New guy with old 331 ?????

[Bret]

New guy here with a 331 long bell , a set of large port top water outlet heads . I have not pulled the engine apart yet but hope to get by with a .030 clean up on the cylinders .iI want to use the rods and crank but i do want to raise it to 10.1 compression . I need to know what Brand and type of piston will do this and not crunch my valves .And does anyone know a good hemi machine shop in the sw washington st area . Portland Vancouver area. Thanks for any help getting this beast relit.

[wayfarer]

Bret, all of the available cast pistons are built for replacement use, that is, stock compression. The best you can do with a cast piece is the 1955 version at 8.5:1, however, we have yet to find a cast slug that actually makes what is advertised.......You may want to spend the extra for a forged piston and specify the exact number you want. We almost always use 10:1 and have no issues. As to the machine shop, call Virgil Hanson at 541-926-5742. He is in Albany, about 1-hour south of PDX, well worth the drive. BTW, he has an early 331 in his coupe and knows early Hemis very well.

[dan miller]

Hello Bret

I believe that it makes good sense, both in terms of economics and performance, to "do it once, and do it right". If you invest in a good foundation, the cost is obviously more, but you can throw whatever (high rpm, methanol, nitrous) at it without worrying.

For instance, when you have the crank turned, have the rod journals ground to BBC (2.200") size. Minimal additional cost. Instead of having your rods magged, shot peened, sized, and new bolts, purchase a set of Eagle BBC rods. Minimal additional cost, if any. And you'll have a far better rod. For pistons, bite the bullet and purchase some brand name forged pistons. We deal with Pat at Ross Pistons, and he is a gem. He has ALL the answers.

Let's say the pistons cost $800, verses $300 for a set of cast cheepies.

So (and I'm guessing here) with a low buck deal, you'll have $300 in pistons, at $300 in rods, and $200 in crank grinding. Plus, you'll have an extra $50 in bearings, as the Chevies are considerably cheaper. Wild guess, around $800 for the rotating assembly. Plus the additional $50 for bearings

With the high dollar deal, you'll have $800 in pistons, $400 in rods (long rods are good, and are not a problem with custom pistons), and $250 in crank grinding. Bearings will cost a little less. Wild guess, around $1450. And it will be bulletproof! This combination is good for well over 1000 horsepower. Also, it's an absolute fact that such a combination will spin over 9000 rpm.

While you're at it, it's hard to beat Tom Water's bottom end girdle. It's about a third the cost of a 4 bolt main deal, and adds a bunch of toughness to the bottom end.

We ran this exact combination in our 2007 Engine Masters Challenge engine (and will be utilizing the crank and rods in 2008). It made almost 80 pulls, never had even the slightest hiccup, and the last pull was the strongest. When we tore it down, everything looked literally like new. (Well, other than the oil pump bolt in the pan. My bad - no Loctite.)

You might even want to skimp somewhere else to have the peace of mind of a killer bottom end that you can abuse unmercifully without a second thought. If you remain "into" hemi's , these parts will literally last you a lifetime. Especially if you're old like me!

Danny

[DblAdigger]

On 331/354 engines I like to use PONTIAC aftermarket rods. Pin bearings are the same as 331/354 EXCEPT, the tangs are on the other side. Easy to get bearings. Then just hone the pin bushings to wrist pin size.

[Bret]

thanks for the tips guys . my old motor will be all original stuff cept for new pistons and bearings . She wont be for going fast we are both too old for that

[Powerflite]

Dan,
Is it advisable to use taller rods and pistons with the pin higher up? Have you tried this?
Thanks.

[dan miller]

We usually put the pin where we want it, and order GRP rods to length. There is much discussion over the short rod/long rod deal, but I believe that there is more to be said for long than short.

On the Engine Masters deal, we found the longest steel rod that Eagle made, that could be bored out to the Chrysler bearing OD. Turned out to be a 7.100" BBC rod. The reason being that we wanted as light a piston as possible.

With the 2008 rules, the bearing diameter rule is loosened up a little, so the rod journals could be turned down to 2.200", and the rods could remain as purchased. I'd prefer the smaller diameter, but as we already have the rods, it doesn't seem practical to purchase another set and grind down the rod throw.

Do you have a specific application or build in mind?

For a solid street engine, it would be really hard to beat a stock Chrysler offset ground crank, with 7.100" Eagle BBC rods, and a set of Ross pistons.

Danny

[budmspeeco]

I have a 392 crank I offset ground to B.Bl. Chevy rod size. It was a 4.250 welded stroker that went to 4.400 stroke, or 1/2 inch over stock. I want to put 7.000 rods in it as I have limited room for the pin in the piston. Is the narrower width of the big end anything to worry about? I am also going to turn down the rods in a 354 for the 6.800 h beam rods I got on eBay. Problem here? Buddy

[dan miller]

Hello Buddy

I haven't had much experience with welded strokers. I'm usually a little worried about 'em, as you usually don't know whether it was a nice crank that was stroked, or something that bounced off the ground after leaving the bottom end of a top fueler. A nice weld can cover all manner of carnage.

Application plays a very significant part in which rods will work best. In a street deal, it's almost impossible to beat a factory crank with Eagle or similar SBC 2.100" or BBC 2.200" rods. For racing (non blown, non nitro), with light pistons, my preference is a Bryant crank with the SBC 2.00" or Honda 1.88" rod journals.

Danny