Re: any alternatives????

KB pistons now appears, from what I can tell, to be the lowest-priced forged pieces that are presumably made here. Earlier this year they released three 428-based forgings that apparently went unnoticed on this forum. In fact, they have dramatically increased their forged pistons line as a whole, and have added a brand new .pdf catalog.

The 428 pistons are on eBay at 500 bucks. I don't see anything for 390's, though. Hyper-wise, there is the dished KB150 for 390's, but it appears to be a bit low compression.

There is definitely a hole in affordable low-end pistons for the FE. Unless Richard or someone else steps up and tests the H395P Indian products, we may never know if they actually work.

I was hoping to stir up some interest in grassroots FE performance here, but it appears to be a dead topic. This forum seems utterly fascinated by broken parts on an engine that most of us will never own, the discussion of which is starting to play like a daily soap opera. I think I'll just pursue this endeavor on my own. My next move, after the holidays, may be to contact the various pistons makers personally to see what each has to say.