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Piston/Rings

tomtom123

tomtom123

New member
Does anyone know if there is a difference, and what the difference between the pistons for a '99 GTP and a GT is? I can't find any information so I assume I'm looking in the wrong places. Just wondering if anyone on here knows what the difference is. Thanks!
-Thomas
 


Pistons between the supercharged 3800 and non s/c 3800 are indeed different, main differences are the l67 piston is heavier and has the top piston ring farther down from the top of the piston, and they also have full floating pins, the others not so.
 
The difference between them is quite irreverent as well. The only notable difference is the small rod/pin setup, and the 9.4:1 compression.
 
Isn't most if the higher compression if the N/A achieved by the longer rods?

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Does anyone happen to know where I can get the pistons/rings for a '99 GTP? Got a project that I wanted to finish over Spring Break which isn't going to be done by the end of the week now, so I guess I'll continue gathering the parts. Thanks in advance to anyone that has some info for me! =)
 


Do they actually sell them? I can't find a list with prices or anything. I searched for their part number on other websites and nobody has any in stock >.<
 


rebuilding a 3800 in michigan is a horrible idea.. You can buy good motors for less than a set of pistons... you will spend 2k rebuilding a 3800 if you can even manage to do it correctly
 
darkhorizon said:
rebuilding a 3800 in michigan is a horrible idea.. You can buy good motors for less than a set of pistons... you will spend 2k rebuilding a 3800 if you can even manage to do it correctly
Click to expand...

231FUN said:
Just buy a decent short/long block or complete motor...rebuilding aint' worth it!
Click to expand...

This.

Especially here in Michigan. There are a million wrecked GP's around, and picking up a decent short block is the way to go. If you don't rebuild the bottom end perfectly, it will take a dump on you after 300ish miles. Your better off just buying a used short block and putting it in instead of rebuilding. It would be cheaper that way too.
 
I would agree. I didn't mention this to the OP as he just asked where to find pistons. I would hope that he would have read/seen enough to know what he would be in for if he went that route.

tomtom, if your goal is to rebuild the bottom end and you are not a machinist by trade that is used to assembling these lowers, then I would have to agree that getting a used longblock is the way to go. By the time you add up parts costs then machine shop work you will surpass the 2K mark easily including coolant, oil changes, gaskets, etc. Not saying it can't be done but if you are on a tight budget for this and need the motor to last, then the longblock is the way to go. Then just swap over your parts and fire it up!
 
Where do I get just a used longblock? Unfortunately, NO junkyards around me have any kind of L67/Supercharged 3800. They literally look at me with this look on their face. "What is that?? A 'supercharged 3800'? Aren't those just rumors, kinda like unicorns =o?" I have searched ebay and other sites for used L67's/L32's. I have had no luck. I have to say, I have the car tore down to the heads right now and the front head off, took about 4 hours to do that with a food break. Piston 1 and 3 are both bad, but piston 3 is by far the worst of the two. None of the cylinder walls are in bad shape amazingly! Cylinder 3 just had some build up on the wall that was coming off when scraped.
I have a cousin that is going to college for automotive and my dad went to college for auto-diesel when he was younger. My grandpa said I got lucky with the cylinder walls not being screwed up.
Yes I have read time and time again that there is absolutely no use in rebuilding the bottom of one of these engines but when you need a car and don't have a ton of money and have had no luck finding a used one with less than 200k that is still $650 - $850, then why not rebuild the bottom?

I found a set of pistons and rings for about $440, if I can find a longblock that's in good condition then I will gladly go this route.. I have all new LIM, UIM, VC gaskets and everything. I even have a new set of unopened head gaskets and box of head bolts here at the house. I was going to take it in to have it align bored before putting it all back together and get the heads checked.

I do have a cam coming, the same cam machinegunsquid is running and Thursday I am going to ZZP to buy the dampener, chain, valve seals, retainers, and ordering some manley valve spring retainers. Also got an MPS and 3.4" pulley+ belt on its way.

I guess, what is involved in rebuilding the bottom end "perfectly"? I can't say I have the money or time or patience to screw this up.
 


Near me is a N/A 3800 for sale from the junkyard. At least it was a year ago when I was looking for a 3800 to put in my SE. But they wanted $550+ my core after I swapped. Also, could I top swap a N/A 3800 and just drop it in and go? Or does it have to be tuned for that? I don't have the stuff to tune my car unfortunately
 
Im not sure im think you can swap blocks and done, you would be running higher compression so you would have to be aware of that. Something like a 4 inch pully on higher compression is equal to a 3.8 on the lower compression block.

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Yeah, 9.5:1 N/A
8.5:1 Supercharged

I am aware of that, is it worth it to do that? I planned on camming an L67 and dropping to a 3.2" pulley after tuning and making sure I had 0 knock. Obviously was going to do some other supporting mods to
 
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