[Mike Kelly]

Ryan

A few years ago, the market here was flooded with 216 Chev pistons , they are usually packed in original ww2 grease . BUT , they are original cast iron type . Uptons of Corowa had a large crate of them, 040 oversize with rings . The crate slowly dwindled down after each Corowa event , and the price for a set varied enormously , depending on who was there at the time .

I'm no expert, but I believe most restorers go for the aftermarket alloy pistons , these were made here by Rolloy I think , and various makers in US. The alloy version is about 25 -30% lighter , which is ideal for a babbit pounder motor , lighter = less stress.

The cast iron pistons are Ok to use , but you are limited in terms of revs . Thay can break too, they tend to fatigue around the lower ring area and the top comes off , but this is very rare I have been told. A plus is, being so hard, the ring grooves tend to last forever without wearing . They also tend to wear the gudgeon bushes badly, mine has a loose pin presently , it knocks at idle .

Mike