482 side oiler. Gear drive or chain driven ?
 

New 482 side oiler, apx. 625-650 HP. Cam gear drive or quality double roller chain drive ?

Chain all the way.. my 2c worth

Me too ! There has been so much talk about how the gears lose teeth and make a noise etc...

Go with a quality double roller chain
Regards,

Plain 'ol stock style chain. Double roller chains (if it's even really a roller link) have very reduced contact area on the gears. Also roller chains have less links. These things cause two problems: The chains with less links are prone to stretch more and the reduced contact area of the sprockets will wear faster.

Gear drives maintain more accurate valve timing (no chain stretch). However gear drives can be more prone to breakage and are noisy. (although the gear drives may have earned the poor reliability rep because of the kind of engines they're typically installed in)

Dannybee belt drive
 

FUNFER2 Kevin If money is no object, Dannybee belt drive. It doesn't make the same power as either a roller chain or gear drive. If you are looking for the most power gears are the winners. Milodon as a good setup withthe plate mounting to the block and it fits under the timing cover. I don't like that double gear that sits between the camshaft gear and the crank gear and has just a bar for location. They keep the least amount of play out of the timing between the camshaft and crank. Down side is noise, depending on who's you get, you get either a straight cut gear, sounds like a 6/71 blower on the top of your motor or the 15-21 degree gears which are quieter. About 4 or 5 companies sell gear setups. Make sure you have a direct oil supply to the gears. The setup and camshaft end play are very important for this system to last and work correctly. Cloyles timing chain with true roller have been around for 40+ years. Never had one fail on me or my other motors from years of racing. I also always used a oil supply to the chain for cooling and heat control for longer life. Either modify the oil drains from the top of the motor or tap into an oil galley and add a .010" oriface to supply oil. I think .030" to to much to the chain area. Chevy guys use this size, but also have a better oiling system in the block than an FE.%/ The play of the chain stretching over time will cause a couple of HP. The best for last, IMO Timing belt from DannyBee. This is going on my 498 motor unless it becomes a cammer. Belt is run dry, no oil supply needed. Will last 50,000 miles without changing. I believe there is a load limit to this with valve springs being over 1000 pounds open pressure. I will be no where near this number. You can adjust cam timing in 10 minutes with one 10 mm or 3/8" wrench. Water pump doesn't get touched. Price is the killer. 1K. The up side of this belt setup is it helps to remove harmonics in the motor. At idle it does the most work to remove engine pulses from firing. If the car is going to be a road car, I would add a shield to protect and keep dirt out of the gears and belt. I think that about covers it.:):D Rick L. Ps all the above systems will break if NOT INSTALLED CORRECTLY. THIS MEANS ALL ENDS PLAYS NEED TO BE CHECKED. Crankshaft, camshaft, and gear clearance.

In my opinion, This is the way to go, It will outlast you :)

Again, Dr. Lake comes through with the right diagnosis ! :3DSMILE:
You the man bud !
Kev