AMC 401 Piston Choice

[1980_Cj7]

How much did you end up with for the pistons, pins, bushings, honing the bushings and rings?

The pistons, pins, and locks were $430 from Summit. The bushings were something like $40 from Diamond Racing. The machine work I'd have to dig out receipts to figure out. So, best I can say is $470 plus machine shop costs.

That group buy does look like a deal. And you can customize the pistons to whatever you want. Where was this when we needed pistons??? A day late and a dollar short as usual! I think we made the best choice of what was available out there at the time though. There just wasn't much to pick from.

Still not sure I would go forged again though with all the hassle of having to make sure the bores were oversized to allow for expansion, having to make sure you warmed up the engine, and all that.

[82Waggy]

I did the KB 354's in my build as well.

6 of one or half dozen of the other when comparing costs to custom forged.

I paid just over $700 for custom forged JE pistons for the 390.

The 401 with the KB's came pretty close to the same cost with bushings and machine work. Spent about 100 on the bushings alone though. The KB's come with spiro locks and pins, as do the JE's.

Depends on what you want. For a jeep motor, I went with the KB's for a bit more efficiency - tighter piston to bore clearance, etc. The forged pistons for the 390 are being used for a much higher performance application - but are not my first choice for a daily driver.