Anyone know anything about Zollner pistons? There are a bunch for sale on ebay. The seller says they are forged. I did a yahoo search for Zollner pistons and came up with zipo.

Ebay add http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-SET-OF-020-ZOLLNER-PISTONS-FOR-CHEVROLET-402_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33623QQihZ001QQitem Z110169517338QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

It's not much, but here is a little info...
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2001/03/27/017436.html

I always thought the stock cast pistons with the steel inserts were of Zollner design. Don't ask me what part of my brain that comes from; it's a very old part, used even less than the rest of it. Not all cast pistons have steel inside of the aluminum. I thought that the design was supposed to make pistons quieter. Maybe not.

To the best of my knowledge, the pistons for sale on E-bay would be cast stock pistons.

...Not all cast pistons have steel inside of the aluminum. I thought that the design was supposed to make pistons quieter. . I bet that the addition of steel would make the pistons a lot heavier. Which wouldn't be good for power, nor for engine longevity.

Those I figure are cast looking at their bottoms!

And the reason for the cast-in-place steel struts is to make them more thermally stable so they could be fitted tighter.

I think ALL stock, cast pistons came w/ steel struts in them back then, can't say about today's so-called hypers and such??

pdq67

Could be Metal Leve's! Was once a Brizilian company now owned by Mahle. Probably as good as anyone else's stock type cast piston. Mahle is one more example of how American business works. Give the foreigners ALL your business until they are the only ones IN business.

Here's a link that may tell something:http://www.acl.com.au/web/aclwebsite.nsf/bf19a4e308a99367ca256b1a007a05fa/0eed4f47f7307dd2ca256b21007fe1ee?OpenDocument

Probably not Metal Leve's.

Zollner was an OEM supplier. I am like the rest never have seen a forged piston from them but I know they bought some of the equipment from the Dynagear bankruptcy and Dynagear was gearing up to make forged. IF and thats a big IF the are forged they maybe some 1st run stuff that never passed QC.

Max,

Not forged. You can tell by the mold lines in the pistons. I looked at the auction and do not see where he says anything about them being forged ???? I do have a Zollner catalog at the shop and can check for sure, but they sure look like a cast piston to me.

By the way, in my opinion, Zollner made some of the better pistons I have seen over the years. One problem they have though is that they tend to lower the compression height of thier pistons to compensate for the engine being bored. Usually results in a little lower compression unless you are decking the block and milling the heads at the same time. I will try to remember to look at them in the AM.

Off topic, but still the same deal here!!

Are Badger and Simplex still in business??

pdq67

Badger was Dynagear....bankrupt.

Zollner pistons are made in Ft. Wayne Ind., at least some of them. The plant is just down the street from the former IH plant. They made pistons for IH & Ford was their recent big OEM customer. Ever hear of the Detroit Pistons? They started out as the Ft. Wayne Pistons; Fred moved them to Detroit when the town became too small for the league. They sold out to a German company;Karl somethingheimer about 10-15 years ago. A few years ago the TV stations did a big story on their investment in new cutting edge technology- forged pistons.