Jack_Vines Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 Greetings, All,As many of you know, we rebuild Packard and Studebaker V8s. There is something to be learned every time. We just finished another complete rebuild of a 1956 Packard 352? and put it on the test stand. Everything had been done correctly, crank .010? under, cylinders .030? over, cam reground, new lifters, rockers reground. It started and ran fine, but there was a bit of a knock which should not have been there. As the water temp went up, the knock got louder. Nothing to do but shut it down and open it up and find the problem.When we got inside, it took about an hour of looking to finally notice traces of aluminum on one of the crankshaft counterweights. Close examination showed the skirt of one of the pistons was brushing the crank. As the engine got hotter, the piston expanded, the bearing clearances got larger and it tapped louder. The piston wasn?t hurt. We dressed the piston skirt, smoothed the casting roughness on the crank and the clearance between the piston skirt and crankshaft counterweight opened up to the .015? or so the other cylinders had. With two people working on the problem, at $100 an hour of shop time, the mis-made piston cost us $400.Just one more of the many reasons I don?t like the Egge Machine repo pistons. On the one hand, if it weren't for them, we wouldn't have any new pistons, but it is frustrating to have to fight the problems they cause. The test stand we built and the labor to set up and run every engine is partially because of problems like this. I won't send an engine across the country or across the ocean without knowing it is running and up to spec. Thnx, jv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_PackardV8 Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 Are the pistons that Egge supplied FULL skirted pistons?????? Do the pistons have any numbers or other markings on them????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrpushbutton Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 An engine building friend of mine here in Detroit has built a few Packard V-8 engines using pistons he got from a company that mainly caters to the racing trade. These look a world better than egge pistons, and I know that one of the cars with these pistons is running fine. I'll find out who the manufacturer is of these pistons. We used to call Egge pistons "museum pistons"--the reference/joke being that they were only good for a museum car (sitmobile) that would only be started and run once a year, minimally--just enough to get on to a trailer and go to a show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JT Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 How about Arias:http://www.ariaspistons.com/products.htmlor Ross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_Speedster Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Close examination showed the skirt of one of the pistons was brushing the crank. </div></div> Did you measure and compare the height of the crankshaft? It would be a shame to blame the piston, if the problem was a actually a difference in the crank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BigKev Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 What is funny is Arias lists a Packard Dome Top piston on the very bottom right of the home page. The also claim they can reproduce any piston if given a good one to copy or it dimensions. I guess custom pistons are their core business, and they also sell ready to go ones for popular applications.I have experience with their pistons in compact cars and have never had a problem with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack_Vines Posted September 27, 2006 Author Share Posted September 27, 2006 1. FWIW, I had lunch with Nick Arias a few months back. Yes, they can make anything you want. His good-guy quote was $1100 a set.2. The crank was ground undersize by a reliable crank grinder and is in spec.3. mrpushbuttion, we will anxiously await info from your friend in Detroit4. We have talked with the very few manufacturers of cast pistons and the volume is too low to interest them. Looks like we are going to have to pay $600-700 as set for custom forgings.thnx, jv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_PackardV8 Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 Are the pistons that Egge supplied FULL skirted pistons?????? Do the pistons have any numbers or other markings on them????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack_Vines Posted September 28, 2006 Author Share Posted September 28, 2006 AFAIK, everyone in the Packard V8 parts business; Kanter, Terrill, Tucson, and the 'maddog' guy on eBay are just re-selling Egge Machine pistons. FWIW, Egge only asks $317 a set retail for their 352" pistons.The Egge repo pistons are more of a full-skirt than the factory slipper-skirt design. They also do not have the cast-in steel expansion strut of the OEM pistons. They are out of the Egge box marked L2057-030.thnx, jv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_PackardV8 Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 JV wrote: "The Egge repo pistons are more of a full-skirt than the factory slipper-skirt design"OK!. That's what i suspected. That most likely means that Egge is NOT actualy manufacturing the piston but is rather modifying or substituting some other piston. I'm guessing (it's only a guess) that they are probably I'national - Harvester V8 pistons or perhaps some other pre60's piston. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Morbius Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 I have a rebuilt 359 straight 8 but this goes for V-8's too. On my origonal rebuild I used egge pistons and they almost ruined my block. I had to go another .010" to a total of .040" The machine shop charged $1800 in overruns because of what they said were crap pistons. I got a new set from Arias - I believe it was $800-$900 but that was 5 years ago. I can tell you with all honesty you will never hear a sweeter sounding straight 8 than mine. ..................Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack_Vines Posted September 29, 2006 Author Share Posted September 29, 2006 Hi, PackardV8,AFAIK, Egge does in fact, cast their own pistons. The International Harvester pistons are not even close to being an interchange with the Packard V8. We should wish they were, because they are infinitely better quality than the Egge pistons.thnx, jv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steveluvskaren2010 Posted August 29, 2010 Share Posted August 29, 2010 hello jack i asked about a replacement 352 for a 56 clipper... the reason is thisguy on ebay has a presentable black 56 sedan he was using and he pulled the motor and was going to rebuild but lost interest... i guess he could put it backin and leave it as it was.. he sounds as if he wants to sell the motor seperately...it is a dull black and has some rust... has the leveling suspension... that probis costly to repair... anything else i need to know about these cars... are partseasy to get for a car that stopped production in 1956? he wants 1750 buy it nowfo the car.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen_Dyneto Posted August 29, 2010 Share Posted August 29, 2010 Tis a shame not enough folks came forward when Dan Kanter offered to have the Packard V8 pistons remade to original specifications if enough folks were willing to commit to them. As I recall he needed orders for 25 sets, at about $50 per piston. If I recall correctly, Jack, you were one who said he'd buy a set but I think for all the whining about the other piston options, there were only 3 or 4 others who came forward.In any case, thanks Jack for sharing your experience - it makes one more thing for the rest of us to remember to check when doing engine work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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