TRW Forged Pistons in 4.1Buick

[skylarkstage1]

Want to do a 4.1 turbo buildup in the future and, like most of us, I'm on a very tight budget, being retired and all. What I have planned for the future project is to use a CAT forged 3.400" or maybe the CAT 3.625" stroker crank with K1 h-beam connecting rods in either 5.960" or 6.0" c to c. Now, when it comes to forged pistons for this project, it appears I will need to win a lottery in order to afford custom pistons, since no off the shelf are available. Since winning a lottery will never happen, I have been looking at the possibility of using other forged pistons that are available. Came across a new set of Chevy TRW 327 forged pistons in a 4.00" bore, flat top with 4 valve reliefs and a compression distance of 1.671".
Would these pistons work in any combination of connecting rods and crank strokes mentioned above?

 

[turbobob924]

I do not believe so, The buick is off center (chevy is on center) and you do not want a flat top as the compression W/B too high.

 

[TurboCrazy]

Turbobob is right about the flat top pistons, too much compression. However, oncenter or offcenter does not involve the pistons. Only the block and rods are involved when going from offcenter to oncenter.

 

[brian]

I had a 4.1 that used those pistons, stock crank, and offset ground Buick 425 rods.
Can be done. But I am not sure it will be inexpensive.

It may be cheaper to get the 425ci rods and use the stock 4.1 crank.

I believe compression was around 9.5 to1.

HTH, Brian

 

[skylarkstage1]

Brian
Can you tell me more about your build up? Why did you select the 425 nailhead connecting rods? Are those rods 6.219" center to center? I've heard of offset grinding a crank but never heard of offset grinding connecting rods. How is this procedure done and what is the purpose? How far down were the pistons in the cylinder? Thickness of the head gaskets used? Maximum turbo boost you ran with this setup? Thanks Brian for any information you can provide.

 

[TurboCrazy]

YES, please tell us more about offset grinding rods! Never heard of this. More info!

 

[49-blues]

You could also try stage 2 forged pistons- i found some on ebay for under $200.

 

[Bryan Weber]

stroker kit

We have a 3.550" stroker kit for that engine with forged crank, Manley/Weber 4340 h-beam bushed rods, custom Wiseco pistons, plasma moly rings, coated rod and main bearings, and internally balanced for $2,300. Pistons are available in 3.820", 3.830", 3.840", and 4.000".
This is the only bolt in stroker kit that does not require block modification!