MSD distributor and roller cam
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: May 2005
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From: Millington Illinois
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
MSD distributor and roller cam
I am putting together my 383 and am getting conflicting information. The newer GM roller cams specify a mellonized gear which is what is on the distributor now. Comp cams says to run a bronze gear with their roller cam. I have had issues with the comp cams tech line. Are they trying to sell me something I don't need? They seem fairly clueless on the phone. I know a lot of forum members have the combo I have so I am asking for input from someone not so clueless.
Race Director
Joined: Sep 1999
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From: Plano TX
All factory roller cams use a cast iron gear on the cam and a melonized gear on the distributor. Aftermarket cams either use the same (pressed on) iron cam gear (and thus melonized distributor gear) or they are all billet in which case they require a bronze gear.
If the car is driven on the street you want a cam with the pressed on iron gear. The bronze gears don't last that long plus all the bronze that wears off will go into the oil.
Comp offers pressed on iron gears on their roller cams.
If the car is driven on the street you want a cam with the pressed on iron gear. The bronze gears don't last that long plus all the bronze that wears off will go into the oil.
Comp offers pressed on iron gears on their roller cams.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,043
Likes: 4
From: Va
When the engine built our 383 stoker with Comp Cams Mechanical Roller he mistakenly used a bronze gear, Turns out he could have used the melonized gear. The Bronze gear was wearing really fast. He offered to change over to the Comp Cams Composite Polymer Distributor Gear 12140 ($102 - Simmit) and I took him up on the offer. Ihave sinced checked and it is doing fine.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,167
Likes: 2
From: Ft.Worth Texas
Are all the steel gears that come on MSD and Mallory dist. melonized?
They may actually be iron rather than steel. Can you tell by looking if they are melonized? I replaced the one that came on a Mallory with one I got from GM but when I got the MSD e-Curve dist. I used the one that came on it......it was not bronze. The engine is GM383 crate with hyd roller.
sorry if I hijacked your thread
They may actually be iron rather than steel. Can you tell by looking if they are melonized? I replaced the one that came on a Mallory with one I got from GM but when I got the MSD e-Curve dist. I used the one that came on it......it was not bronze. The engine is GM383 crate with hyd roller.
sorry if I hijacked your thread
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,167
Likes: 2
From: Ft.Worth Texas
Thats what I thought but I just could not believe MSD would supply a product that would not work well without some kind of warning. The gear looked iron and coated but when I called them they ansered me like I was nuts. The MSD gear has a larger I.D. than the GM gear and I would have needed to bore it bigger in order to use it. I guess I need to keep an eye on wear. Was hoping for a way to verify. Thanks.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: May 2005
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From: Millington Illinois
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
Originally Posted by b71vette
When the engine built our 383 stoker with Comp Cams Mechanical Roller he mistakenly used a bronze gear, Turns out he could have used the melonized gear. The Bronze gear was wearing really fast. He offered to change over to the Comp Cams Composite Polymer Distributor Gear 12140 ($102 - Simmit) and I took him up on the offer. Ihave sinced checked and it is doing fine.
