Been working on a 300 build for my DD at home for a while now. Had a buddy that claimed he had a timing gear set (NEW) that he'd let go of for a case of beer. I thought it was a good deal. He said both gears were metal. When i got to the point where i needed the timing set, i exchanged the beer for the part...only to discover the cam gear was phenolic. I'd spent a great deal of time and money to ensure that everything put into the engine was better/stronger than stock for its intended purpose.
Anyhow...i was shopping around for a timing set and finally settled on a steel/steel standard cloyes set from summit. Business as usual, submitted the order, forked over the $$$, and wait till it arrives. Once the set came to my house, the box was not damaged at all. Both gears were enclosed in not one, but two boxes.
Upon close inspection of the cam gear, several of the helically cut gears, that you'd think would have a clean/machined profile had their edges rolled/smeared over from impact with something else. they were stacked in the box, with packaging barrier between the two gears....so the gears didn't smack into one another. My guess is it was something at the manufacturer.
So....i contact summit, they email me a return label and get a new set in the mail. They arrived at my home yesterday. I opened the box up...darn near drooling in anticipation since i REALLY want to get this engine finished up and broken in. Looking closely, BOTH of the gears are damaged in this shipment! what in the world?!?
almost identical dings into the crest of the cut gears, like the first shipment.
I contact summit, they all but demand pictures. I was at work by then and couldn't snap pictures at the time. i asked for a refund and shipping label. They can have it back. Not to badger summit...they have tried to make things right, and i'm sure it's not always being the vendor/"middle man" for other companies that may or may not have a reputable QA department, ensuring tolerances are maintained. i'll continue to purchase from summit for sure.
OTOH....i was looking into the cloyes conundrum a little more.

CLOYES Part number: 2764S

The part is no longer available on the summit website, from my research. Interesting. Might they know something that I don't?

Melling also has a gear set that is steel/steel. same EXACT part number. its stamped right onto the cam gear.

MELLING Part number: 2764S

NAPA has a "house brand" timing set. Again, EXACT same part number. (although i'm sure it's just a cloyes set in a napa box)

I'm sure it isn't uncommon for things like this to be "private label" contracted by multiple companies...that seems to be the case here.

In any case...just wanted to drop a line for fair warning. Keep in mind, i've purchase untold amounts of parts from summit, napa, oreillys, etc. with dozens of different brand names and had little, if any, issues with the purchase or performance of said part.
I've tried shooting an email to cloyes and letting them know about my findings. hopefully it'll help them get to the bottom of the issue.

Looks like i'll be contacting Comp Cams to see what they have available.

A lesson my grandfather taught me a long time ago...just because its a new part, doesn't mean its the PROPER part. Make darn sure, what you're putting into your project, is exactly what you're looking for. The time spent on nitpicking and inspecting everything prior to assembly can save a fella years of headaches later on.

Have a good weekend!

 

Great advice! And definitely worthwhile.
When I built my engine, I got a set of lifters. After dropping them in and fiddling around getting push rods set up, etc, I decided to inspect them closer. There were two different diameters of lifters in the set. About 7 of them fit correctly, and the other 5 had a very small amount of slop. Had I fired it up, those 5 loose lifters would have tore my cam and lifter bores right up, plus who knows what else.


I've also had that with Summit. They get parts in large shipments, so if there's a defect in one, it's probably in the one you'll get as an exchange too. I once went through 3 parts with the same problem before I finally had to buy it somewhere else so I could get one from a different batch. It happens.

I understand your eagerness to get going, though!

 

UPDATE!!!

Spent about 30 min on hold with a Comp Cams rep. The fella i spoke with there informed me that ALL 2764s gear sets are purchased from cloyes...to include the comp part # 3224 gear set. So...if what he said is true, then it wouldn't matter which box the gears came in...all the standard steel / steel gear sets are the same.

Also...spoke to a gal at Cloyes. Just got off the phone. She wouldn't say who makes the cam gears, but she did tell me that the crank gears are made in house by Cloyes for sure. Apparently the cam gear manufacturer is an American business, according to her.

How far down the "rabbit hole" does this go? lol

Anyone care to weigh in on any recent gear set purchases of any kind? impressions? quality? At this point, i'll pay darn near any amount of money, just want to get this engine buttoned up!

 

Been a year or two since I've bought a cam gear set, but the last ones were Melling if I recall. Seem to be working fine, but I don't drive it everyday.

 

I haven't purchased gears in 2 years maybe. I bought an engine with a clifford 264 cam and kit. The gears in that were nice when i pulled them, good quality I remember. I've also own I think 3 sets of the COMP ones that come in the 268 cam and kit (both come in the same box). I have ran 2 sets I think and the third is on my shelf, no issues with them they seem flawless. None have ever made a single noise or anything, all of them were manufactured well.

I would avoid NAPA parts like the plague. I wouldn't buy tissue paper from them if it had NAPA on the box. I used to carry the reciept for my started in the visor so when the died every month or two I had the receipt handy. Once I exchanged 2 in a day. Funny how when i bought a junkyard ford one or one from another company they lasted a long time. I had ancient v belts on my engine and after one snapped, I got NAPA ones since that was the closest store. The NAPA power steering one mangled itself and one alternator belt started shredding the edge, all in less than a week. I dusted off some of my grandfathers old Motorcraft belts in the garage and theyve been perfect for about 6 months now. I bought one LED light from them that broke in about 3 uses, I could go on and on on about NAPA.

I'd say get Clifford or the COMP gears that come in the 268 cam kit.
https://www.summitracing.com/int/par...view/make/ford
The comp is under "timing gear drive sets" and the rest are under "timing gears" for some reason but it's there.

 

I guess every parts company has it's fair share of rotten batches. Where I'm from, most people I know swear by Napa if they can't afford dealership prices. I've only had one starter fail on my prematurely and that was due to the fact that my header was cooking it. Just did a straight exchange. After a little exhaust work the new one has lasted over a year so far.

I could go on and on about advance auto parts... but that would just be the same post; just about a different company.

 

i ended up buying an enginetech timing set that i found locally. aluminum cam gear, steel crank gear. all the machining marks look like they're where they're supposed to be. no signs of mishandling or damage at all. got my refund check from summit. seems like all is right in the world, presently haha! can't wait to get this thing fired up.