<VV> Reusing LM pistons

[Bryan Blackwell]

If it's low mileage and has no signs of overheating or detonation, you might get quite a bit of useful life out of the pistons.  I think that most Corvair piston failures can really be traced to the abuse they suffered as "cheap cars", often run on crappy gas, with very little maintenance.  I personally wouldn't put stock pistons back in an engine unless I was *very* certain of the use (and lack of abuse) they had suffered at the hands of any previous owners.  If the pistons pass that hurdle, and especially if you saw the engine run prior to tear down, then maybe a measure and re-ring will work out ok.  With modern oil and decent maintenance you could get quite a few miles out of it (say over 50k) without any trouble.

Having said all that, I wouldn't re-use stock pistons.  Same thing with valve seats, if the head needs other work I'm getting the seats done.  Just too much time and money if they fail, and too many unknowns out there.  Spread out over the course of several years, it's really not that big an expense even if it's painful up front.

--Bryan

On Jul 25, 2011, at 10:41 PM, AeroNed at aol.com wrote:

> I'd like to hear some opinions on reusing LM pistons. Consider that it's a low mileage engine and that I have honed the cylinders. What say you on how long before I top a piston?