Chris you said,
"so, like I bought this set of stroker rods and pistons on
eBay on impulse (read: cheap), but the pistons are flat top. According to
Monroe, I'm going to have compression fever if I use them with the 351 heads
out in the garage (also read cheap, bird in the hand version). Is there any
way to bring the compression down (thicker head gasket??) besides taking a
router to the tops?"
Chris which stroker bits did you get? How long are the rods and what stroke
crank are the pistons for? You should really check the deck height before
you start to panic about compression ratios. If you really need to increase
chamber volume you can also grind the chamber walls by the valves where they
are shrouded on the sides. You do this by bolting the head to an empty block
and scribing the bore diameter of each cylinder on to the head. Be sure to
mark the heads left and right. Then grind where the chamber is smaller than
the bore on the left and right sides ... thereby extending the width of the
chamber. It is not a bunch but it may help. Another option is to grind
larger (Deeper) valve relief's into the pistons acting to increase the
compressed volume (lower compression). Another option is to find stainless
valves that have a pocket in the face of the valve rather than them being
flat. A thicker gasket like Steve suggests is good as well but I would stay
away from copper gasket as they require a machined o-ring around the chamber
and are prone to leaking coolant. I tried them in the past and was VERY
disappointed. There are some other options like polishing the heads to
remove and reshape the chamber that can help as well if compression is an
issue. UH what compression ratio are we potentially dealing with here?
Best Regards,
Tim Ronak
Business Development Manager
Akzo Nobel Coatings
Off: (949) 305-5393
Fx: (949) 305-5394
Cell: (949) 439-4784
email: timothy.ronak@akzonobel.com
VM: (800) 234-6747 ext. 2257#
This message, including attachments, is confidential and may be privileged.
If you are not an intended recipient, please notify the sender then delete
and destroy the original message and all copies. You should not copy,
forward and/or disclose this message, in whole or in part, without
permission of the sender.
|