72 duster resto

-
junkyardhero said:
heads are going to determine piston selection, kinda, sorta. depending.

are they decking the block? if so you'll need to know how much they're taking off.

you can go KB107's off the cuff and *probably* be alright. but better to know the deck height, chamber cc of the head (and design) and have an idea of what head gasket, although that's adjustable-ish.

cam wise, something in teh 450~460 range with 260 and under duration on a less than 114 center would do well. and that would give you a pretty broad selection to choose from. the howards street force is a good piece. but if you're strictly budget, melling has a few options. they're not gonna blow your eyelids back around your skull, but they work well and they're cheap.
Click to expand...
No decking unless it comes up later. Didnt talk about it
 
72smallairparticler said:
No decking unless it comes up later. Didnt talk about it
Click to expand...
talk to the machine shop and tell them your expectations, they may recommend a piston that will meet your criteria. or they might say that you're on your own!

you *need* to communicate with the machine shop. this is KEY. remember, bore finish is important to what rings you're going to run, which goes hand in hand with what pistons you use. also, *some* head gaskets require a specific finish on the block and heads to seal properly.

if you drop it off and just tell them to pop it to "whatever over" till it's clean and do the usual stuff then you're taking a gamble on what you get back. and if you don't know for sure what the criticals are, then you can't really order parts with confidence or assemble.

i mean, you can... if you're just doing production work and you're fine with whatever the outcome is.
 
72smallairparticler said:
No decking unless it comes up later. Didnt talk about it
Click to expand...
Decking an LA is an absolute must. It is more important than a line hone (if youre not dealing with a spun bearing). Ma Mopar left the decks so absurdly tall and random and crooked it is a machining travesty. Skip the line hone and deck it to zero with these Mahle pistons/rings... These are the best value on the market bar none. Have your machine shop set the piston to wall clearance at the recommended values--these pistons don't rock much. Oh and they are superlight. J.R.

https://www.us.mahle.com/media/usa/motorsports/sbm-flat-top-webpage-3.pdf

P.S. Enjoy the free 10-15hp your 360 makes with their fabulous 1mm/1mm Napier / 2mm oil ring package. When assembling you should be able to turn the crank with your hand with 4 pistons in. Compressing the rings can be a little tricky, take your time.
 
Sounds good fellas, appreciate the input. Ill make the ask for sure. We are communicating - plan was simply to find out what bore is required before ordering the pistons. Then calculate piston selection, aftermarket head selection to meet the compression goals as affordable as I can go.

Seems like I could snag speed master assembled aluminum heads for about 400 more than required to rebuild these stock smog heads.

I need to probably sell off most if not all the standard bore rebuild kit I pieced together from rock auto .

Screen Shot 2024-04-13 at 12.30.15 PM.png
 
Last edited:
Maybe this is a dumb question but when selecting a set of lifters to run with a new cam, is there a "best" approach? Seems like the quality of HFT aftermarket lifters has taken a nosedive so I'm sort of leaning toward the combo of Howards streetforce 2 with lifters. Assuming those work with my stock pushrods. I'm not making any pre-mature orders til I do more homework but just wondering if I buy JUST the cam, if there are better brands for lifters.
 
if the cam i'm buying offers a matching lifter kit, i'll usually go that direction. in the case of howard's i *think* their lifters are made my morel, which are good quality.

you're not going to know if the stock pushrods work with the setup until you start your pre-assembly checks. likelihood is that they will, it's a pretty much stock build, but you always have to check-- especially with aftermarket heads.

you're fine to buy a cam and lifter kit. if you need different push rods it is what it is, the cam and lifters probably weren't the contributing factor-- the machine work and heads would be.
 
RAMM said:
Decking an LA is an absolute must. It is more important than a line hone (if youre not dealing with a spun bearing). Ma Mopar left the decks so absurdly tall and random and crooked it is a machining travesty. Skip the line hone and deck it to zero with these Mahle pistons/rings... These are the best value on the market bar none. Have your machine shop set the piston to wall clearance at the recommended values--these pistons don't rock much. Oh and they are superlight. J.R.

https://www.us.mahle.com/media/usa/motorsports/sbm-flat-top-webpage-3.pdf

P.S. Enjoy the free 10-15hp your 360 makes with their fabulous 1mm/1mm Napier / 2mm oil ring package. When assembling you should be able to turn the crank with your hand with 4 pistons in. Compressing the rings can be a little tricky, take your time.
Click to expand...
JR, thank you for articulating what i was trying to say and had in my mind and totally forgot about.

the rec on those pistons is gold. great ring pack (and material!) and the fact that they're forged is a great plus! lightweight just sweetens the deal.
 
IMG_6888.jpeg

Got a chance to get the grill painted today. The bullitt anthracite wheels on the car will go well with the charcoal paint used on the grill to freshen things up. Have some fun ideas on the rest of the paint combinations in the engine bay that should turn out pretty nice

IMG_6887.jpeg


IMG_6883.jpeg
 
mpgmike said:
What's wrong with Comp Cams? I've used them for decades and they're always my 1st choice. I have a Jeep 4.0 to 4.6 stroker and chose Comp Cams for it. I haven't fired it yet, should I be scared? Educate me.
Click to expand...


I just put a cam in my 440, I used one of Comps kits for all of the parts. Break in went fine and so far I have 20 miles on it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top