rebuilding · FF-0077

How do you get piston rings past the relief in a relieved Ford Flathead block?

Ed cuts a strip from a Coke can and uses it as a thin partial sleeve over the relieved area, so the rings cannot spring out where the ring compressor stops. Oil it, slide the piston in and pull the strip out. One piece lasts three or four pistons.

Expert

Ed Smith

Evidence

expert attributed

Component

piston rings and block relief

Applicable scope

relieved Ford Flathead V8 block