speedpro domed pistons

I am in the plannining stages of a low budget build 460 for my mud truck. the only domed 460 pistons other than the ones carl has on here I can find are KB hypers and speed pros. The speed pros are forged and are just a little more than the KB's but they say the dome may need machined when used with 77cc or less heads. I have a set of dove heads that I am going to use and it is my understanding that they are 76cc+/-. Does anyone have any experience with these pistons and dove heads. How would I be able to tell how much of the dome needs to be removed ?

back in the day I ran um with doves and no machining required.................you will have compression lol.

There are other pistons out there, but they aren't necessarily low buck deals. SRP, Diamond and Probe are a couple that come to mind.

i ran them with cj heads with a 720 lift roller cam and had no issues.they are very heavy but you will never hurt one.

I have used both Lunati and Venolia Domes w/D0ve and A429 heads and they both had good clearance.

I've run 'em with Edelbrock 72cc with no problem. You'll need to run race fuel. Compression 13:1+

Hey thanks everyone for their input it really helped. Just to let everyone know I understand they will be in the 13.5:1 compression range , this is going to be a mud racing truck and I want the high compression!
Bob

What are the rules that you need to build to? CI limits, vac restriction, etc.

Bob they are REALLY Heavy if you plan on running them I would put a little insurance in there and put H beam rods in it to keep from breaking stock rods....


Randy

Schmitty, for the most part the places I run do not have many rules, They have a stock class and then they just go by tire size. But The reason I want to build the 460 and a whole new truck is there are some whiners about that are trying to change things so that I would have to run my hacked up broncoII with my little 347, in the open class against rails with paddle tires. So I want to try a short bed full size truck with a iron headed 460 and keep it as stock apearing as I can.
Coug, Would a lite weight 4340 cnc'd I beam rod work or will it have to be a H beam ? I planned on one or the other.

the I beams should handle it but I like the extra metal of the H-beams.... but thats JMHO


Randy

Weight should be taken into consideration, you will be spinning it pretty hard all the time in a mud rig. The pistons Carl has available are pretty light (687 grams on my paperwork) so you can compare that to the Speedpros, and the compression will be right where you want it also. I have yet to do the final mock up, but didn't see any clearance issues with my D0VEs.

I ran a set of these in my 466 with c8ev heads and worked great with no clearance problems.went 9.86 with a little juice.

When the L2443 pistons first come out, TRW referred to them as a "lightweight racing piston." Funny as that may sound today, if you compared their mass to the mass of other mass-produced forged pistons of that era the L2443's actually aren't all that heavy. And compared to TRW's own L2404 (which is 980g with pin), they L2443 was light indeed, had a better ring pack, better oil ring groove return holes, pin clip grooves, etc. It's a nice piston for its time, and also a rugged one by today's standards.

Because of the solid dome being pyramid in shape, it's possible to whack only some of that dome down and maintain a good amount of compression. I have L2443's that are 0.060" overbore and weighed 765g as delivered, but I whacked the dome down to just 0.100" tall and now they weigh 736g...but compression ratio is still around 12.5:1 with the D0VE heads. Why? Basically because the peak of the dome is what was removed, and so a good amount of dome volume (and thereby, compression) is being maintainted but removing the peak also allows for better frame-front travel in the process (flame does not have to travel up-and-around the peak of the dome). Since they are used on a 3.85 stroke engine, piston speed is not as critical as is would be in a stroker, so you can get away with the piston weight.

Frankly, I wish today's L2443 was still a good quality american-made piston. It was a fine OEM stroke dome piston option for the money.

Paul

I have a new set of these pistons new in the box. They have the floating pins. and have all been weight matched by west side maching in Houston. I would take $400.00 plus shipping.

Yeah Paul, it is a strange comparison between the new Speed Pro's and the old TRW version....same PN....much different in appearance.....I would guess made in China???...wierd......D

devildog wrote:Yeah Paul, it is a strange comparison between the new Speed Pro's and the old TRW version....same PN....much different in appearance.....I would guess made in China???

The current Speed-Pro L2443's are manufactured in India.

Paul Kane wrote:

devildog wrote:Yeah Paul, it is a strange comparison between the new Speed Pro's and the old TRW version....same PN....much different in appearance.....I would guess made in China???

The current Speed-Pro L2443's are manufactured in India.

I'm of the understanding they have moved alot of production out of India now due to poor QC.

A few part numbers have been moved back....mostly SB Chev.

Both boxes I have the dish 460 and dome 460 have MADE in THE USA right on the box

maxxoffroad wrote:Both boxes I have the dish 460 and dome 460 have MADE in THE USA right on the box

Prolly talking about the box!!!!!!!j/k

cool40 wrote:i ran them with cj heads with a 720 lift roller cam and had no issues.they are very heavy but you will never hurt one.

x2 i had a 650 flat tappet and after a season of racing, a rod and the windows in my oil pan didn't do as well

Mark O'Neal wrote:A few part numbers have been moved back....mostly SB Chev.

I'll speculate that they might have started with relocating the manufacture of those model pistons which are probably their biggest seller (SBC).

To test that theory: Mark, if you don't mind what percentage of your piston shipments are SBC? And are the SBC pistons Probe's largest percentage of engine-applicable piston shipments?

Paul

Another thing to add about the newer 2443's is that the valve relief is different than the old TRW's as well....it is not as deep....not sure about the radial clearance.......D

Over the years, changes include the intake valve relief, the clip groove type, the skirt length, etc.