt?
Mark LaGrou is going to check the back corners of the attic. A local club friend is retired from GM & has sent a request to Detroit friends.
I would prefer a good used piston & reuse the rings/rod bearings as you mentioned & forget any honing. As for CR, the 10.25:1 you quote is for the 185HP 4bbl in 1961 & 1962. In 1963, they bumped the CR to 11:1 & rated it at 200HP. [www.carnut.com] |
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roverman Art Gertz Winchester, CA. (3188 posts) Registered: 04/24/2009 11:02AM Main British Car: 74' Jensen Healy, 79 Huff. GT 1, 74 MGB Lotus 907,2L |
Re: Piston Skirt?
Carl, give us a skirt diameter and where measured, in relation to pin location. I'll look as soon as I can. Good Luck, Art.
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roverman Art Gertz Winchester, CA. (3188 posts) Registered: 04/24/2009 11:02AM Main British Car: 74' Jensen Healy, 79 Huff. GT 1, 74 MGB Lotus 907,2L |
Re: Piston Skirt?
I would be very cautious about using flat top Olds pistons, with Buick heads. Valves are in different location !
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mstemp Mike Stemp Calgary, Canada (222 posts) Registered: 11/25/2009 07:18AM Main British Car: 1980 MGB Rover 4.6L |
Re: Piston Skirt?
Carl,
What I still can't believe is that the large piece made it up to the lifter valley! You would think it would have jamed itself in the bottom end. And how did it not wipe out the cam getting up there, or lock up a push rod??? Engine gods were smiling up on you! |
rficalora Rob Ficalora Willis, TX (2764 posts) Registered: 10/24/2007 02:46PM Main British Car: '76 MGB w/CB front, Sebring rear, early metal dash Ford 302 |
Re: Piston Skirt?
Carl, just an idea... I dont know much about the BOPR series of motors. If you can't find a piston, is there a BOPR you could pick up used that'll work with your headers, bell housing and accessories? If so, maybe you could swap out the motor or short block at least. Then simply resell it after the meet. I've don that with expensive tools. Sometimes even made money when reselling.
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Mickey Richaud Mickey Richaud Townsend TN (198 posts) Registered: 08/25/2015 06:36AM Main British Car: '03 Jaguar XK8 Jaguar 4.2 |
Re: Piston Skirt?
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Scott68B Scott Costanzo Columbus, Ohio (562 posts) Registered: 10/25/2007 11:30AM Main British Car: 1968 MGB GM 5.3 LS4 V8 |
Re: Piston Skirt?
Carl,
Glad you decided to investigate further. It would have sucked to have that piston let go during the meet. You still have 3 weeks (from today!) to get something in place. Scott |
BlownMGB-V8 Jim Blackwood 9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042 (6469 posts) Registered: 10/23/2007 12:59PM Main British Car: 1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS |
Re: Piston Skirt?
Hope you're looking at the motor Tony posted:
[www.racingjunk.com] Sounds about like the motor you bought when you did your conversion originally. Oklahoma, $500. Jim |
MGBV8 Carl Floyd Kingsport, TN (4512 posts) Registered: 10/23/2007 11:32PM Main British Car: 1979 MGB Buick 215 |
Re: Piston Skirt?
The engine I bought 16+ years ago for $600 was already rebuilt. :) I have options (besides R&R and rebuilding an engine in 3 weeks). Too short on time. I drove my dad's original owner '63 B to the MG V8 Meet in Westlake, Ohio in 2000. It may be coming to WV. :)
Dale Spooner said he has seen a piece o' skirt in the lifter valley once before. The cam looks good. I was surprised. Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/17/2017 11:57AM by MGBV8. |
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MGBV8 Carl Floyd Kingsport, TN (4512 posts) Registered: 10/23/2007 11:32PM Main British Car: 1979 MGB Buick 215 |
Re: Piston Skirt?
I agree with caution on the Olds flat top piston, Art. I do believe it would work with my "stock" cam. My 11:1 piston only has a .010" dish & is .060" below the deck. The head gasket was a compressed .050". IF the Olds has the same compression height, I'd try it.
My piston measures 3.502 on the wrist pin centerline. There is not much skirt left. |
BlownMGB-V8 Jim Blackwood 9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042 (6469 posts) Registered: 10/23/2007 12:59PM Main British Car: 1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS |
Re: Piston Skirt?
That engine above isn't rebuilt?
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MGBV8 Carl Floyd Kingsport, TN (4512 posts) Registered: 10/23/2007 11:32PM Main British Car: 1979 MGB Buick 215 |
Re: Piston Skirt?
Not the way I read it. Also, local pickup only in Oklahoma
" engine was dismantled for rebuild but my project list has changed..." |
DiDueColpi Fred Key West coast - Canada (1365 posts) Registered: 05/14/2010 03:06AM Main British Car: I really thought that I'd be an action figure by now! |
Re: Piston Skirt?
There's a few sets of used piston and rod sets on Ebay right now.
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Dan B Dan Blackwood South Charleston, WV (1007 posts) Registered: 11/06/2007 01:55PM Main British Car: 1966 TR4A, 1980 TR7 Multiport EFI MegaSquirt on the TR4A. Lexus V8 pl |
Re: Piston Skirt?
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