Ross pistons vs Stock pistons

[1929]

would it be a good idea amongst other upgrades of the rebuilding of the motor to install the Ross pistons instead of stock?

[1929]

I think the Ross piston is a Chevy 283

[J and M Machine]

The Ross pistons are forged and are more costly than the stock replacements naturally.
It all depends on how much money you want to spend and how you plan on driving the car.?

[1929]

Originally Posted by J and M Machine

The Ross pistons are forged and are more costly than the stock replacements naturally.
It all depends on how much money you want to spend and how you plan on driving the car.?

just for normal driving, maybe 3,000 miles a year

[J Franklin]

I think the wear would be similar, Use the extra money on good balancing.

[Pete]

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Originally Posted by 1929

just for normal driving, maybe 3,000 miles a year

Well, if that 3000 miles is on a "normal" race track like Syracuse or Eldora, use the Ross pistons.
For legal street type driving, you don't need them....lol

[Jim Brierley]

Cast pistons are stiffer and usually require less piston-to-wall clearance, therefore the pistons don't rock as much resulting in longer ring wear. Try and get pistons with modern rings as they seal better than original A rings. I use Ross pistons in my race engine and think they are the best for that purpose.

[V4F]

I have ross in my daily driver + aluminum rods . very happy ........ steve

[hardtimes]

Originally Posted by 1929

would it be a good idea amongst other upgrades of the rebuilding of the motor to install the Ross pistons instead of stock?

You've got a lot of good information here, so far. So, what is your pick for a piston to use ? Do you know what head you will use ? If you will end up using pretty much stock head, then stock pistons should suffice. If you have or intend on using a high compression head, you will have to determine whether Fords stock 'pop up' piston will be a proper fit or interfere. Do you know what compression height you want a piston to have, so that you can use high cr head. I just went thru this process and used Egge made pistons, to specs that I gave them...i.e.-flat top/deck (comp) height and modern rings. My choice, for instance, will go with 8:1 head. If using high comp head, you then must determine if you have (at least) minimum and sufficient piston top to head clearance (claying with and without gasket thickness to be used). There are other considerations, but you ask about pistons, per se.
If you are not machinists/engine builder, YOU will have to tell builder/assembler what you have, as parts, and what you want to end up with.

As to your question about using Ross pistons ('good idea'). Yeah, if I had 'spare cash', they are said to be excellent quality pistons that I'd liked to have included. But, are they needed..no. I could have bought 2 to three sets of the pistons/pins/rings that I used, for the price of one Ross set.
These engines (A/B) are bottomless pits to throw money into..if you have it to throw,eh
Here's question back to you....if I had the money to have any BUILDER in the country to build my A/B , who would that be ? IMO, that BEST builder would make you engine work better/longer than any high dollar parts ever could when put together by , say me !

[1929]

Originally Posted by hardtimes

You've got a lot of good information here, so far. So, what is your pick for a piston to use ? Do you know what head you will use ? If you will end up using pretty much stock head, then stock pistons should suffice. If you have or intend on using a high compression head, you will have to determine whether Fords stock 'pop up' piston will be a proper fit or interfere. Do you know what compression height you want a piston to have, so that you can use high cr head. I just went thru this process and used Egge made pistons, to specs that I gave them...i.e.-flat top/deck (comp) height and modern rings. My choice, for instance, will go with 8:1 head. If using high comp head, you then must determine if you have (at least) minimum and sufficient piston top to head clearance (claying with and without gasket thickness to be used). There are other considerations, but you ask about pistons, per se.
If you are not machinists/engine builder, YOU will have to tell builder/assembler what you have, as parts, and what you want to end up with.

As to your question about using Ross pistons ('good idea'). Yeah, if I had 'spare cash', they are said to be excellent quality pistons that I'd liked to have included. But, are they needed..no. I could have bought 2 to three sets of the pistons/pins/rings that I used, for the price of one Ross set.
These engines (A/B) are bottomless pits to throw money into..if you have it to throw,eh
Here's question back to you....if I had the money to have any BUILDER in the country to build my A/B , who would that be ? IMO, that BEST builder would make you engine work better/longer than any high dollar parts ever could when put together by , say me !

