I am in the process of cleaning up my 350 by replacing all gaskets and cleaning up a bit the valve seats / stems and want to re-assemble with a bit of a bling. Will paint the engine block orange and heads in black or grey. Polished Plenums and chrome rocker covers.

As part of the process I am going to replace the timing gear as a precautionary measure so I will buy a Cloyes Street Billet double roller set from Rockauto. I would like to get a Chrome or better so an Aluminium timing cover.
Do you guys have any tips for me on what should I get? I think something with timing marks should be a must but I was reading about the double roller height and the fact that it might rub to the cover so I want to try to get it right considering that here in Malta returning and items will be a nightmare.


PS. engine is probably stock. Am saying probably as I still have to open it. Just from the looks of it, I think it has been decked at some point as the Block code is barely visible.

 

Avoid chrome no matter what.

If you don't sand the chrome off of the sealing surface, it is guaranteed to leak.

No matter what you do it is guaranteed to rust.

Chrome-plated tin is altogether the worst thing you can put on a motor. Too bad somebody doesn't make stainless, it would be VASTLY better than chrome.

 

Copy that. Fully agree. Any pointer as to a particular brand which doesn't need extra thick gaskets?

 

Which gasket? The one between the block and timing cover or the one that goes between the timing cover and oil pan?

If your referring to the gasket that goes between the cover and oil pan, the one you use is dependent on the oil pan, not the timing cover. AFAIK, all the timing covers are the same, functionally speaking.

Most "timing chain" gasket sets come with both thick and thin gaskets. Throw away the one you don't use. The gasket set should come with a new crankshaft seal and water pump gaskets as well.

 

Was referring to the one between the cover and block but from what you are saying all of them should fit a double roller so will see what I find

 

Chains don't generally interfere with covers, but they sometimes do with blocks.

Some blocks require a bit of material to be ground away to fit to some chains.

 

Understood. Is there a particular brand/model which you know which doesn't require grinding?

 

Please no orange blocks, esp in a trans am.. :-(

 

Why is that

 

i hear this no chrome timing or rear end covers alot all over the internet i don't quit understand that cause ive used a chrome timing cover on every engine ive built in the last ten years for my self or friends and have had the same cover on my motor and rear end now for over three years and they have not rusted or leaked one drop or bit i think the leaking is due to over tightening of them once you over tighten them they will leak no matter what so make sure and follow them tourque specs to a t as for the timing gears and and chain i would use a double gear and chain or a full gear drive set my self the full gears only is not for everyone as it does make a lot of noise i prefer double chain my self get a timing marker that is adjustable ive never found a solid one that was dead on put the motor at tdc and then put the timing tab on so you can adjust it to be right i also believe spending money on a ballancer with marks already on it is great idea to

 

he is saying no orange block on a trans am because its a pontiac not chevy orange is a chevy block color pontiacs is light blue almost kinda teal

 

I won't go for full gears due to noise but will surely go double sprocket setup. With regards to the timing marks I will see if I can find adjustable ones.

Re color thanks for letting me know. I always thought that as Pontiac use the same Chevy engine the orange would be common. Will try to find this light blue then.

 

your looking for a color like this to be correct its your car tho so if you wanna go orange thats more then ok imo

 

Bah , ya hardly ever see the color of the engine anyway .

Now if your really into Chevy orange here's a way you can enjoy the color every time you drive

 

you can even use the really cheap pointers like this one ive used them and just set the red pointer to set as my zero or top dead center ive never found one where the zero is perfect on a non adjustable one my self there close but not perfect

 

Looking at that color and knowing that orange would not be 'correct' I think I will go for the always nice black block with grey heads. Will have some thought about it.


That marker is really cool. Will try to find one.

Thanks guys

 

welcome i also paint all my blocks dark colors like black it show less dirt and easier to clean imo i save the bright pretty colors for things like valve covers and intake where there easy to clean that pointer is a spectrue or how ever you spell it lmao part number 4237 you can order them from your local parts store mr gasket also makes one just like it part number 4598 your parts store should carry one of them two brands or both

 

Thanks for the codes. No way I will find them here in Malta but hopefully online I will

 

oh shoot i didnt see your in Europe im sorry i just assumed you from the states my bad

 

Yepp no worries. Used to that

 

Guys. First of all Happy Christmas. I hope you all have good time with your loved ones.

I was just going to push the button for the Cloyes street billet double roller set and came here to look at the comments that I got. I noticed no one commented on this set and I want to make sure it won't interfere with the block requiring shaving or something.

Can someone please confirm this?

 

With any aftermarket timing chain and sprocket set, one should always look for interference with the block. It's more an issue with the block casting than the timing chain/sprockets.

 

So all of the aftermarket sprockets will need modification to the block??

 

2 rather different things.

But yes: one should check for interference with the later-model blocks when using any aftermarket timing set; and if interference is found, modification will be needed.

 

Understood loud and clear but from your statement it looks to me like this is not a general rule and thus it means that there are some aftermarket timing sets which do not interfere.

So my question is, which ones (timing sets) had anyone tried and didn't require modification due to interference?

 

OE

All others, check before bolting up the cover.

It's a function of the BLOCK, not so much the timing set.

 

Ok so I will see if I can find OE to avoid having to modify anything as the engine is stock so it won't really benefit much from double sprocket.
Thanks