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Pistons for an L33

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Old Dec 5, 2017 | 11:54 AM
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Default Pistons for an L33

My ls1 pushes water at 12psi so I got a L33 to build. The plan was to do a basic freshening up, replace the cam and lifters with turbo spec, open up the ring gap, etc but when I broke down the block I found water in the cylinders and enough rust that my machine shop is not sure it will clean up with 0.010 bore. They are going to see how well it will clean up and I'm in the market for a set of pistons. I was looking at the junkyard dog Weisco's but wondered if there is anything else I should look at too. power goals are in the 900 range - as much as the poor old Incon setup with updates can give ... suggestions?
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Old Dec 5, 2017 | 12:17 PM
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Well, fortunately you have a lot of material in the cylinder walls. People open these up to 3.905" and everything in between. You have a lot of choices with that in mind.
And, I think the junkyard pistons go up to 3.800" but don't quote me on that...
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Old Dec 5, 2017 | 01:28 PM
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L33 (aluminum) blocks have that much meat in them? Nice to know!
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Old Dec 5, 2017 | 02:01 PM
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They are beefy. I'm going to go with as little overbore as it will allow.
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Old Dec 6, 2017 | 01:16 PM
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If you find a 3.80 piston without valve reliefs let us know. All I know of is the Wiseco ljms pistons
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Old Dec 6, 2017 | 02:39 PM
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Originally Posted by G Atsma
L33 (aluminum) blocks have that much meat in them? Nice to know!
Yeah, that's why they're so popular with the F/I builds. Plus, they come with 243/799 stock.
A lot of the aftermarket LS1 spec engines that are offered from our sponsors are built from the L33 block because of the wall thickness and ability to go up to 3.905".

I've been waiting for one of these to pop up in my area for a reasonable price. I just missed one last week by a few hours on Craigslist lol.

Unfortunately, these LS junkyard engines are extremely expensive when compared to what some of you guys get them for in the mid west/east coast.
Even the junkyards remove these engines prior to putting the vehicles out on the lots. They offer them up from anywhere from $1,200 to $2,500 depending on the Engine type and size!
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Old Dec 6, 2017 | 05:09 PM
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Plus the L33 isn't that common, sold for only a couple years and only in 4WD extended cabs. Pretty select group! lol
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Old Dec 6, 2017 | 08:15 PM
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We have a 5.3 flat top for vvt so it has 2 valve reliefs (offset exhaust) BUT it has a hard anodized top and first ring land so it makes em extra tough.
Not bad on price either.
They are a heavy duty hyper e with coated skirts.
Let me know if you are interested.
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Old Dec 11, 2017 | 10:41 AM
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You guys have a lot of pistons listed. which ones are you referring to?
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Old Dec 11, 2017 | 10:44 AM
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They are not listed yet. They are a very new edition and we dont have our entire rpmspeed piston line up yet.
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