Double roller vs. Single roller

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Princess Valiant

Princess Valiant

A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
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It seems a double roller timing again is not available for a slant six. But the question is: is a double roller even necessary??

It seems a lot of high performance engines of other brands use a single roller with no issues.

Is a double roller just one of those upgrades that everyone thinks they need or is it smart money on a street driven car?

I am looking for the best timing chain option for a 1972 slant six.
 
It's the best you can get. Only you can decide if the expense is providing value to you.
 
Best is best ! You need it go on just get it .. come on what are you wating for stronger is always better !
 
it will purr like a kitten with a new single chain set.
 
I installed a silent (single) chain and a tensioner in the 273. Rock solid. The double roller is supposed to reduce friction since it has rollers over the chain link bars. I believe HD slants (trucks, industrial) had double rollers stock. They are louder but in a truck, but who cares? I would not be concerned about a silent chain in a slant.
 
318willrun said:
correct, and she also asked if double roller was necessary :)
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She did. ....and they are not necessary. They are though, if you want your timing to be precise after engine break in.
 
Not all silent chains are created equal.
I've seen those "silent chain" setups shed the nylon coating off the cam gear. Then that junk clogs the oil pickup. I can't recommend that.
 
rustycowll69 said:
Not all silent chains are created equal.
I've seen those "silent chain" setups shed the nylon coating off the cam gear. Then that junk clogs the oil pickup. I can't recommend that.
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If it is built that way, I’d agree. I’d like nice strong steel gears and chain.
 
I'm old-school and when I think timing chain, the first thing that comes to mind is Cloyes. So when I rebuilt my 225, that's what I bought.

I gotta tell ya it was a BIG disappointment, There was about 1/2" slack when installed. (pictures in my resto thread somewhere) Sorry, I'm not going to go to all the trouble of completely rebuilding my engine and roll with something that bad.

I researched it and came up with double roller parts sourced from NAPA. But, had to buy chain, cam and crank pulleys separately, no complete set P/N. I was going to do that but then came up with the Rollmaster set from a place in California.

Wow, really nice precise setup, all steel, tight with no perceptible slop and there were multiple keyways cut in the cam gear every 2* if I wanted to alter the timing. and I think it was slightly less dollars than the NAPA-sourced set. Something I don't have to worry about for another 50 years.
 
"forever"
That's the payback, you only install it once in like 24 years, for me at least; over 250,000 miles and still going. And you never have to worry about it letting go, with subsequent damage, or leaving you stranded.
 
define "A good roller" that lasts forever...Rollmaster? Perhaps (I have one on my stroker). Cloyes, I think not. Seen 'em opened up after 5K and they are saggin' like a spaghetti noodle. I bit the bullet and bought a tensioner. Its a no brainer on a LA. The slant chain i got new was very tight going on, think it was a TRW? The nice thing about Rollmasters are the quality of the cogs (as well as the chain) but the cogs can wear too so the hardened ones would surely last longer. Good thing about them is most are fairly cheap, even the good ones compared to other engine parts.
rollmaster.jpg
 
KosmicKuda said:
I'm old-school and when I think timing chain, the first thing that comes to mind is Cloyes. So when I rebuilt my 225, that's what I bought.

I gotta tell ya it was a BIG disappointment, There was about 1/2" slack when installed. (pictures in my resto thread somewhere) Sorry, I'm not going to go to all the trouble of completely rebuilding my engine and roll with something that bad.
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Was the Cloyes set a "matched set"? Or did you get the parts separetly? I did a "group buy" some years, ago, of matched sets, and no one let me know there was a problem. I used two, myself, and they were fine. The ones I got, had part number CS225 on the box.
 
RustyRatRod said:
How important is good camshaft timing?
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I can't help myself.............Does this mean that if the OP used a single row chain his cam timing would be **** and never right? Just how poor would his cam timing be?
 
Rainy Day Auto said:
Dang.


But is it something I really need, to drive like an old lady to work and back with an occasional burnout
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Grandma drove around with a silent chain and gear set and never let her blue haired head worry a lick over it............
 
JBurch said:
I can't help myself.............Does this mean that if the OP used a single row chain his cam timing would be **** and never right? Just how poor would his cam timing be?
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Off the shelf single row chains are simply stock replacements. Anyone who has ever built an engine using a stock timing chain and had to tear it back down can attest to how sloppy they get really quickly. Have I ever put a degree wheel on to see how bad? No. 100 or so dollars is a cheap price to pay for a GOOD timing set that will not stretch and will hold timing stable.

I guess we should have asked the OP what their intentions are. Does she want a bare bones stock engine? Does she want it upgraded anywhere? If I had to choose ONE place where I was going to do an upgrade, even on a DEAD stock engine it would be a damn good timing set for two reasons. One, I would make sure to get one with multiple crankshaft keyways and the Rollmaster has a pile of them. Nine I believe. This will allow you to degree and advance even a stock camshaft for a nice bump in bottom end performance, even for a stock engine. The second reason is pretty obvious. Get a good set so that timing will remain much more consistent over the life of the engine compared to a stock set.

For me it would be a no brainer even on a stock build if I was restrained to just one modification.
 
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pishta said:
define "A good roller" that lasts forever...Rollmaster? Perhaps (I have one on my stroker). Cloyes, I think not. Seen 'em opened up after 5K and they are saggin' like a spaghetti noodle. I bit the bullet and bought a tensioner. Its a no brainer on a LA. The slant chain i got new was very tight going on, think it was a TRW? The nice thing about Rollmasters are the quality of the cogs (as well as the chain) but the cogs can wear too so the hardened ones would surely last longer. Good thing about them is most are fairly cheap, even the good ones compared to other engine parts.View attachment 1715191705
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It depends on WHICH Cloyes you get. The 69 dollar set AINT the good one.
 
Charrlie_S said:
Was the Cloyes set a "matched set"? Or did you get the parts separetly? I did a "group buy" some years, ago, of matched sets, and no one let me know there was a problem. I used two, myself, and they were fine. The ones I got, had part number CS225 on the box.
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Oops, let me clarify.
It was an off the shelf Cloyes silent type. When I was looking 2-1/2 years ago I don't think I found a Cloyes double roller.

Sounds like another case of an old school company getting bought out and quality goes to hell.
If the stock type Cloyes chain was even remotely tight I probably would've used it but there was a half inch slack right out of the box! I think the Rollmaster was around $105 shipped.
 
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I don't know what they offer for slants, but I like the edelbrock double roller timing sets... about 65 bucks I think
 
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