["QUICK-SILVER"]

Old friend called a few weeks ago with the same problem. Engine done built and in the car running. He didn't want to change covers on his new pretty engine in the car. So he ended up making (or had made) a bolt on tab.

Late model engines, that came with a real damper, do have the timing tab cast in. They have a wider timing tab, more degree marks, than older covers. I've made bolt on tabs to add more marks for the older style covers. That's for engines that needed more initial timing than what the old tabs have on them.

I'm still old school.. Regular old timing light and put marks on the balancer to see what's going on.

Clay

[TAQuest]

Bingo! Found one. Seller says it works with the tabless cover and 6 3/4 balancer.
Check it out;

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1974-1981-P...53.m1438.l2649

["QUICK-SILVER"]

Originally Posted by Singleton

This one works with full size balancers. Seller is the Pontiac Dude.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pontiac-Tim...4AAOSwzrxUvrwA

That's close to what my home made look like. I split the tab on both ends of the fold so you can put an arc in it to match the curve of the balancer. Also cut and mark a few pointing teeth instead of flat and straight.

Clay

[TAQuest]

Originally Posted by "QUICK-SILVER"

That's close to what my home made look like. I split the tab on both ends of the fold so you can put an arc in it to match the curve of the balancer. Also cut and mark a few pointing teeth instead of flat and straight.

Clay

I hear you. I like making things like that too. For the sake of staying 'normal' looking I'm going to pay the $25 instead of enjoying fabricating a cool bracket.

[Speargun]

Originally Posted by Singleton

This one works with full size balancers. Seller is the Pontiac Dude.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pontiac-Tim...4AAOSwzrxUvrwA

This is the one I have on my engine. I found TDC when I degreed the cam and cut a little notch in the tab that lined up with TDC on the balancer.
Works great!

[TAQuest]

Originally Posted by Speargun

This is the one I have on my engine. I found TDC when I degreed the cam and cut a little notch in the tab that lined up with TDC on the balancer.
Works great!

Another nice find.

[steve25]

The abbreviated Balancer as the factory called it should not be used on any motor that will see more then 4000 rpm, and note that by 77 when this was first used the 455 motor was gone as the factory would not dare have built this type of long stroke motor without a Balancer!
As posted the bolt on timing tab only works with the addreviated Balancer.

What I have done in the passed is just hack saw off the cast on tab from a bad timing cover and epoxyed it onto a good later cover.

[TAQuest]

Originally Posted by steve25

The abbreviated Balancer as the factory called it should not be used on any motor that will see more then 4000 rpm, and note that by 77 when this was first used the 455 motor was gone as the factory would not dare have built this type of long stroke motor without a Balancer!
As posted the bolt on timing tab only works with the addreviated Balancer.

What I have done in the passed is just hack saw off the cast on tab from a bad timing cover and epoxyed it onto a good later cover.

I was also going to do the 'epoxy on' tab but looked around for other options first. The guy on eBay that sold me the factory bolt on timing tab, a Pontiac guy from way back, said there are two kinds, one for the regular balancer and one for the abbreviated balancer. The one for the smaller/abbreviated balancer has a metal tab added for the smaller balancer.