<VV> Reusing LM pistons

[aeroned at aol.com]

If the engine has never been out, can we assume it's never been rebuilt?

Ned






-----Original Message-----
From: Ron <ronh at owt.com>
To: Bryan Blackwell <bryan at skiblack.com>; AeroNed at aol.com
Cc: virtualvairs at corvair.org
Sent: Tue, Jul 26, 2011 10:04 am
Subject: Re: <VV> Reusing LM pistons


The original pistons are in my '66 sedan and it's still the most reliable Corvair I have. Actually, the engine has never been out. 
RonH 
 
----- Original Message ----- From: "Bryan Blackwell" <bryan at skiblack.com> 
To: <AeroNed at aol.com> 
Cc: <virtualvairs at corvair.org> 
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 7:59 AM 
Subject: Re: <VV> Reusing LM pistons 
 
> 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? 
> 
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