Dixie Distributing piston clearances???

[Ben333]

I have a 44U engine I'm building and it has a set of the old Dixie Distributing cast pistons. Anyone out there used these before and if so how much cylinder wall clearance should I use for this to be a rider, not just a show pony???

[Jerry Wieland]

Ben

I do not know about a flathead but on a Knucklehead head running Dixie pistons I would run +.003. Maybe even more on a UL because their bore does not expand evenly under heat.

Jerry

I have a 44U engine I'm building and it has a set of the old Dixie Distributing cast pistons. Anyone out there used these before and if so how much cylinder wall clearance should I use for this to be a rider, not just a show pony???

[T. Cotten]

I have a 44U engine I'm building and it has a set of the old Dixie Distributing cast pistons. Anyone out there used these before and if so how much cylinder wall clearance should I use for this to be a rider, not just a show pony???

Ben!

There were a variety of DIXIE piston suppliers over the decades.
If yours are in boxes labelled "Superior", and have cast inside a logo that looks like a crescent moon within a full moon, then they are excellent.
I always had success at book spec, even at large overbores, however the cylinders were always fitted while stressed with 'torque plates'.

Off-hand, the only pistons DIXIE supplied that I had difficulties with were for 61" OHVS.
And that was my own fault.

Unfortunately, ring sets varied enormously in quality.

....Cotten

[tfburke3]

I have had clearance issues with repro pistons and now I put them and an original in an oven at 300f and measure to check for differece in expansion..
I dont buy anymore dixie pistons because in my opinion they are soft.
A dixie Indian piston when hit with a file is soft compared to factory piston that files more like steel.
Tom

[T. Cotten]

Yes, Tom,...

A denser piston will not expand the same, but just like with a forged piston, it comes at the cost of necessary slop.

The metallurgy between the "Superior" flatty and Chief pistons and their OHVs is most likely nil.
And there are tens of thousands of those in service, with probably thousands in stock among the larger suppliers.
Their success as standard of the industry for decades is undeniable, as they were re-boxed by Drag Specialties, Custom Chrome, etc.

To the best of my knowledge, all of my Chiefs are still doing fine.

....Cotten
PS: A top stress plate proved futile for a flatty, but cutting it from magnesium was fun.

[Ben333]

Ben!

There were a variety of DIXIE piston suppliers over the decades.
If yours are in boxes labelled "Superior", and have cast inside a logo that looks like a crescent moon within a full moon, then they are excellent.
I always had success at book spec, even at large overbores, however the cylinders were always fitted while stressed with 'torque plates'.

Off-hand, the only pistons DIXIE supplied that I had difficulties with were for 61" OHVS.
And that was my own fault.

Unfortunately, ring sets varied enormously in quality.

....Cotten

These did come in a box marked "Superior", but the only cast marks I see inside are HDC and a circle with JCC inside of the circle. I am thinking about .004"to .005" is where I will set these up. Better to have a little piston slap than have to worry about them being too tight and scuffing the skirts. I have found rings with the old style one piece oil ring and ones with the newer style three piece oil ring. Any thoughts on which will work better on the old Flatties?

[T. Cotten]

Equivalent quality, Ben!

I suspect Kitabel can tell us a lot more about oriental piston producers, but the JCCs were the same 'market' before the 'crescent moons', and probably the same founder.

If your cylinders are fit properly, (and all other things are in order), they will not scuff.

Rings must be inspected, even Hastings.
Beware of excessive ring drag... (Forgot the numbers; Haven't done it in years...)

....Cotten

[Chris Haynes]

I have had clearance issues with repro pistons and now I put them and an original in an oven at 300f and measure to check for differece in expansion..
I dont buy anymore dixie pistons because in my opinion they are soft.
A dixie Indian piston when hit with a file is soft compared to factory piston that files more like steel.
Tom

Dixie is no more so you won't be buying any.

[Steve Slocombe]

I guess the remaining Dixie pistons were bought up in the closing down sale and are now in circulation. Over the years the VL ones I used from Dixie came from Japan, Taiwan and China, in that order. The Japan (JCC) and Taiwan made items were good, but I had to send back some early Chinese ones because the piston pin clip retainer grooves weren't correctly machined. The VL runs hotter than the UL and I allow 5-6 thou clearance on the front cylinder and 4-5 thou on the rear. This is looser than the Harley spec for the 1938 style strutted pistons which is about 0.0035". There is room for confusion as the 1934 T-slot pistons were specified with a 0.001" clearance, and the 1930 magnesium alloy pistons with 0.018". In my opinion, Harley built the engines a shade on the tight side, then had a 1000 mile break-in period for a long engine life. It's tough to get owners to do that today, so I'd build the motors more towards the Harley racing specs.

[tfburke3]

Arent the ebay offerings for Indian pistons that I have even recently seen for Indian Chiefs ,oversizes available and in the $20 range for 2pistons and rings and pins old Dixie stock?.
I have not bought any of these although tempting at that price.
Maybe I should get a set and see if they areas soft as older Dixies I had.
Tom