That is not true. Any decent compression pistons will cost money, 273 or 318. 273 factory pistons are about zero deck with closed chambers till 1967. nothing special needed. If you want more compression, the 10.5:1 Commando/Charger pistons were and are available. I would not run the real cheap 318 pistons with no compression. I never let cost or ease make decisions for what I want to build. All the rest is the same between 273 and 318. I never let ease or cost make my decision for what I want. I know how much power I want and build accordingly.