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 Posted: 09-25-2007 02:03 am
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j4jacob
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    Cambelt cover(s) on my 1976 GT seem to be rubbing the belt ever so slightly.  (I THINK I can hear it scuffing from time to time at idle but it could be something else.)  I can't find the interference.   Is there a common place to check or method to check?  Alternatively, although I prefer the finished look of the covers, most J-Hs I've seen have them removed.  Is it better to just leave the covers off?

Thanks, in advance!!

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 Posted: 09-25-2007 03:12 am
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Greg Fletcher
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It's much more practical to leave it removed. On my restoration, I decided to leave most everything stock and fit the timing belt cover- but what a pain. My car is a Mark I and uses the one piece cover. It took me a couple hours to fit, most of that time is spent shimming and making sure the cover will not touch the belt. It's far from exact as original! Complicating matters, there's no way to see what's going on underneath, which I find annoying. I plan on leaving it for a while, but more as a novelty than anything else.

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 Posted: 09-25-2007 01:59 pm
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Judson Manning
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A nasty little fact about fiberglass is that it tends to warp with age.  A 30 year old timing cover will not fit without significant shimming (as Greg mentions) and minor modifications.  Then add in the tightening of the nylon in the belt as it heats up and the swelling of the block as it reaches operating temperature.

There are too many things to be 'fiddled with' on a regular basis with the 907 making the timing belt cover more of a nuisance (unless you wear a tie while making such adjustments).  I deliver all my engines w/o a timing belt cover because checking the tightness of the timing belt on a regular basis is critical.

 

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 Posted: 09-25-2007 04:47 pm
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Sylva
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Skip Brown who are the main people on Lotus Sunbeams, refuse to fit cam covers, if they are not needed on rally cars why put them on road cars.They say that they have never seen a car without covers have aproblem as stones do not 'jam', but get thrown away from the belt, with cam covers they have no where to go and get into the belt.

My car went into the gravel at Sepang F1 curcuit in malaysia two weeks ago (again), big off at over a 100mph long way throught the gravel, stones evrywhere, towed back to the pits removed the stones, no damage, and my engine sits with 2 and 1/2 inches of ground clearence so if stones where going to go into the cams then was the time.

So I agree much easier to work on the car without the cam covers

Kelvin

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