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Getting a new piston. What engine do I have?

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Old Jan 24, 2018 | 01:01 PM
  #21  
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Originally Posted by 427Hotrod
I think you need to look for more problems other which piston to buy. That looks like some detonation issues maybe (is it a hypereutectic?) Have you checked all the others??

JIM
I checked compressions. They were 180-190. except that one. It was 60. That is a strange situation. Walls look really good. Journals look good. Go figure. Lot of work for a simple mistake.
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Old Jan 25, 2018 | 04:19 PM
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Originally Posted by CanadaGrant
I can't believe there isn't some damage to the cylinder wall after that...
No damage to the walls. When I pulled the piston out, it didn't look damaged. When I was checking out the rings, The broken pieces fell out. The engine started smoking. I checked compressions and found this to be low.
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Old Jan 25, 2018 | 04:23 PM
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Up date. I went to my local machine shop and he looked around for a few seconds. Reached down and handed me a piston exactly like the old one. Good call on the advise to go to a shop. I will have it together this weekend. Thank you guys for the help.
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Old Jan 25, 2018 | 05:23 PM
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Old Jan 25, 2018 | 06:40 PM
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So, do you know what engine it is yet? Because the difference between a 327 and a 350 piston is 1/8 of an inch of piston pin height. Take a look at this picture and see how close the Piston is to the oil ring. This is the 350. Which is far more common and more likely to be found in an automotive machine shop than a 327 piston.
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Last edited by derekderek; Jan 25, 2018 at 06:52 PM.
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Old Jan 25, 2018 | 07:01 PM
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Okay, the more I look at these two pictures the more it looks like the pin height is the same. A little bit less than the width of the oil ring itself distance between the top of the pin and the bottom of the oil ring. I 327 would be an eighth of an inch lower than a 350. Which is about the width of the oil ring. But you really need to measure the stroke to be sure what engine you have. And it's quite easy to do. I might as well measure the bore to any cheapie dial Caliper from the auto parts store will tell you whether it's a 4in or 4.030 or 4.040. They can't measure tenths but they can measure ten-thousandths pretty well
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Old Jan 25, 2018 | 07:03 PM
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Because you can put a 350 piston into a 327. And it'll run. But the Piston will stop the an eighth of an inch before it gets to the top of the bore. And have a very little compression.
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Old Jan 25, 2018 | 07:04 PM
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You put a 327 piston into a 350, and it's going to stick up an eighth of an inch out of the top of the block and hit the head. Needless to say that won't run.
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Old Jan 25, 2018 | 07:27 PM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by derekderek
You put a 327 piston into a 350, and it's going to stick up an eighth of an inch out of the top of the block and hit the head. Needless to say that won't run.
Good job catching that issue. OP could have grenaded another piston. H-m-m-m-m-m
I wonder if . . . thats . . . . naw.
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Old Jan 26, 2018 | 07:11 PM
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Originally Posted by lars
Block casting number 3914678 was used on the following engines only in 1968:

1968 302 290hp
1968 327 210hp
1968 350 295hp

All three engines had the same 4" bore, so the only way to tell them apart is to check the stroke:

302: 3" stroke
327: 3.25" stroke
350: 3.48" stroke

If you check the ID pad on the forward passenger side of the engine and post the numbers, I can tell you exactly what the engine is.

Lars
I found the front number. It looks like V1205YD. It's not stamped very well. The jug measures 3.45" with the piston down. 350? Thank you for your help.
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Old Jan 26, 2018 | 08:40 PM
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3.45 from top of piston to top of block? 350 stroke is 3.48 with usually .020 below deck surface at tdc. So yes this is a 350 and piston is probably a hair off bottom dead center.
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Old Jan 26, 2018 | 08:44 PM
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Now measure the bore and look for anything like .030 or 040 on top of any pistons in the engine and the new one. Compare pin heights side by side and see how piston fits the bore without any rings. Did shop hand you a piston-rod combo, or just a piston? What are you doing for a rod bearing?

Last edited by derekderek; Jan 26, 2018 at 08:46 PM.
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Old Jan 26, 2018 | 08:46 PM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by Dan-a-rama
I found the front number. It looks like V1205YD. It's not stamped very well. The jug measures 3.45" with the piston down. 350? Thank you for your help.
"YD" is a 68 327/240 originally installed in a truck a some sort, with a Powerglide trans and with A.I.R. pollution equipment. It also should have 4 bolt mains.

The "V" indicates that the engine was assembled in Flint MI, and "1205" is the assembly date, December 5th, 1967.
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Old Jan 26, 2018 | 08:52 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by HeadsU.P.
Good job catching that issue. OP could have grenaded another piston. H-m-m-m-m-m
I wonder if . . . thats . . . . naw.
Stranger things....................
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Old Jan 27, 2018 | 11:50 AM
  #35  
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"Here, let me grab a 4" piston out of the back room, it SHOULD be exactly the same".
After all, a small blocks a small block right?

Oooops, didn't see that comin' about the pin location. (post 28)
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Old Jan 27, 2018 | 06:08 PM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by HeadsU.P.
"Here, let me grab a 4" piston out of the back room, it SHOULD be exactly the same".
After all, a small blocks a small block right?

Oooops, didn't see that comin' about the pin location. (post 28)
The guy that handed me the piston is a 30 year veteran machine shop guy. He gave me the .030 over piston that I needed. It's in the engine. Thanks for the responses everyone.
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Old Jan 27, 2018 | 06:32 PM
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Was it a piston and rod, or did he install the piston on your rod? What did you do for a rod bearing? Did you get a new one? Did you check the bearing you took out for size? Because if you put a standard bearing on an .010 crank journal, the engine will have a very short life.
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Old Jan 27, 2018 | 10:04 PM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by derekderek
Was it a piston and rod, or did he install the piston on your rod? What did you do for a rod bearing? Did you get a new one? Did you check the bearing you took out for size? Because if you put a standard bearing on an .010 crank journal, the engine will have a very short life.
Ok, I left out some info. The previous owner rebuilt the engine and the trany before me. I have a well stocked shop, just not that familiar with v8 car engines . I pressed the wristpin in the rod. Bearings had less than 3 hours drive time. I used the ones that were there. There was no damage to the walls or the head. I had a retired mechanic advising me today when all this was done. He made sure I didn't do anything stupid. Thanks again for the responses.
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Old Jan 28, 2018 | 10:07 AM
  #39  
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That is different. We had no clue that you weren't clueless.
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Old Jan 28, 2018 | 10:15 AM
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Originally Posted by lars
It was probably broken upon engine assembly: The ring compressor was not correctly installed, and the ring broke the ring lands when the piston was pounded into the hole. That piston looks like it has less than 1000 miles on it, so it was broken at assembly.

Lars
For good measure, I would pull all of the pistons... where there is one...
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