[abefromen]

So I picked up a NOS timing chain that's made by a company called Duckworth.

Anyone ever hear of them? Based on the box it came in it looks like it dates to at least the mid 60's if not earlier.

The pics below are the Duckworth chain along side an OEM Morse style chain. Duckworth chain is on the bottom in the first two pics and on the left in last pic.

The Duckworth chain is MUCH stiffer than the stock Morse chain which is loose and floppy. The Duckworth is also of the anti bendback design that's identical to the Pontiac 4 cylinder chain that's always recommended to use if you can find it......PN 9772801.

It also has a unique side connecting link design which I haven't seen before.

I used a NOS 4 cylinder chain on my last build and really liked it as it was a really beefy, stiff chain.

I am considering using the Duckworth chain on my current build because it's similair in design to the Pontiac 4 cyl chain.

Anyone have any info on this company? Google searches don't help much.

[PAUL K]

That's cool. Used plenty of those back in the day. I wouldn't loose any sleep using it. Good quality and they seemed to hold up... I completely forgot about those.

[daduck]

My last name is Duckworth...….so I will snag one of those Duckworth timing chains for my 455 build.

My name will be in/on a part of my car.

[Cliff R]

I use and prefer the 3/4" wide link belt or Morse timing chain set-ups in my own engines. Have had zero issues with them, even in long term service. They have a few advantages by design, including strength, constant tooth contact, and less movement on the balancer when you throw a timing light on the engine and check it at any RPM. In all the years I've been doing these engines and have had a 400, two 428's, and two 455's in my car I only tried one roller timing set. It was a Rollmaster and installed around 1999 in my first 455. Initially I liked everything about it, especially the ease of degreeing the cam vs having to use the Mopar offset keys with the stock type timing sets.

I even did some cam degreeing testing with the Rollmaster as it was deadly accurate for moving the cam around. At that time I was street driving the Ventura a lot and racing it as many times a week as the weather would permit. I put a LOT of runs on that engine at the track. I was pretty dedicated at that testing parts as I had the car running deadly consistent a the track. Somewhere in the middle of all of it I even did the head testing with the new (at that time) KRE aluminum heads and the resulting HPP and Popular Hot Rodding Engine Masters articles that followed.

One Friday night I was racing the car at Dragway 42 and it started to slow down. Not just a little, like BIG TIME slow down.

I just figured with all the runs on it that it was time to "freshen" it up so really didn't do a lot of checking to see what was going on far as compression and such. I pulled the engine down and when I removed the timing cover the chain was so loose I could just about walk it off the gears! The chain was replaced, rolled in some rod bearings and right back in business as a leak down test showed the rings were fine.

I sold that engine and my current 455 got a stock type timing set and fine since 2009, and it has a LOT of time on it, street and at the track. I actually had the timing cover off recently as it started leaking coolant and the chain and gears looked fine, hardly a mark on them. I will say here that I purchase and use "old stock" timing sets as shown in the pic below. I like the heat treated metal gears vs the newer softer cast iron sprockets........Cliff

[dataway]

Cliff, is that a particular brand? There were a lot of crap Morse timing sets for sale 40 years ago too.

[Cliff R]

I'd have to check the box. I look for the heat treated sprockets as shown in the pics. Below is a pic of what they are currently selling, decent set-ups but with all the outsourcing going on I like the older stock better.......