Doing a 302 HO (boring .030 over ) motor swap on my 289 '66 coupe, plus some other mods and it is at the engine builder right now, but was wondering.. double roller chain or gear drive? Cloyes double roller chain or a Edelbrock Accudrive? Got them both sitting here and wondering if there is a serious HP loss with the gear set? Is it a myth? THanks!

 

i could show you horror pics from a gear drive setup..... stick with the cloyes double roller. its quieter (trust me even the quiet gear drives get really annoying), its easier on your valvetrain, and is cheaper.

 

I agree, double roller +1. If you want the blower sound... put a blower on it. Otherwise, it does get really annoying. I have a double roller, spin it to 6400 RPM a lot, and it does just fine and it is quiet!

 

Dont know why there was a problem with a gear drive, but mine has been in use for over 10 years and not a single problem.The fords arent as loud as a Chevy because of the the thicker timing cover............as far as HP loss wont miss it, they both put some amount of resistence

 

Hmmm... Engine builder says go with the gear drive; parts guy says the cloyes.. I think I'm going to keep the builder happy...

Yea, getting a blower in a year or so, but first things first. Anyway, I've done a quick google and it seems like a 50/50 on the net. How long does a typical timing chain last? People with gear drives keep saying they last forever.

 

im telling you dude, put a quality chain on there and you'll never have to worry about it.

 

Never have to worry about a gear drive either. Chains stretch over time.

What happened to yours???Was the part defective or what it installed wrong?

 

I had a gear drive in a Ford 302 crate engine in this car (sorry, crappy digital picture of a picture).




I used it for the sound. I was hoping that it together with the exhaust would sound a little bit Ferrari-ish (not a chance). I liked it and had no problem. Some say they can introduce harmonics from the imbalance of the crank into the valve train (the flex of a chain filters them out), but I had no issues at all.

If you care to read on, there was a funny ending to this story. I sold the car to a guy from NY who said right up front he wasn't a mechanic, so he brought his expert mechanic with him. He also brought a cashiers check for $2,000 less than the agreed price (grrr!), convinced that they would find something and get me to lower the price. Neither wanted to drive the car. Instead he had me take his expert mechanic for a ride so he could "listen and feel for any problems." Fine, I did, and what a ride I gave him!

As we pulled back in the driveway, his expert mechanic told me he could hear "a whine coming from the rear end." I was thinking he was hearing his boss whining, but quickly pointed out that it was actually coming out of the other end of the car, it was a gear drive, and I was shocked his razor sharp, expert mechanic senses couldn't tell the difference. He mumbled something stupid and I asked the guy who the "expert mechanic" really was. He didn't say anything, but did offer to take me down to the bank to get my other $2,000 in cash. It takes all kinds to make a village.

 

Nice roadster, fake. Are those orig KH knock-offs? They must be worth a couple grand by themselves.

CP

 

They are Borani wheels and were worth all of that!