Can cast pistons work?

[Def]

Forged pistons run around $400-500 depending on brand, and I think you're underestimating the cost of brand new stockers and new rings. Plus they're not just a "put it in and forget it" type thing. You have to check the bore size, roundness, get the right cylinder wall gap, then gap the rings etc.

If you're stripping down the block, you'd be well advised to get new forged pistons with a slight oversize just so you can clean up the walls and get the cylinder wall to piston clearance right on for each individual piston and bore.

Why don't you just go with a slightly thicker headgasket? You can just pull the head(which isn't near as hard as getting machine work done to a block and putting it back together with care), and drop your CR down to 9.0:1 or so. Or maybe even slightly lower.

That should give you more margin for error and keep your engine together with a good tune. You'll still have the stock ringlands holding you back from big power, but you'd have basically the same problems with cryo treated stockers.

[sil80drifter]

Stock SOHC Comrpession (upper 89 and 90 years) is 8.6. Any lower would significantly suck. Al I'm saying is that if you wanna get away with not spending much money and still havign a very decent setup for under 300rwhp goals, you definately can. All the block work can be disregarded sicne you'll be doign ti anyway. I won't be, I'll just hone the cylinders myself, but some may say it's ghetto. I want to see for myself just what my setup can do. Then people can tell me whether it was good or bad.

sil80