Hi all,

I am shooting to have my motor done by the Spring Fling, in May. (I already think that I am not going to make it, but I will try)

I ordered Flatlander Racing's high performance kit for the slants. http://www.flatlanderracing.com/hpkits-chrysler.html.

Here are some notes that might be helpful for others.
1. The price on the website is wrong. They are now up to $960 or so. ( not sure what shipping will be yet)

2. Phil, the tech guy, was pretty knowledgeable, and a fan of slants.

3. They are making custom forged pistons as part of this deal. I asked for 2.2 turbo pistons for my long rod engine, and they agreed to do it. Phil had a lot of questions and was a bit concerned, but agreed to do it.
He asked smart questions about compression height, pin diameter, and dish volume.

4. I couldn't haggle on oil pump, gaskets, lifters, or timing set. You get what they give you. I will report brands when I get the kit.

5. Delivery time was estimated to be 4 weeks or more. Doc is right, custom pistons take time.


So far, I give them good marks. If anybody else is building a long rod motor, this may be a good option. To quote Elliot Spitzer, " I will report back in short order".

Greg

Better hurry if you're going to make it. Why not run the car as is, or put the good head on your old motor?

BTW, I may be able to make SFSF, but without my car. Anyone have a car I could race???

I may rent something to run, hmm...

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

After reasing Gmader's post, I checked out Flatlander's website. I'm considering ordering 6 KB268 pistons & rings if they are willing to sell me six pistons,suspect rings will be more hassle than pistons,will report results.Warren@PDX.com

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"Faith in Science"

Which rings are you putting on it?

CJ

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Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

Not sure what manafacturer/brand yet but definately will be quality ductile/moly,Perfect Circle or Total Seal come to mind.I head the 2.2L rings are not cheap.

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"Faith in Science"

I find that it has been cheaper to buy 2 sets of 4. (8 ring packs total)
Josh has a p/n & application that gets you the correct size in sets of 6, I think he posted the info somewhere.
DD

Thanks for the tip,Dr.Dutra. Just this morning I spoke w/Josh about my needed suspension parts for the late B K-frame into F-body,had I checked my e-mail earlier...no biggie will be seeing Josh in a couple weeks.

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"Faith in Science"

I've used Flatlander before and had a very pleasant experience. I would use them again.

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1973 Plymouth Scamp

Hi all,

I got all my parts from Flatlander finally. Overall, I would give them a 4 on the 1-10 scale.

Issues:

• The pistons were sent to the wrong address, sent back, and it took another month to get them straightened out.
  
  The rings are wimpy metric rings, not thicker turbo rings.
  
  The pistons were dished 16cc. I had asked for 18-20 cc. (this isn't a deal killer, but shows inattention).
  
  I received a camshaft, which wasn't supposed to be included.
  
  The cam bearing oiling holes don't seem to match up to an old camshaft. I don't know if this be squeezed to fit once the bearings are installed.
  
  They charged my credit card upon order, not on shipping.

On to some pictures:


You can see the Wisco pistons here, and the thin rings. They look like good quality. This is a 2.2 turbo design.




All name brand parts here. You could do worse. This box was shipped separately from the pistons, and made it to my house just fine in April.



Hmm, what's up with that timing set?



I don't think the designers of this were thinking about degreeing in a cam.

When I called to complain about that, I got the "it's part of the kit, no substitutions, it is OEM quality" answer.

I dunno, guys. Should I return the whole damn thing? I don't want to start over, but there are some areas that are quite concerning.

Whatta ya think?

Thanks,

Greg

If its not what you wanted.....and you can get what you want elsewhere.....for a reasonable price....

Thats not an OEM quality cam gear for an early slant....

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

I got one of those when I ordered a stock timing setup for the BV, back a few years... that is now what you get... you want something better... time to order a roller chain, or order the Dynagear set (where the gear can be degreed, but the metal for the gear is a bit more potmetal than I like...)

You might also cross reference the Melling pump, they make a 'standard' and a HP version... by accident I ended up with the HP version when I ordered one from a parts store since the 'standard' versions were back ordered for a month or so...

-D.idiot

You're more patient than I am.

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1973 Plymouth Scamp

I have to ask what is wrong with metric rings ? Being thin has nothing to do with being for a turbo or not as far as I know. It is the thin metric rings that are proving to be some of the best out there.


The pistons from what I can see are of good design also, its hard to tell much from a single angle pic but it looks like the skirts are a good setup and the pin boss width looks nice ( good strong design) . A set of custom Weisco's with pins and good rings are not cheap, maybe even 2/3 of what you have give for a kit.


Cant say much for the cam gear, pretty cheap but I do think its either this or a roller setup, but its only one small part that can be replaced.


I am not saying you got your money's worth (or that you didnt), or that its a great kit or anything, but the piston ring setup does look like it may be good stuff.


Shipping is one of them things that is a PIA sometimes and gets us all from time to time, if they got it striaghtened out there not much more you can ask on that. Mistakes do happen.


On the rings I see there is package numbers, these could be run to see exactly what rings you have. The thin metric rings are prefered, if they are of the right type to fit your need would be the question. But I can promise you that the thin metric rings will be more durable, seal better, and give more power than the old standard ring your use to. Like I said, what there made of, and style would be the question to ask to find out if they are good for a turbo app.


Just something to look at, take a ring and see how good it fits the ring land of the piston, then compair it to what you have run in the past. I think you will find a pleasent surprize.


When it comes time to gap the rings, set the top ring to manufacture specs (for a boosted app), but set the second ring gap bigger than the top, trust me, it will pay off with power and better oil control and ring seal. Also be sure your machinist knows what rings and type your running, the hone has a big effect on the outcome.


The CC's of your dish may be a good thing, depending on where it really puts your comp. Many people really go to low on compression for a turbo setup, a street car can really make good use of a little more comp than a race car. It would not bother me to run as much as 9.5 to 1 if the turbo is sized right for the engine. Anymore 10.5 is used alot, even though it may scare the crap out of most people to even think about it. I am not saying to run either of these comp levels, but its being done every day. And like you said, its not a deal breaker and can be set to your liking when the time comes, which by the way you have enough meat to set it any where you like (better to have to much , than not enough) , you can make it less, but hard to make it more. Also, if lower comp is wanted than what you end up with, it may be the chamber shape you wish to work on instead of the piston bowl.


I kinda doute with you ordering custom pistons that you will be able to get a refund, but I may be wrong.



Not saying you should keep the setup, or get rid of it, but it might pay to do some research before making any choices.


Jess

Sandy's right... I've found that when building up a 'regular' build it's easier to get a kit from one of the big guys, then ordering my cam, timing set, and a couple other things (that need to be 'high quality') from another source.... (if you want something good, you are going to spend money for it, and you are going to have to be patient while 'collecting' your stuff)...

-D.Idiot

Leaving the pistons aside for a minute, I wanted to make sure that I captured the experience of shopping with Flatlander. The short story is that I wouldn't recommend them to others, mostly because of delays, bad communication and some questions about parts.

Back to the pistons. I did some research on this last night, and Lucky is right that I shouldn't be so dismissive of metric rings. The SRT-4 Neon motor is using rings just like this, as is the Evo and other turbo cars. It seems that as long as you have strong piston lands ( the part that supports the rings), thin metric rings will work.

These are Wisco pistons, and considering the other thread about rod/piston combinations, this may be a bit of a preview of what would be offered in that combo. Would it be helpful to take a couple more pictures of these pistons?

Thanks,

Greg