our roller chain sets that we sell are better in every way over stock, and stock replacement belt type chains. take note also, many aftermarket gear sets are not phased right (half a tooth off), so always match up the gear and timing mark with your old set, if using stock replacement stuff. you can often re-use the gears and put on a NOS chain. all the stock replacement chains we see now are loose and only get worse from there. essentially being totally "clapped out" at 10k thousand mile. be aware of a common other roller set sold elsewhere which consists of VERY soft gear material which results in premature wear.. people think they want a double roller... but the more pieces that make up the chain, the more places for the chain to stretch over time. the other beauty of the roller chain we sell, is the multiple key ways, allowing advancing and retarding of the cam for degreeing the camshaft in. ALL AFTERMARKET CAMSHAFTS must be degree'd in. if you choose to use a stock chain, you can source offset cam keys online. that being said, i even insist on using it with stock replacement cams because the chain is just that much better, to easily justify the cost .. 59 and later engines have an aluminum and nylon cam sprocket, which can and will fail without warning! on 1958 and earlier engines, the fuel pump cam is riveted onto the cam gear. on those applications we include a special guide pin kit to essentially convert your pre 58 fuel pump cam eccentric into a 59 and later. (we do not sell that kit seperately). take note that the fuel pump cam should be replaced if worn through the hardened outer shell. once that happens, future wear is accelerated. excessive wear to the fuel pump cam is typically credited to people excessively idling their engine upon start up. only way it gets lubrication is from being thrown off the crank/oil slinger at higher rpm.
commonly i get calls regarding confusion over how the guide pin gets installed to eccentric, and fear over leaving the cam retainer plate off the 322/264 engines. flat tappet cam lobes are ground at a slight angle. this does 2 things. it encourages the lifters to rotate in the bore and as the cam rotates, the cam is pulled backwards up against the rear snap ring. buick even released factory bulletins, explaining that you don't need the cam retainer plate on there, and buick stopped using it after 56. the exception would be roller cam applications which need a cam retainer plate, or a bump stop with jam nut stemming off cam snout. also get expressed concern that the roller chain is too tight. if the chain goes on, i assure you it's not too tight. cam bearings take abuse from hundreds of pounds of valvetrain pressure. the timing chain isnt going to hurt it. ALL CHAINS stretch no matter what the manufacture. its just the nature of the design. our chains stress less than others, however, and stretch a little during the break in process. "too tight" during assy is good. always soak your chain in oil overnight before engine assy.
from the factory, the 322/264 timing marks were lined up 12 link pins apart, off to 3 0'clock, if staring at the front of engine. EXTREMELY common for shops to line up the marks straight up and down and bend the valves. because the 322/264 roller chain is a modified 57 and later version, you line up the timing marks straight up and down for that application. attached are pictures of the late and early fuel pump cams
fuel pump cam doesnt fit over the whole cam snout. it only goes on about half way. install fuel pump cam with bolt and washer, before removing it again to make sure you sucked in the cam snout and fuel pump cam is clocked right. now add red loctite and torque cam bolt to 60 ft pounds.
