///////I'm putting a 289 engine back together.  The pistons are aftermarket of
unkown brand. They don't  have the T-Slot in the skirt that the
originals have. The shop manual gives you the slot in the skirt as a
reference to installing them. However they do have a hole drilled on
the top of the piston marking the piston for the front I'm assuming. I
need to confirm that this is in fact the front.
When I disassemble this engine one bank had the hole towards the front
the other bank had them to the rear. The pisons look identical front to
back, the only difference I see is the oil holes for the wrist pin are
at a different angle if all pistons are indeed installed with the
drilled hole toward the front.
Thanks//////



All the holes to the front, but make sure you have the rods installed correctly too.