Anyone using gear drive?

[sixtynine Mach]

Hi, I'd like to use gear drive instead of a chain just because it sounds cool. But the question is, which one? Is the Pete Jackson one so noisy that it will eventually become annoying? I think milodon has one that's not as loud but I've never heard it so I can't make a decision. My Mach will already be loud but it isn't a daily driver so it shouldn't be too much of a problem. If anyone is using GD please let me know which brand and how you like it. Thanks!

 

[NorCal66]

I am not using one, but looked into it pretty well as I was planning on getting one. I learned that for the most part the floating gears (the cheaper ones) are unreliable and break often. The fixed ones from milodon and others ($$$) are great, but expensive and require machining. As far as the sound goes, most companies make "quiet" and "machined for noise" versions of their drives. How loud "annoying" is obviously varies from person to person

 

[sixtynine Mach]

Hey Norcal66, what do you mean by machining. Do you mean "make it fit?" Sorry, I don't know as much as I should and I have to tell my engine builder exactly what I want. Thanks.

 

[zookeeper]

I had a Pete Jackson in my '65, it was a quiet drive and sounded great, plus dropped right in place of the chain. You could faintly hear it fromn outside the car, but couldn't hear it from inside, I loved it and will be using one on my '68, check ebay as I've seen several new ones on there for half of retail. As far as reliablity being an issue, don't believe everything you read. Find out EXACTLY what the problem could possibly be, I for one would really be interested, since I've niether experienced or heard of any failure of any kind. By contrast, everyone's heard of timing belt failures, right? Yet what is the most commonly used cam drive in new cars? Treat a gear drive like a roaster from Ronco, set it and forget it!

 

[Route666]

I would be inclined to get a quieter version of a gear drive, as it should be a little stronger and be tighter than a noisy one. Reason being that if it was made quieter by being cut helically, there is more tooth contact all the time.

 

[ratio411]

I had a Pete Jackson.
I got it before a "quiet" drive was available.
It was straight cut and fairly loud.
Personally, I loved it. I literally never used my radio for the years that I ran this engine. Between the cam, flows, toploader, 4.11s, and Pete... a radio was a distraction from the symphony going on around me
I will never build a carb engine again without a noisy PJ.
As for strength, the engine ran almost 10 years. It was never a daily driver though, but it was rode hard and put up wet. When I finally took the engine apart, I sold off the PJ for $125.
Dave

 

[zookeeper]

I've also never seen a helical gear drive. My Jackson was a quiet version and straight cut, same as the noisies. Also, I agree about mechanical noise being better than any racket coming from a stereo (well, maybe except for George Thorogood), wild cams, gear drives, intake roar and sweet sounding exhaust are worth the price of admission!

 

[Route666]

I just assumed that is how they make the gears quiet, by helical cutting. How are the quiet ones quieter?

 

[zookeeper]

I really don't have a clue. I suppose it could be the clearance, but I wouldn't want to tighten that up too much, but my quiet drive was straight cut and fairly (for a gear drive) quiet.

 

[mrmcmillen]

i have the Pete Jackson "quiet" version on my '68 302....it is not as quiet as i would prefer it to be - even after 2 years and 1000 miles it has a pretty good whine to it. the hardest part of the installation is the "trimming of the timing cover".....to cut off too much....trust me.