Engine: flat top 289 pistons

[allstudedude]

Hello all, My first post here so be gentle with me. I have a 2 owner 62 GT hawk with 31k miles on her and am in the process of a freshen up. She's a 289, T10, TT with new eidlebrock carb. The engine runs great except that oil pressure disappears after about 30 minutes of driving, I suspect the piston in the pressure relief valve is sticking.
The engine is next on the list for rebuild and I would like to know where I can source some parts.
Does anyone know if anyone produces flat top pistons to suit the 289, Avanti slipper type would be great? if not what other pistons could be adapted to suit? There is a guy here in Australia that I can buy some 10 to 1 flat tops from but they are .140(i think) oversize, expensive and I don't know if my bores have that much meat left in them.
Does anyone know if anyone produces tri Y headers to suit? I know there are aftermarket cast Avanti headers available but have read that the quality is not that great.
Has anyone tried to siamese the centre exhaust ports (make two seperate ports) so that headers can breathe better.
I have a 280 degree cam and delco distributor to go in.
Any help would be muchly apreciated....

[41 Frank]

Flat top, Hypereutectic, score resistant, Avanti pistons are readily available from most of us U.S. Studebaker vendors. They are currently available in .020 .030 .040 and .060 oversizes.

[3x2stude]

Google "Studebaker Vendors". Meyers and other vendors carry modern hypereutech cast pistons in many overbores up to 060 in full dish, half dish and flat tops. I just bought half dish 060 over from Meyers for about $350.00 American. Who made the cam? email me if you want to chat on vendors some more. jakammer@charter.net.

Jon Kammer

[allstudedude]

Thanks Frank, it's a relief to know that the pistons are readily available, once I get the engine out, striped and measured up, I'll know what size i'm after....

[allstudedude]

Thanks Jon, us$350 is a lot better than the au$900 here!! The cam is a wade, made back in the early seventies for an Aussie Stude parts dealer, he had a bunch of them made. It's the last one he had and came with new micro polished lifters. I got the dizzy off the same bloke and it's like new, done very little work.
Have you had anything to do with the after market Avanti cast headers? if so are they any good?

[3x2stude]

I have a set for my Hawk not on yet. I can photo and send you an email tomorrow. The cast headers are a small but in my mind worthwhile improvement. They will require a bit of clean up inside, (smoothing), but its not hard. They also look cooler than the other cast iron. Is Tighe cams still in bussiness? Their web site says they make Stude cam blanks but they never answer an email. I have spent over two years looking for someone that has recentlt made tube headers for a Stude but have only found shops that are high end fabricators that of coarse can make them but would need the car there. One place I found that could probably make what ever you want without the car there is "Stainless Header Mfg. Inc." They have a neat way for you to mock up a model of the headers, send it to them and they fab to match. I supose the shipping would be cost prohibitive though. Still, check out there web site. And by the way, what is a "dizzy"?

Jon Kammer

[41 Frank]

Dizzy is Aussy for distributor.

[Mike Van Veghten]

Allstude -

There is nothing really "wrong" with the current Avanti header copy. At least not what I've seen or heard of.
The only thing wrong is there is some cast in walls, or baffles in the manifolds exit area that need removing with a mill or can be hand ground out, to make a nice clean exit.

As for dividing the center port...lotsa work for no gain..!
People have been trying for years on engines that have this type of port..all the work never seems to last...if new heads are installed for some reason...it's done without the work on the head or exhaust.
You can forget any benifits on the=is addition.

If you want a performance increase, find someone qualified to do some cylinder head porting and install hard exhaust seats.
If you really want to wake up the engine, have a set of, Avanti like, 1.875" intake valves put in (like the divided exhaust)...don't put the larger exhaust valve in, just the intake.

Go here to see what can be done.
http://public.fotki.com/-Mike-/
Look at "Stude Cylinder Head Porting".


Have fun.

Mike

[stude dude]

Hi there, I think I can help. I would never pay $900 for pistons for any kind of car! I have some pistons for sale here in oz. Send me a private message chris@studeparts.com.au for prices and details.

Good luck with your project.

Chris.

[allstudedude]

Thanks for the link Mike, I've done some port matching to the inlet manifold when I fitted the edelbrock, the original port matching was a terrible job. I'll do a propper job of it when I get the motor out and stripped.

[allstudedude]

Thanks Chris, I've had another thought on the subject of pistons....... has anyone tried using 259 (flat top) pistons and rods with a 289 crank?> obviously you would have to have the block decked by the 9.5mm required to retain the corect crown clearance. Is there enough meat at the top of the block to remove 9.5 mm without entering the water jackets?

Phil.

[Dan Timberlake]

Even if there is enough material in the decks, a batch of other parts would need "adjustment" too. For a start intake manifold faces ( and ports and bolt holes), pushrod length, ............

[Chicken Hawk]

Using 259 pistons with a 289 crank would not work. The pin height on a 259 piston is about .135" MORE that a 289 piston so the piston would stick out of the block approximately .100".

Ted

Thanks Chris, I've had another thought on the subject of pistons....... has anyone tried using 259 (flat top) pistons and rods with a 289 crank?> obviously you would have to have the block decked by the 9.5mm required to retain the corect crown clearance. Is there enough meat at the top of the block to remove 9.5 mm without entering the water jackets?

Phil.

[DEEPNHOCK]

31,000 miles and your engine needs rebuilding????
Tis' a curiosity, no?

[PackardV8]

I've had another thought on the subject of pistons....... has anyone tried using 259 (flat top) pistons and rods with a 289 crank?> obviously you would have to have the block decked by the 9.5mm required to retain the corect crown clearance.

Even if there is enough material in the decks, a batch of other parts would need "adjustment" too. For a start intake manifold faces ( and ports and bolt holes), pushrod length, ............

The pin height on a 259 piston is about .135" MORE that a 289 piston so the piston would stick out of the block approximately .100".

Not to mention all the above would cost many times more than a set of 289" pistons.

jack vines