Cadillac 331 pistons

[NormS]

I'm dealing with an engine rebuild on a 1953 Cadillac 331. It appears that the only readily available pistons for that engine are some crappy Chinese ones, that have pretty bad reviews. Silvolite used to make a part #1806 cast piston for that engine, but stopped making those sometime ago. Does anyone know who might have any new/old stock sets of Silvolite #1806 pistons in either +.040" or +.060" ? Norm

[pdq67]

What's Egge got?

And you might ask politely over on the HAMB.. They are more into engine types like this than we are, imho. But sometimes some of them can be quite cantankerous if they feel dissed in any way...

Personally, I like the HAMB..

pdq67

[bigmike]

Ross can make custom pistons for the 331 but it won't be cheap. They can make all kinds of odd ball stuff from what I've seen. P36 in the catalog I have.

[NormS]

As far as I can tell, the cast pistons advertised by Egge, Kanter, and others, are the crappy Chinese pistons. Those even have a disclaimer, warning against using them in anything that makes more power than stock. A common theme in the reviews I read, is that some people have immediately returned them as soon as they got them, the quality is so obviously bad.
I was hoping to not have to get into some custom pistons, but that's looking more likely now. Norm

[Truckedup]

Packard V8 Jack might know where to find some and will probably reply here..........Yes, the HAMB may turn up some leads..Yes, there are some assholes there but technical questions like old Caddy parts should get proper attention...Me or PDQ can ask for you if you're not a member there...

[PackardV8]

Been several years since I built an early Cad, but at that time the Egge pistons were acceptable quality for a stock build. What they're sending today, I couldn't say.

FWIW, I just got pistons for a Studebaker Champion made by Yong Chiang Pistons Co, Ltd from Taiwan. They were beautiful; worlds better than anything Studebaker ever had.

[pdq67]

Might contact Mark O'Neal and ask him since he was Probe..

And he is fucking cantankerous!!

He, He!!

He's the guy with the big, laid back, orange and white Alley-Cat for his Avatar..

pdq67

[engineguyBill]

Egge makes many of their pistons and the quality is quite good, from what I have seen, Like Jack said however, they may be sourcing some of their product offshore. Comes down to the good ol' "make or buy" decision that all manufacturers face at some point. I too have seen some aftermarket replacement (stock) pistons manufactured in Asia and South America that are of excellent quality and all dimensions are spot on.

[NormS]

Jack and Bill, Do you have any contact info for those suppliers where you got the good quality pistons? I'd like to avoid the situation of ordering pistons just to assess their quality, and possibly have to send them back if they aren't acceptable. The engine I'm working on will have some mildly ported heads and Stromberg tri-power carburetion, so it will be making a little more power than stock.
The part number that Egge uses for the Cad331 pistons, is also used by the other suppliers. So I'm assuming they're selling pistons from the same source. It's the poor reviews on the Egge pistons that I saw, and those may apply to the other suppliers that are selling the same pistons.

[sidestep]

It's a shot in the dark, but maybe these guys can help. They build rocket olds engines from the same era. Maybe point you down the right path?

https://rossracingengines.oursafeserver.com/

[engineguyBill]

Jack and Bill, Do you have any contact info for those suppliers where you got the good quality pistons? I'd like to avoid the situation of ordering pistons just to assess their quality, and possibly have to send them back if they aren't acceptable. The engine I'm working on will have some mildly ported heads and Stromberg tri-power carburetion, so it will be making a little more power than stock.
The part number that Egge uses for the Cad331 pistons, is also used by the other suppliers. So I'm assuming they're selling pistons from the same source. It's the poor reviews on the Egge pistons that I saw, and those may apply to the other suppliers that are selling the same pistons.

Egge and Kantor are about the only suppliers of pistons for vintage engines in the US and their offerings will generally be stock design, cast pistons and not really suitable for sustained high performance usage. Just about any of the high performance/race piston manufacturers (CP,JE, Wiseco, Diamond, RaceTec, etc., etc. will be able to make forged custom pistons for any application, but the price will be substantially more than cast pistons . . . . .

[Krooser]

Try RaceTec...

I've had Egge builld one Buick nailhead piston for an old Buick powered Ford I had and a couple sets of other obsolete deals...good stuff.

[pdq67]

I will say that way back in say the early '70's when I put my old junk301 together, I bought W/JCW steel-strutted cast 1/8" over 283 pistons that had 1/8" tall 1/2 round domes like the 290 and 315hp engines had.

Cost all of $39.95 per set of 8 or so back then. I ran the dog-shit out of them! Many a 7,500 rpm blast!

I think they were either Badgers or Simplex/Triplex(??). I went to buy another set for another 301 and couldn't find them anywhere..

pdq67

[Truckedup]

I had Venolia and then Ross make pistons for vintage GMC and Chevy inline 6's....Venolia, $500 for 6 was 100 bucks cheaper a set than Ross, that was 15 years ago....The Ross pistons appeared and were better finished..
For vintage bikes, the Taiwan pistons are fine for moderately modified engines....And buying a ring set that fits properly in the ring grooves..

[resurrectionjoe]

Racetec can make you a custom set in their AutoTec line

Their AutoTec customs are quite economical compared to everyone else's customs.

If you need any help with it I'm a dealer

Go to this page below and click the 3rd link for custom order form

http://racetecpistons.com/pages/forms.php