The 1919 Touring is getting a new camshaft/bearings and big timing gear
in the next few weeks. Any advice on
cam lift or use of bronze vs. aluminum
gear is welcome.

My 26 had a fiber gear that had to go. I got a nice aluminum one from Texas T parts that was beautifully machined. Some of the aluminum time gears I have seen are cast and don't look as good to me, not sure. I used the stipe .280 cam and have been super happy with it. That is what worked for me. I guess the bronze gear is best if overhead is used, but was overkill for me.

This is the one I removed.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bruckzone/4309137183/in/set-72157623171821285/
New cam shaft and bearings.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bruckzone/4383376313/in/set-72157623171821285/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bruckzone/4383375259/in/set-72157623171821285/
New gear.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bruckzone/4384141354/in/set-72157623171821285/

Of course this is a golden oportunity to put in new valves, springs and or adjustable lifters. Or at least lap the valves.http://www.flickr.com/photos/bruckzone/4383381277/in/set-72157623171821285/

Let us know what you do and give a report after she gets back on the road please.

I've always experienced noise with aluminum. I went back to fibre. Of course my car doesn't have a generator, so I haven't had a problem with wear.
Re lift, I've been very happy with the Stipe 250 cam. Adequate power at low rpm, good power at high. I experimented with a 280 but didn't like the drop off in power at shift change. Carburetion is also a factor so it may have only been partially due to the higher lift. The best cam for low end torque is a Ford cam. But good ones are very hard to find. The top of the lobes wear down quite a bit. I was fortunate to get a couple off new ones off eBay and was really impressed with performance.

I recommend a new hardend steel crankshaft gear and a bronze timing gear, replace both at the same time. Bronze will last longer than aluminum

I have 2 Ts with bronze cam gears and one with aluminum and both bronze gears make noise and the aluminum one does not, I am going to be replacing one of the bronze with aluminum or plastic soon, the knocking noise is driving me nuts.

I had the fibre gear fail in about 1000 miles on my '15. Actually it was still working but the gear was disintigrating like a sugar cube in water. None of my Ts have a generator or any other kind of charging system. I think the gear was just made of some crap material.

I replaced it with the aluminum gear. Utterly silent.

I tried one of Dan McEachern's bronze gears in my '13. That was really noisy. Replaced it with a nylon gear. That is my favorite so far.

The original steel gears are also quiet if they are in good condition.

This evening a friend asked me ; is there a difference in mounting the camshaft gear,on the camshaft, because you can turn the gear 180 degrees. And I sead there is no difference , am I right ????
Toon

Toon, I wondered the same thing. It makes nodiff at all.

What is the difference between the Ford cam and the Stipe 250 cam? It is hilly here in VT. Any one else have experience with the new hardened steel crankshaft pulley. Hopefully this is a one time fix. The noise showed up after driving a short while after switching from a generator to an alternator...I also have a knock on de-celeration that may be able to be managed with thrust washers. My compression is 50 psi in all 4 cylinders, is this the time to look at new valves and springs? It is back on the road after 50 years in dry storage.

Dennis,
The reason your gears are making a knocking noise is because of poor fit, the valve springs will at times try to push the gear in reverse causing a backlash and sounding just like a rod knock. If the gear fits it is not going to knock, regardless of material. If the cam gear is worn chances are the crank gear is worn too so replacing a worn cam gear alone will not solve the problem without also replacing the crank gear. It may be that some aluminum gears are oversize to compensate for a worn crank gear but I am not aware of any made that way.

Dennis Prince- "the knocking noise is driving me nuts."

Sounds like a thrust problem to me. Does your #1 bearing fit snug and not allow any in and out movement?

I switched to the nylon gear two years back and it reduced the noise considerably. Don't confuse "fiber" with "Nylon", they are not the same.

I like the nylon ones as well and use them in all the engines I rebuild. I am shocked(!) to read that Royce likes this modern replacement for an original Ford part which works well on its own. If Royce likes it, you know it must be a good improvement.

p.s. -- The Stipe 250 cam is great. You can see more info on it here: http://clubs.hemmings.com/frameset.cfm?club=mtfctulsa

What sort of life can one expect to get out of a nylon timing gear compared to aluminum and bronze?

Why are bronze gears noisier than aluminum?

Who makes the better fibre gear? I've heard bad things about the recent ones???

I'm completely sold on the Stipe cams. I've had good luck with several of the .280 grind as well as the .250 grind that I'm running in my '14 Touring. The fit and quality of the Stipe cams is unmatched by any of the other cams out there. I put one of Chaffin's .280 cams in my father's coupe when I rebuilt his engine. I wasn't impressed with the slow shipping or the fact that it did not come with new dowel pins. It does make good power; but, all in all, I feel that the Stipe cam, which comes complete with dowel pins installed, is a better value.

I've used aluminum, bronze and nylon timing gears. They are all good. The aluminum seems to wear faster than the other two. I'm a big fan of the nylon gears. I like the nylon gears the best. They seem to wear a long time and they are just plain quiet.

Note: Any timing gear will wear fast if it's mated to a worn crankshaft or generator gear. Replace all of them as a set.

Patrick,

"Who makes the better fibre gear?"

Nobody. The old fiber timing gears were fine. I mean old as in 40+ years. They were basically a cast gear with fiber impregnated as a reinforcement. New fiber gears are cut from raw fiber stock. The stock has the same reinforcing fibers molded in but, when you cut the stock you also cut through the reinforcing fibers and thereby cut away the very element that makes the gear stronger.

Eric - Your post leads me into a question; what is your opinion (and any anyone else's opinion or experience) with the nylon gear that has the "half tooth" timing modification?