Timing chain or geardrive

Poser!

 

Gear drives can get old fast!

To me they sound great cruising around events and shows but on a long trip they really start wearing on you.

A friend of mine had one in his '34 Chevy,,I always told him it sounded like he's got a bearing in his alternator going bad! HRP

 

Nope a noisy steering pump is more like Vogueing.

HEY, LETS VOGUE!!!

 

I thought for a second about putting a gear drive in the 355 that we just put in our '58 Apache but decided to go with a good double roller chain with steel gears. We still wanted a whine so we put a Weiand 142 on it. Does that make us a poser?

Larry

 

Hell no Larry!

I had a little blower one time, but that's a whole nuther story!

 

when I was in the Business back in da day!
I ran a BBL Chevy. in my Race Car & had the Best of everything
but when it came to the Timing Chain
it was a Stock Chevy, so if anything in the engine
valve train let Go the Timing Chain would
be the First thing to go,
thus saving the Engine

Just My 3.5 cents

 

when I was in the Business back in da day!
I ran a BBL Chevy. in my Race Car & had the Best of everything
but when it came to the Timing Chain
it was a Stock Chevy, so if anything in the engine
valve train let Go the Timing Chain would
be the First thing to go,
thus saving the Engine

Just My 3.5 cents

 

I build alot of engine for other people- a quality double roller is a much better choice. Given that, if you want the "hot rod noise", go for it- but remember to dial it in! If you don't, it'll cost you!

 

I will never put gears in another car mine failed this year hours from my house and I put in a double roller and I am way happier just my experience

 

Ah... Remember to old saying Jeff....

If they sell it, people will buy it!

OR

There's an**** for every seat!

 

Dont mean to hijack but
Has anyone used one of these on the street?

 

Go with a double roller. It's proven, simple,durable and once it's installed you can forget and and tinker with something else on the car.

 

My two cents...."use a quality chain.......why***** around with something that has little if any questionable benefits? I value reliability over any kind of gear whine!

 

I have and they are the cat's**** for ultimate timing especially when using a crank trigger.

I currently have one on one of my O/T cars that has a BBC.

I also have another setup that I may be putting on my nostalgia drag/street car.

 

Ya wanna talk about a poser, my first attempt at the 283 i mentioned earlier was just that. I bought and paid for a 327, but the guy gave me a 283. It had 70's 350 heads, flat top pistons, a crane fireball 296 cam, the gear drive, and an afb in a 66 chevy longbed with a stock powerglide. It had no power below 3500, and not much above 4500.It had a******in idle, til you put it in gear. You could sure hear me coming, but had to wait a while to see me. Ah, to be 17 and not now anything. I eventually changed some things(Heads,cam) and put it in a 56 GMC with a 4 speed. Much more fun, although I tired of the gear drive quickly in that too.

 

I suppose the coolness factor comes from the fact that some are easily amused.

Although still annoying to listen to, whine from a supercharger, quick change diff, or transmission with straight cut gears, is cooler than one of those floating idler Fred Flintstone cam drives. That said, I really don't care if people want to have one, but you asked.......

 

^^^Well, when you ask a question...be prepared for any answer that might come back...

 

In really "hot" engines I personally like a good fixed idler gear drive. However they have become quite pricey. The reason I went to to the gear drives was becauuse of excessive wear on a Hamburgers chain/gears while running high spring pressures 210+ lbs seat pressure, with a mechanical roller cam. After only a few 1/8 mile passes, turning 7,200 rpm, the wear was excessive. This was on a 14-1, 406 SBC that was only raced. Might have had better luck with a different brand? Anybody else had this happen?

 

The young kids like the cheap whine from a Pete Jackson gear drive. Get older & that might change.
Personally- I hate them. Won't find one on any of my cars. Absolutely no benefit over a double roller chain.
The 32 runs a Cloyes double roller hex-adjust.
The 55 is all biz. 620 hp SBC & that one runs a Jesel belt drive.
Belt needs to be replaced about once a year on a street car. If you race- 250 passes.

If I wanted my motor to whine, I'll install one of these.
Anything else is a poser. Your gear drive doesn't sound as cool as you think it does.
This is cool.

 

If you have to have gear drive you can get stock Chev parts (marine) that are gear to gear.
You will either need the cam to go with it or have a billet ground because of the reverse rotation of the cam.
Absolutely no noise.

 

I have a buddy that has a gear drive. To me it's right up there with fake olds valve covers on sbc's and fake quick change diff covers


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I had one in a big block Chev for about a hundred miles or so in an old pickup.......wouldnt use one again. That thing drove me freekin goofy and my buddies tell me the ill effects on me are still here.....

Rod

 

now that is funny

 

The deal is that a good race engine is properly ballanced where as the most street engines just get screwed together.

A chain or better yet a belt drive will work as a damper against the harmonics that are caused by a factory balance job on an engine where as a gear drive will not. So like so many things hot rod or performance oriented the entire build needs to be based around a specific part, or group of parts.

As far as the original question on Gee I am building an engine that I can spin to 7K, I have winged my current small block into the upper 6K to 7K range for a lot of miles on a chain. I do shy away from factory style link belt chains though, I have seen them fly apart @ high RPM once they get a little loose.

Absolutely correct when I was a kid Boone's Farm or Anny Green Springs was good but now I prefer a nice vintage Chardonnay with a meal.

 

In an an article written by Bill Jenkins years and years ago. He stated that the stock Chevy aluminum gear with the nylon on it actually made more power on the dyno. He went on to say that the aluminum and nylon worked like a dampener and helped with spark*****ter at higher RPMs. Claimed that was what they used in the Pro Stock Vegas at the time.

 

You left out "fake*****s"!

By the way, did I see another vote for POSER?

 

Yes you did!

Now what would sound really cool is a noisy Ebay gear drive & an empty power steering reservoir.

 

Oooooo.....

Super Poser!!!

 

CB Radio.

In the '80s a friends kid had a Mustang II (no not the suspension tacked on an old car). The put a bigg****ed snorkel scoop on it and then he took the little condenser thingy off of the alternator. Put a CB radio in it with a little PA speaker behind the grill and the antenna right near the alternator.

When the kid would cruise it, he would turn the CB on then when he revved it he got a high pitched whine out of the speaker. Whirrrrr, whirrrrr.

I know lots of ghetto tricks to make a sheep in wolf's clothing.

Oh Idunno sibling, I tried being a gigolo once and I wasn't getting any buyers at all.