Aluminum Pistons?

[JBohannon]

While I was timing my A the other day I had spark plugs out and with flashlight I could see top of pistons. They are kind of bright metalic color. Will this mean they are aluminum ? Thanks, Joe Bohannon

[Jerry in Shasta]

Most likely I don't think they used anything else on "A"s.

JB

[James Rogers]

Only the Model T had cast iron. Model A's were always aluminum.

[columbiA]

A friend had a 28 A that he did a ring job on,and it had cast iron pistons.Ive never seen another with the CI pistons.

[James Rogers]

Originally Posted by columbiA

A friend had a 28 A that he did a ring job on,and it had cast iron pistons.Ive never seen another with the CI pistons.

Why would there be one out of five million?

[azmodela]

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Originally Posted by James Rogers

Why would there be one out of five million?

I've seen a couple of original early 28' engines with cast iron pistons. They were ford script and with the early rods. I don't believe they were uncommon.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Interesting! This is the first I've ever heard of cast iron pistons in a Model A.
Seems like it would have been mentioned some years ago.

[V4F]

i have ROSS pistons in mine ! aluminum pistons & rods . less swinging weight !

[James Rogers]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

Interesting! This is the first I've ever heard of cast iron pistons in a Model A.
Seems like it would have been mentioned some years ago.

I have taken apart 2 or 3 hundred motors of all years and I have never seen a cast iron Model A piston. Believe what you want.

[SGT in Ont.]

Could it be that early Canadian engines may have been fiited with Cast Iron pistons? Never say never.

[Bruce Lancaster]

The last T engines, if I remembr, had composite construction pistons, not iron as earlier T's but all ferrous metal. Iron or forged crown with welded thin steel skirts??
Model T encyclopedia notes only "lightweight" pistons for 1924 and I don't remember source of the details. If early '28s had iron in there...were they composite?
If not, could there have been an attempt to sell more iron by an aftermarket supplier of T iron pistons, resulting in some aftermarket iron A pistons?

[JBohannon]

This has been an interesting post. When I first asked the question about my pistons I thought that A's originally had steel or cast iron pistons and the aluminum was an upgrade. Now I realize that almost if not all had aluminum.

[redmodelt]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lancaster

The last T engines, if I remembr, had composite construction pistons, not iron as earlier T's but all ferrous metal. Iron or forged crown with welded thin steel skirts??
Model T encyclopedia notes only "lightweight" pistons for 1924 and I don't remember source of the details. If early '28s had iron in there...were they composite?
If not, could there have been an attempt to sell more iron by an aftermarket supplier of T iron pistons, resulting in some aftermarket iron A pistons?

That would be interesting but in all the years of messing around Model T's and books I have seen never heard that one. The light weight piston was just a lighter weigth cast iron piston. The early V8-60 did have welded plates on the outside.

[marc hildebrant]

Curiously, my 1933 Chev. Coupe had cast iron pistons.

Marc

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by marc hildebrant

Curiously, my 1933 Chev. Coupe had cast iron pistons.

Marc

Chevy stuck with dippers and cast iron pistons into the 50's.

[Richard in NC]

Tom W. My old friend, mr Jim Freeze told me that during WW2 that you simply could not get auto parts when you needed them. He said they used to overhaul 216 chevy 6 cylinder engines if they could get rings and a head gasket. He said if the piston was loose in the cylinder you could gently squeeze the piston in a vise until it was oblong enough to fit better. They even used old ones from the scrap barrel if they had a cracked one.

[Brendan1959]

My Australian delivered 1928 AR had cast iron pistons, I still have them, they were a surprise to me, the motor had been sleaved back to standard and the iron pistons installed at some time in the past. They are surprisingly thin and light.
Regards
Brendan

[1931 flamingo]

Brendan1959: Butnot original, if block was sleeved.

paul in CT

[Brendan1959]

Here is a pic of one of my cast iron pistons.
Brendan