Question about piston

[glock-coma]

Father in law is replacing a head gasket
on a 1996 t-bird 3.8L.
Got everything apart and he noticed this after cleaning everything up.
Does this piston need to be replaced?

This is not the piston where the head gasket let go but it's on the same side

Heads have been rebuilt professionally
and he didn't notice any damage on the valves beforehand. 

 

[sholxgt]

Something has definitely come in contact with the piston, but I would not change it.

To be fair, I would not even replace the head gasket on a 3.8 in a t-bird.  That car can house a 5.0, 4.6 sohc, or even a 4.6 dohc.  Even if he cares nothing about performance, any of the other options would increase the enjoyment of daily driving and increase the reliability.  My limited experience with the 3.8 t-bird (had a roommate/friend with one), was that the motors are nothing but problems with no bright side.  Little power and poor fuel economy.

I would do one of two things...1. put it back together as cheaply as possible and drive it or 2. get a complete donor and swap in a better drivetrain.

Edited to add that I love a project and love to see people working on their cars, but I just really don't like the 3.0/3.8 motors.  Head gasket problems and other issues are common and there doesn't seem to be any redeeming upside to ownership.

 

[Skydogs]

Father in law is replacing a head gasket
on a 1996 t-bird 3.8L.
Got everything apart and he noticed this after cleaning everything up.
Does this piston need to be replaced?

This is not the piston where the head gasket let go but it's on the same side

Heads have been rebuilt professionally
and he didn't notice any damage on the valves beforehand.

I would not replace but smooth out any sharp spots. That would be a amber ready to light. Hello deto