distributor gears and cam cores

[PRH]

I’ve used the composite gears in Chevies.

I’ve never seen any listed for a BB Mopar.

For one of my own motors(BBM), I’d experiment with chamfering the teeth on the cam gear to see if it helped diminish the wear.

On recent BBM builds using cams with sharp fat teeth I’ve seen the gears look noticeably worse after just a dyno session than what I saw after 300 passes and two dyno sessions with my 1994 vintage UD roller.

[Walter R. Malik]

I’ve used the composite gears in Chevies.

I’ve never seen any listed for a BB Mopar.

For one of my own motors(BBM), I’d experiment with chamfering the teeth on the cam gear to see if it helped diminish the wear.

On recent BBM builds using cams with sharp fat teeth I’ve seen the gears look noticeably worse after just a dyno session than what I saw after 300 passes and two dyno sessions with my 1994 vintage UD roller.

I have used the composite gear for a MOPAR engine from "Tritec Motorsports" ... they ARE available.

I mentioned this earlier in this thread.

[PRH]

Something that doesn't seem to get much discussion are 'street roller cams' that are steel with a cast iron front journal & cam gear. The assembly is apparently indexed and pressed together, maybe with a woodruff guide key. Then you use a stock iron dizzy gear. I doubt if two-piece cams are strong enough to withstand the huge valve springs some racers think they need & 9500 rpms are likely not recommended, but for normal street/strip, it sure seems better than '1000-mile-bronze' gears that dump all that metal in the pan. We in the Cleveland family have been fighting this situation for decades as there never were factory steel roller cams & dizzy gears for that engine.

There are composite distributor gears for that engine and the big block Ford available from "Tritec Motorsports".

This is where I saw you mentioned Tritech.

I visited their site, they show one part number for a composite gear for a “Dodge”, doesn’t say if it’s a BB or SB.

[PRH]

CamKing said:

Here's a partial list of some of the steels used by the cam core manufacturers: 1050, 1055, 1060, 4150, 5150, 5160, 8620, 8660, 9310.
Besides the different materials, there's different heat treat processes. Some are induction hardened, Some are Quench and Tempered, and some are Carborized. an Induction hardened 1055 cam core will work great with a Melonized gear. A Carborized 9310 cam core, will not.

Mike, which materials on the list would you say are compatible with the melonized gear, and which aren’t a good match?

With regards to the BBM roller cam cores and the finish/profile on the gear teeth...... do you find any core supplier has a better fit and finish in that area than the others?

[Walter R. Malik]

Something that doesn't seem to get much discussion are 'street roller cams' that are steel with a cast iron front journal & cam gear. The assembly is apparently indexed and pressed together, maybe with a woodruff guide key. Then you use a stock iron dizzy gear. I doubt if two-piece cams are strong enough to withstand the huge valve springs some racers think they need & 9500 rpms are likely not recommended, but for normal street/strip, it sure seems better than '1000-mile-bronze' gears that dump all that metal in the pan. We in the Cleveland family have been fighting this situation for decades as there never were factory steel roller cams & dizzy gears for that engine.

There are composite distributor gears for that engine and the big block Ford available from "Tritec Motorsports".

This is where I saw you mentioned Tritech.

I visited their site, they show one part number for a composite gear for a “Dodge”, doesn’t say if it’s a BB or SB.

Both use the same size gear ... simply oriented on the shaft and helixed differently.

Edit: Call 'em ...the website doesn't tell everything. What I got from them was for a 426 Hemi.

[cjperformance]

There are composite distributor gears for that engine and the big block Ford available from "Tritec Motorsports".

This is where I saw you mentioned Tritech.

I visited their site, they show one part number for a composite gear for a “Dodge”, doesn’t say if it’s a BB or SB.

Both use the same gear ... simply oriented on the shaft differently.

Exactly !!

[Walter R. Malik]

This is where I saw you mentioned Tritech.

I visited their site, they show one part number for a composite gear for a “Dodge”, doesn’t say if it’s a BB or SB.

Both use the same gear ... simply oriented on the shaft differently.

Exactly !!

Same size, not exactly the same ... I didn't express my full thought of what they are so, I added the words missing.

I think a 426 Hemi is considered a big block and is the same as a wedge ...

[cjperformance]

Both use the same gear ... simply oriented on the shaft differently.

Exactly !!

Same size, not exactly the same ... I didn't express my full thought of what they are so, I added the words missing.

I know what you mean,,, my 'exactly' is regarding the 385bbf & clevo gear being interchangeable from a gear size point of view. As in if it says ok for bbf it can be used in a clevo, as can an entire dissy assy be swapped bbf to clevo and vise versa

[Walter R. Malik]

Exactly !!

Same size, not exactly the same ... I didn't express my full thought of what they are so, I added the words missing.

I know what you mean,,, my 'exactly' is regarding the 385bbf & clevo gear being interchangeable from a gear size point of view. As in if it says ok for bbf it can be used in a clevo, as can an entire dissy assy be swapped bbf to clevo and vise versa

YES ... Tritec also has those in composite. I don't think anyone else offers those.

[cjperformance]

Same size, not exactly the same ... I didn't express my full thought of what they are so, I added the words missing.

I know what you mean,,, my 'exactly' is regarding the 385bbf & clevo gear being interchangeable from a gear size point of view. As in if it says ok for bbf it can be used in a clevo, as can an entire dissy assy be swapped bbf to clevo and vise versa

YES ... Tritec also has those in composite. I don't think anyone else offers those.

Excellent thanks Walter

[BBO Omega]

Well I finally got around to replacing the original gear on my MSD distributor with the new gear I purchased directly from MSD. It had been in the package that they sent it in, and had developed a slight amount of surface rust. I cleaned this off in my parts cleaner with a brass cleaning brush. I then slid it on the shaft, and the fit is quite sloppy. It is going in the trash. The original (that is likely Melonized as well and would be fine to reuse) had a much more precise slip fit on the shaft. Mike Jones had recommended that I purchase a new gear from http://distributorgears.com/melonite-di ... ears/olds/, so I ordered one a week or so ago. Several week lead time, but at least they are made in the USA.

[pamotorman]

on chevys I just file a shallow groove to get full pressure oil to the gears interface.

[In-Tech]

The groove is good, sometimes in laziness I just file a "flat" and orient that to the primary side of the cam gear.