Iam not sure of what piston or head, what head is available at 8-1 that doesn't have fins and looks close to the stock head? Iam doing the following to the engine: inserts, total seal gapless rings, modern rear seal, new connecting rods upgrade, balance-crank,rods,pistons, counterbalance crankshaft, performance intake valves, modern valves, lightened flywheel/v8 pressure plate, stipe camshaft, cam bearings, machine 4 oversize tappets. Don't want to do anything over the top that doesn't do much. Any suggestions Hardtimes.

[Pete]

Dan Price at one time made an aluminum head that looked stock and was about 7.5 to 1. They had some problems with hangover but could be welded to work.
Just about any head can be filled and chamber machined to get any compression you want. I filled a Price finned head per his instructions to get 11 to 1. That engine is still running.

[1929]

Originally Posted by Pete

Dan Price at one time made an aluminum head that looked stock and was about 7.5 to 1. They had some problems with hangover but could be welded to work.
Just about any head can be filled and chamber machined to get any compression you want. I filled a Price finned head per his instructions to get 11 to 1. That engine is still running.

Iam sure your engine has inserts, right? This is the first time I heard about 11-1 on a model a.

[Rex_A_Lott]

I had a motor re-done several years ago with the modern rear seal. I dont think I would go that route again.
I'm sort of puzzled as to how you KNOW you're going to run gapless rings when you dont even have the pistons picked out.
I think if it was me I'd go ahead with the Ross pistons and set the deck height at zero....then if you decide down the road you want to make changes most of them will be bolt-ons and you wont have to go back in the bottom end.
But as others have said, the cast or hypers are going to be adequate for most people.
Good Luck

[Pete]

Originally Posted by 1929

Iam sure your engine has inserts, right? This is the first time I heard about 11-1 on a model a.

Yes that engine had inserts.
11 to1 was quite common in the 30's in race engines. Those all had babbitt.

[1929]

Originally Posted by Pete

Yes that engine had inserts.
11 to1 was quite common in the 30's in race engines. Those all had babbitt.

how long did the Babbitt last on a 11-1? I thought the Babbitt cant go over a 6-1 if you want it to last long.

[Pete]

Originally Posted by 1929

how long did the Babbitt last on a 11-1? I thought the Babbitt cant go over a 6-1 if you want it to last long.

Ed Winfield was one of the winningest sprint car (called big cars in those days) drivers in the 30's. Many of the races were 100 miles on mile tracks.
Some races were 500 miles. Those engines were turning 5500 twice a lap.
Jim Brierley on this forum, has set several records at Bonneville with babbitt engines.
Babbitt has gotten a bad rap over the years from people that don't have a clue.

[colin1928]

Ross pistons as are about as good as you will get without going custom and good value for the $
I have used them in A/B engines that double as street/race never had a problem other than noisy cold
There are plenty of other pistons that are fitted to A/B engines available in cast , hyper and forged from different manufactures some that come to mind are Chevy Olds and Mopar
With any engine it is a balance of the total combination
You asked about 8-1 heads there have been heaps Winfield Weiand Simonds and many more in this range piston to head clearance becomes a issue sometimes another reason to chose a piston head combination carefully

[pat in Santa Cruz]

I have Ross pistons in the sedan. They have been in there for 50K miles and still running strong. One thing you need to know is that the alloy used in them expands more than modern eutectic pistons like are sold by most vendors. That means more clearance. If I remember right, my engine is .060 over and we set the piston/wall clearance to .006. Hence, when cold, the engine is loud. The pistons slap until heated up. If you want a quiet engine, they are not for you. One guy I know set his Ross' to .003 to reduce noise and they stuck on his first hill.

[johnneilson]

One fact about having custom pistons made, they can be made to any size. This means that you are not going to have to bore motor out any larger than necessary to clean up, like 030 or 060 over.

Also mentioned was the use of TotalSeal rings. Having the piston made for a specific set is far better than trying to adapt a set to your piston. The radial dimension of the rings is very important and so is tension.

I can go on about this, but not necessary.
Having used both Venolia and Ross, both are Top notch product and they have survived by providing quality. IMHO, worth every penny.

J

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by 1929

how long did the Babbitt last on a 11-1? I thought the Babbitt cant go over a 6-1 if you want it to last long.

Just a question or two for you to ponder, ....do you think early Diesel engines were inserts, --and what was their compression ratios?

[1929]

Thanks for all the opinions, I guess Ross pistons won the vote from what I heard here for a place in the total rebuild and my wallet lost an extra $400