The Timing is Right

I've been disassembling the engine on the '66 in my spare time the past few weeks, identifying some various fluid leaks. One area that I hadn't heard about examining is the timing cover, particularly the coolant passages. This makes sense since the water pump is attached to the timing cover, and then the cover is attached to the engine block. The cover holds back coolant under pressure, and oil too.

Covers shown L to R: Stock cover (with corroded coolant passages); California Pony Cars cover with cast pointer;  Edelbrock cover with bolt-on pointer.

It took awhile to figure out the best timing cover for my application.

Here are the backs of the same covers in the above order. I've bought some Edelbrock components previously and have been happy. This time however, the #4250 cover seemed unfinished, like someone gave up grinding down the cast lines when they were half done.

Here's the stock style timing cover I bought from Virginia Classic Mustangs. It's a California Pony Car cover, made in the USA, and the quality seems fantastic. This one has the bolt-on timing pointer (not the cast pointer seen in the image at top from '65-'66 Mustangs.) I went with this style since the engine is a '68 302, and will have a 302 balancer on it, not the smaller '66 balancer that was on there.

I actually spent a couple hours with some extra fine steel wool, buffing the aluminum—hopefully that finish lasts a bit!