ford pistons in a 360?

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dvanecek

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so I picked up a rebuild 360 shortblock. The pistons look like trw forged pistons. But the part number matches up to a 351 Windsor, which also has a 4.00 bore. See the pic below. I'm really confused. Was this some old school trick? The pin sizes are different, compression height are different. Please help.
 

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Have not seen this before.
Along with dish in the piston, it seems to be down in the hole to me, if it is at the top of its stroke.
 
They probably just bushed the rods or have you looked to see what rods are in it?
 
I'll dig in more once I get it out of the back of the truck. I need to drop the pan and check the rods. I did notice that it looked like a lot of balancing work was done to the crank.

Can anyone confirm if these in fact to appear to be TRW forged pistons. I basing that on how the center pivot "dot" looks and the "front" stamping with the arrow around it. I could be wrong though.
 
Mopar Sam said:
2413p is an older sealed power cast piston for a 360.
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That makes sense. I guess I got confused because they look so much like these forged trw 360 pistons.

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So I had time to pull the pan really quick and check out the crank. Should I be concerned? Also the damper that cam with it was for a 318 which is internally balanced. Maybe it was a mistake? Or is it possible and / or probable that some one would internally balance a 360?
 

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Ugly maybe, but the metal added to that thing to internally balance it wasn't cheap. How often do you look at the counterweight?

Seems to me like you've got an internally balanced 360 there, and that's a good thing.
 
Thanks for helping me figure this out guys. I wish I could ask whoever built this motor. The guy I bought it from had no info since he got when his uncle passed. Who knows the real story. I'll take it to a machinist before I assemble it. It will be while but will update this thread when I find out more.
 
The way the balance weight was added to the counter weight is asking for trouble. It should be added by drilling through the side not the face. See pic.

Crank_heavy_metal_zpsnoy1ylaf.jpg
 
skrews said:
The way the balance weight was added to the counter weight is asking for trouble. It should be added by drilling through the side not the face. See pic.

Crank_heavy_metal_zpsnoy1ylaf.jpg
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agree . had a weight like that let go . Looked fine when I put the pan on , 2 weeks later the weld let the weight go , demolished a piston and had to sleeve it . Still have the piston , nice trw 12.5 forged . After that made sure to have them put in like the pic above .
 
skrews said:
The way the balance weight was added to the counter weight is asking for trouble. It should be added by drilling through the side not the face. See pic.

Crank_heavy_metal_zpsnoy1ylaf.jpg
Click to expand...

My impression is there was so much needed they would have drilled through the counterweight and still wouldn't have enough room. As long as it's properly welded (and understanding this looks to be a low rpm deal) I see no problem other than asthetics with the weight as added on this engine.
 
moper said:
My impression is there was so much needed they would have drilled through the counterweight and still wouldn't have enough room. As long as it's properly welded (and understanding this looks to be a low rpm deal) I see no problem other than asthetics with the weight as added on this engine.
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Yep it was not done the way I have normally seen. This is going in my d150 once the 318 gives up the ghost or I get other projects done, whichever comes first. So it will be a low RPM application. I have rebuilt 974 heads that came with the motor but I've heard the small valve 302 heads off my 87 318 will make a torque monster but will peter out around 5500. I will dig into that later and other things like cam recommendations then come back with more questions.
 
dvanecek said:
That makes sense. I guess I got confused because they look so much like these forged trw 360 pistons.

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yep, I have these same pistons in my 360 based 408 stroker in my 78 powerwagon. Mine was built in the late 80s with a custom ordered crank (before the days of off the shelve stroker kits). Built to do truck pulls, the torque is insane. Only have 2172 miles on it....

I've found that TRW has changed a lot of part numbers, in particular, a lot of their 80s series mopar pistons. Ive got a set of brand new TRW 440 pistons thats been in a box for 30 years, but if you google the part numbers, they come up to Pontiac 455 pistons now a days.....
 
ok so I got a closer look at the bottom end. The rods are stock 360 rods. These pistons look like forged to me. The machined bottom and the lack of waffle pattern behind the wrist pin . what do you guys think?
 

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The lathe mark in the dome is the dead giveaway but yes they are forged. These are some heavy old sealed power slugs in my 440.
vbpgimage.php
 
I think I'm more confused, but hey if I have the piston valve clearance then I will go with it. I will check the piston depth. I have done this with flat tops but not a piston with the raised ring. Do I measure the out edge which is lower or the top of the ridge?
 
dukeboy_318 said:
yep, I have these same pistons in my 360 based 408 stroker in my 78 powerwagon. Mine was built in the late 80s with a custom ordered crank (before the days of off the shelve stroker kits). Built to do truck pulls, the torque is insane. Only have 2172 miles on it....

I've found that TRW has changed a lot of part numbers, in particular, a lot of their 80s series mopar pistons. Ive got a set of brand new TRW 440 pistons thats been in a box for 30 years, but if you google the part numbers, they come up to Pontiac 455 pistons now a days.....
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info dukeboy. I called Federal Mogul and they confirmed that they are an obsolete mopar 360 forged piston. They have -11cc dish. So they appear to be forged stock replacements. Mystery solved. With these pistons it looks like the 974 are gonna give me a low compression ratio so maybe the 302s may be a better option.

FM tech support was really helpful to. I gave them the part number and they gave the specs.

I feel much better now.
 
dvanecek said:
Thanks for the info dukeboy. I called Federal Mogul and they confirmed that they are an obsolete mopar 360 forged piston. They have -11cc dish. So they appear to be forged stock replacements. Mystery solved. With these pistons it looks like the 974 are gonna give me a low compression ratio so maybe the 302s may be a better option.

FM tech support was really helpful to. I gave them the part number and they gave the specs.

I feel much better now.
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no problem. :burnout:
 
I wouldn't run that crank, I remember a member had an engine "built" by someone. The bottom end came apart. When they pulled the pan and inspected it, they found cylindrical chunks of Mallory metal in the pan. His was "balanced " the same way. IIRC, he stated the failure occurred when he got on it , on a roll, and didn't necessarily overrev it. Remember, Mallory is heavier than iron, centrifugal force grows exponentially. If the guy was a skilled welder and used 100/18, and used every possible measure to promote penetration 100,000 psi of retention can be eclipsed by that mass sitting inside the counterweight waiting for a weak spot, at 5k rpm , it's a catastrophe waiting to happen. Good luck no matter what you decide.
 
two slugs of mallory metal on each end to internally balance crank...had light weight rods and kb 107 pistons.
 

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