Well I've been trying to get my C8BA rebuilt and have hit a snag. About three weeks or so ago I contacted Dennis Carpenter, Bob Jones I believe, to enquire about pistons, bearings, etc. I asked if they had .060 over pistons (Merc), cam bearings, .010 under crank and con rod bearings, and a couple of other little things. He looked them up and said no problem and gave me a price of $198 for the piston set which I liked. Now Bob has retired and when I contacted DC again I got a reply that the important stuff like pistons they do not have! They also said that according to their catalog Merc pistons Max oversize were .040. Is this accurate? So does anyone know where I could get a set of the pistons? A local jobber said they could get Scat pistons in for around $1800-1900 Cdn!!! I know these engines are not cheap to rebuild but being retired and with the exchange rate I would like to get a price similar to what DC quoted...
Last time I looked, .060 Merc pistons were 'in stock' with most flathead jobbers. (they make the famous '5/16 by quarter' 276" mills) Egge did have them in JE (Jahns) and Silvolite, IIRC. H&H flatheads have parts, too. I believe this set is also sold by Speedway, also Red's Headers. Not sure, like I say; it's been a while.
$1800 for a set is BS. Red's Headers sells Ross forged pistons for roughly $500US, and Red's and Speedway both sell generic US made pistons for under $250/set.
Well I've been checking out Macs, Summit, ebay, etc. Two questions come up... 1. My .060 overbore comes to 3.2475", correct? 2. I'll bee using original Eddie Meyer heads so flat top or domed? One bigger problem is that I have my parts shipped to a WA mailbox which saves some cash. However, with the border being closed I don't know when I could pick them up and if there are any issues such as being damaged I could be facing some difficulties making a complaint months down the road.
So pay the extra money and have them shipped to your house or wait until the border opens to ship them. Seems like a pretty simple solution.
I may do that depending if the shipping does/doesn't come with a free prostate exam! now what about flat versus domed pistons?
I went to Speedway and looked at their Offenhauser flat top pistons, etc. Will probably go with them but still shopping. I guess the key thing is to make sure they are for the 4" stroke as well as the new bore size. Sometimes they say Ford/Merc but in smaller letters they mention the 3 3/4 stroke.
If you find a set,make sure UPS doesnt deliver them,if they do you will get a free prostate exam.I recently bought a heater assembly for my shop,they sent it by UPS,cost me a extra 140.00 in brokerage fees.
Yep, that's my big concern. When I have stuff shipped to WA state no problems plus depending on when I can scoot across the line return policy may be voided. I want to finish this rebuild but... However, keeping this Covid19 on its heels here in BC, and Canada, is much more important. The only thing I'm suffering from is CarOwnersVirus '56-'20 and beyond!
I have original Eddie Meyer heads with the very slight dome on the engine in my avatar. The pistons and heads tried to occupy the same space when I first fired it up (just enough to give a "lifter type" clackety clack). The heads were off a former circle track racer, so I don't know if or by how much they had been milled. There was enough meat to carve out the cumbustion chamber to make clearance.
I always ask for parts to be shipped from the US with the US Postal Service via International Expedited Parcel to NW Ontario. Drakes, Early Ford Store & most vendors will ship USPS in a heart beat. Van Pelts can get a USPS commercial rate and should be able to go on the USPS site to give an estimate to your address. Canada Post charges only a couple dollars for brokerage fees versus the insane fees of the other carriers. HST or PST are paid upon delivery. Not that expensive. The USPS allows a person to to estimated costs to get a rough idea of what shipping costs. I don't know if it is possible to day trip across the border and why risk it. Its the dollar that really bites these days
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