Product information

For sale in this listing is a set of 8 pistons to suit Rover V8 engines at 3.5l capacity. These pistons are +20 thou oversize, and so are only suitable for engines which have been re-bored, however standard bore pistons may be available by request. The pistons here are supplied with the correct rings and gudgeon pins, which is all you need to fit them into an engine.

These pistons will give a compression ratio of 9.35:1 assuming all other components are as Rover designed them, however block deck height, head chamber volume, gasket thickness and gasket diameter on the bore all have an effect on compression ratio so all would need to be measured to know the true compression ratio of your engine. However please do not let this deter you from building your own engine as most engines we build with these pistons, our composite head gaskets and re-manufactured heads sit between 9 and 9.5:1 CR.

RPi Advice

• While original pistons on 3.5 engines are not directional, many aftermarket pistons are. Take note of any arrows or dots on the piston, which should point toward the front of the block
• All 3.5 rods have a single dimple, which should always face the other rod on the same big end journal on the crank. So, the dimple on rods 1, 3, 5 and 7 will face towards the back of the block and the dimple on rods 2, 4, 6 and 8 will face toward the front of the block.
• A few hours before you attempt fitting new pistons to your conrods, put the gudgeon pins in the freezer. The cold temperature will shrink the pins slightly, making fitting easier.
• When installing the pistons and gudgeon pins, the small end of the conrod can be heated to assist fitting. As a guide the rods can be heated until they start changing colour slightly, but must NOT be heated to the point of glowing.
• When removing conrods, ensure that the big end caps are kept on the same conrod that they were removed from. Mixing up the big end caps will create issues.
• Piston ring gaps are as follows:
  1st ring 17 to 22 thou
  2nd ring 17 to 22 thou
  Oil ring 14 to 50 thou
• New ARP studs for the conrods are available here and cheaper than standard studs