The way I see it, all eight pistons were made on the same machine, so all eight are the same piston. If all eight are placed on the rod so the valve reliefs are under the valves, then all eight will be on the rods in the same orientation. What difference does it make where the front facing dimple is?
We have to assume the forward facing notch is aligned with the chamfered side of the crank end of the rod, then each piston and rod could be swapped hole to hole and still be right. The chamfered side of the rod bearing end is the side that rides against the crank, the other side rides against the other rod.
http://www.amazon.com/Engine-Bluepr...books&qid=1276986201&sr=1-1#noopHere is a quote right out of the above linked book, Engine Blueprinting & Practical Rebuilding guide book by S-A design. I have the book, this is from page 70.
"All most all overhead valve engines require reliefs or notches in the piston tops to provide clearance for the valves. With out these notches the valve lift would be severly limited. Installing a camshaft with longer duration and higher valve lift increases airflow through the engine allowing the engine to produce more power. As the valves move farther off there seats and are held open longer, the location and depth of the valve pockets in the piston tops becomes more important.
The valve notches found in stock pistons are usually the wrong size and in the wrong places. Factory flat top pistons for the smallblock Chevrolet, for example, have four equal-size valve reliefs-even though each combustion chamber has only two valves with unequal valve head diameters. With four notches, however, the pistons are "universal"-they can be installed in any hole on either bank of cylinders, and there will always be a valve pocket where its needed. High performance and raceing pistons yeild more compression by eliminating the two "extra" valve reliefs. And once the sizes of the pockets is reduced to fit the exhaust and intake valve heads precisely, then each piston must be assigned to a cylinder with the same valve layout."
Please explain, what am I missing? What is the author missing?
Joe
