Timing Cover Alignment Tool

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BRENT in 10-uh-C
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Timing Cover Alignment Tool

Post by BRENT in 10-uh-C » Sun Apr 20, 2025 9:29 am

Does/Are any vendors selling Bob's style of alignment tool? If so, who is selling them??

TIA


TIMING COVER ALIGNMENT TOOL.jpg


Line_Noise
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Re: Timing Cover Alignment Tool

Post by Line_Noise » Sun Apr 20, 2025 10:19 am

Ebay seller "burnzoil" makes and sells them. He has also sold in the classifieds here, but it has been a while and I forget his username.

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Steve Jelf
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Re: Timing Cover Alignment Tool

Post by Steve Jelf » Sun Apr 20, 2025 10:24 am

No idea, but I think any decent machine shop could make a simple alignment tool. Picture a round piece of metal exactly the diameter of a timer cover, with a hole exactly in the center that slips onto the end of the cam shaft.
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Re: Timing Cover Alignment Tool

Post by Moxie26 » Sun Apr 20, 2025 10:28 am

Lang's ran out of stock tools ????


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Re: Timing Cover Alignment Tool

Post by Dan Hatch » Sun Apr 20, 2025 11:15 am

K R Wilson sold them
IMG_4337.jpeg

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Ed Fuller
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Re: Timing Cover Alignment Tool

Post by Ed Fuller » Sun Apr 20, 2025 12:42 pm

The late Bob Scherzer reproduced the KR Wilson tool.


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Re: Timing Cover Alignment Tool

Post by Rich Bingham » Sun Apr 20, 2025 12:53 pm

Gene French makes them.
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Re: Timing Cover Alignment Tool

Post by BE_ZERO_BE » Sun Apr 20, 2025 4:20 pm

Respectfully Submitted,
Be_Zero_Be

I drive a Model T ... Microseconds don't matter :D

For every Absolute Model T Fact there are at least three exceptions.

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BRENT in 10-uh-C
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Re: Timing Cover Alignment Tool

Post by BRENT in 10-uh-C » Sun Apr 20, 2025 7:35 pm

Steve Jelf wrote:
Sun Apr 20, 2025 10:24 am
No idea, but I think any decent machine shop could make a simple alignment tool. Picture a round piece of metal exactly the diameter of a timer cover, with a hole exactly in the center that slips onto the end of the cam shaft.
Thanks Steve. I have two of the aluminum ones that index on the cam seal flange but I am finding those are hit/miss on whether they index correctly. I had a large one from years ago that Bob had made but it appears it is now MIA. I may just machine a piece of aluminum that will index off of that little one and the larger ring will slide over the small one.

Thanks everyone.

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Re: Timing Cover Alignment Tool

Post by Mark Gregush » Sun Apr 20, 2025 8:25 pm

BRENT in 10-uh-C wrote:
Sun Apr 20, 2025 7:35 pm
Steve Jelf wrote:
Sun Apr 20, 2025 10:24 am
No idea, but I think any decent machine shop could make a simple alignment tool. Picture a round piece of metal exactly the diameter of a timer cover, with a hole exactly in the center that slips onto the end of the cam shaft.
Thanks Steve. I have two of the aluminum ones that index on the cam seal flange but I am finding those are hit/miss on whether they index correctly. I had a large one from years ago that Bob had made but it appears it is now MIA. I may just machine a piece of aluminum that will index off of that little one and the larger ring will slide over the small one.

Thanks everyone.
Those are the ones Langs sells that used the seal area. My preference would be the KRW style. I too was going to suggest Gene French. Pretty sure he makes the style that indexes off the machined recess the timer fits into.
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Re: Timing Cover Alignment Tool

Post by KurtM » Sun Apr 20, 2025 9:04 pm

How necessary are these tools? What happens if you replace a timing gear without one?

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Re: Timing Cover Alignment Tool

Post by RajoRacer » Sun Apr 20, 2025 10:37 pm

You have a very good chance of either "roller bounce" or in the case of distributor gear mesh, a "not good" scenario ! The only one that actually centers the timing cover IS the large diameter tool !

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Re: Timing Cover Alignment Tool

Post by KurtM » Mon Apr 21, 2025 9:16 am

Thanks Steve, anyone else? I ask because I just changed the timing gear on my '23 Runabout without the centering tool 'cuz I didn't have one. The car's mostly original, sporting a New Day timer. My buddy put his together without the tool a while back and his car runs great, is why I went ahead instead of ordering a tool and waiting a week to get my car back on the road. He had a roller, and then switched to a flapper type of timer, if I have the terms anywhere near correct or at least understandable.


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Re: Timing Cover Alignment Tool

Post by Rich Bingham » Mon Apr 21, 2025 11:42 am

Kurt, I may be wrong about this, but I think the configuration of the New Day is such that it “forgives” the timing cover being less than perfectly centered over the camshaft.

At least that was my experience 63 years ago, when, as a dumb kid I found I couldn’t keep the factory roller timer operating properly - switching to a New Day, problem solved ! At the time, I didn’t know the timing cover had to be centered over the camshaft with a special tool.
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Re: Timing Cover Alignment Tool

Post by Steve Jelf » Mon Apr 21, 2025 2:23 pm

I agree that the design of the New Day should make it immune to the slight cover misalignment that sometimes means trouble for a roller timer. I've used New Day for many years, and my lack of a centering tool has not been a problem. Should we all have one? Sure. Better safe than sorry.
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Re: Timing Cover Alignment Tool

Post by Mark Gregush » Tue Apr 22, 2025 10:18 am

I know the voices aren't real but damn they have some good ideas! :shock:

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Re: Timing Cover Alignment Tool

Post by jab35 » Wed Apr 23, 2025 10:15 am

I made one from an original Ford timer by turning a block of maple to a moderate press fit in the case with original contact ring removed, and bored a hole to fit camshaft. Used it once with good result, fwiw. jb

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