Depending on where in Jersey John is and where you are in Ct, it might be worth a ride.

 

Are those $30 pistons the Mid-USA V-Factor pistons? Are you thinking about going standard or oversized?

If the casting on the inside of the rocker cover touches the spring, you can just grind some off with a dremel. Shouldn't be an issue in most cases tho.

 

i wanted new lifters in my 85 so i took it to a local indy and he started to talk about a bigger cam. i told him about no reliefs in the pistons. he never heard of that. i don't want or need a hot rod just get me down the road.

 

if your indy was in business before the 1984 model EVO cam along he is an older guy with vast experience and forgetful - the first 2 years of the evo had no exhaust reliefs in the pistons - to find a bike today that comes along and still has those pistons in it - buy a lotto ticket you have a better chance

 

Seen the pistons in J&P CYCLE catalogs, yes stock size, don't want to bore just hone.

 

my 85 has the original pistons in it yet with about 100k on it. he wanted to do a total top end on it but i didn't want anything done to it because it runs too good. it uses some oil but i'll live with that, oil is cheep. when it starts running shitty, i'l get it rebuilt.

 

those always seem to run around 125.000 great motors the early ones - and they had the same flywheels as a shovel the parts are in common

 

Just spoke to tech support at Andrews cam,he said no just bolt in without knowing what you have. Must install jugs, pistons, heads without valve spring and at TDC,drop the valves down and make sure they travel at least .050" over the said travel distance for the cam desired. Makes sense and that's what I have to do I guess. When heads are redone, the valve could be anywhere.
Also, just measured old cam per John's formula , .282 x 1.625=. .458" lift . A little different than what I looked up (.472")stock not that it's relevant, but that's what came out and a. .060" head gasket.

 

Chances are you'll be just fine, but it's the only way to do it. How are you going to do it, with some modelling clay to know for sure how much of a gap you have? Or just drop it down by feel? If clay, rub some oil on the piston top and valve so it does not stick.

I'm interested to know ... you say the pistons were a few thou proud of the top of the cylinders? That's unusual. I would have expected them to be 10 to 20 below the top. How thick is your base gasket?

A 45 thou head gasket is still pretty thick, defining as it does the squish.

Where are you at with the pistons, have you bought new ones? Same rule applies with them too ... measure, measure and measure again. Not all pistons are equal either. They can come up difference sizes and even oval.

 

that guy at Andrews is an effen moron - the valve to piston check is done with the ( TDC LIFT OF THE CAM ) not the piston AT TDC --- yes the piston is at TDC but the cam card will have the cams TDC lift both intake and exhaust and they are open together at overlap like .181 / .196 --- MORON and measure the valve drop into the valve cut out cant believe to told you that - never have I seen it done that as the valve will stop on the piston cut out at maybe .300 in lift - no way no how will a stock cam measured that way will show you it fits next week Walmart will hire him back to clean the bathrooms again