In keeping with the title of this thread, I made a choice on pistons that went for the power instead of playing it safe.
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I liked the Speed Pro H116CP but the .040 size was out of stock and could take awhile. These KBs have a taller compression height so I chose a thicker head gasket..
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This does put the compression ratio in a good place, right in the middle of where I want IF the heads have not been milled and the decks cut too much.
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I am taking a bit of a gamble but this engine was 100% original when my friend rebuilt it years ago. Stock decks, stock heads. Even if I have the man take 3 thousands off each just to clean it up for a good gasket seal, I'd then have these numbers...
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Being under 9.5 to 1 with stock iron heads should still be fine with 89 octane and a proper tune.
I do have these:
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These are the 1.6 ratio rocker arms from Hughes Engines. A FABO member has a thread here about some trouble he had with them:
Hughes Engines
I don't recall that this engine had any pushrod clearance issues, but I didn't look for it either. After reading the thread, it seems that some feel that clearancing is a necessity with the LA heads. Their listing on the Hughes site doesn't state that, at least I didn't see it anywhere.