I am rebuilding my orignal 1972 350 CKW . I want to maximize the compression ratio with a flat top single trough type piston. What is the minimum head to piston clearance. I am currently planning on using 0.035" clearance to yield a compression ratio of 9.22:1. Thanks in advance.
-
-
Re: Piston to head clearance on a 350
the piston to wall clearance will determine this. the more piston to wall the more piston to head is needed because of the piston rock. if you are using .003/.005 piston to wall .035 should do the trick if you are using steel rods. make sure you check all 8 pistons for this number. do to manufacturing tolerance of the pistons, rods and crank it could vary cly. to cly. this was the big problem for the oldsmobile diesel engine for years. the compression could vary from cly. to cly. as much as 8 points in the same engine. -
Re: Piston to head clearance on a 350
Piston to wall clearance is avg .0035". I am using steel rods. The deck height above TDC is 0.018". I have two viable options. One, I can use a 0.020" head gasket for a total clearance of 0.040", CR 9.32 or two I can use a 0.015" head gasket for a total clearance of 0.033, CR 9.42. Victor makes the 0.020" and Felpro makes the 0.015" setup. If I use a standard head gasket 0.039/0.041 my CR drops to approx.8.94. I am trying to make about 350HP at 5500 rpm. Your Thoughts.Comment
-
Re: Piston to head clearance on a 350
i like childs/albert part# CA-1178SSB which is .020 thick,4.5 cc vol because they are stainless steel not just regular steel. clean all surfaces with lacquer thinner and paint the surfaces with hi temp aluminium paint. i have used this system on engines up to 13:1 CR with good results. chevy used to market stainless steel shim head gaskets but they are no longer available.Comment
Comment