Salina, Kansas: Innovators West has introduced two new belt-drive systems for Ford Windsor 302 or 351 engines. They serve wet- or dry-sump arrangements. One style is equipped with integral side brackets for serious track use, the other without.
Equipped with integral side brackets for serious track use
The side brackets are regarded as unique. They accommodate the mounting of an external oil pump or a vacuum pump or a belt-driven fuel pump, often a requirement for turbo or blower engines. Hole-center spacing is similar to that of the big-block Chevrolet. On drag race cars, external competition pumps are customarily mounted on the 1/4in thick aluminum engine mounting plate, but this is rarely satisfactory as the plate is apt to deflect, resulting in imperfect belt alignment.
Besides generating less friction, the essential proposition of a belt-drive system is its ability to maintain precise valve timing, particularly at high engine speeds. It also has the capacity to eliminate harmful harmonics. Acting as a damper, it absorbs vibration and noise transferred from the crankshaft to the valve train, thus guarding against valve train instability.
As expected, Innovators West has machined slots in the cam pulley to degree the cam. This simply means that valve timing events can be advanced or retarded, which is convenient during dyno tuning.
Significantly, an eccentric idler pulley is supplied to overcome difficulties of tensioning the belt when using different diameter pulleys and compensating for belt stretch over time. The cam pulley, incidentally, is of hard-anodized billet aluminum while the crank pulley is made from heat-treated steel. Both pulleys are machined in a multi-axis lathe in one operation to ensure exact concentricity.
In addition, a cam retaining plate is provided with two encased roller bearings—one operates between camshaft and plate, the other between cam pulley and plate.
American made with American materials, these assemblies are produced using the latest Hurco CNC equipment.
Visit Innovators West at the 2015 PRI Show, Booth # 2038.
For further information contact:
Innovators West
2816 Centennial Rd., Salina, KS 67401
Attn: Chris Rose (785) 825-6166 or sales@innovatorswest.com
www.innovatorswest.com
Looks identical to the Danny “B” Belt Drive Systems setup, I’ve used several of these since original design of this belt drive by Danny Bee himself (when they were in Oxnard, CA). Innovators West did not come up with this design, it’s been on the market for several decades! Only Hard-Core Ford guys knew about these belt drives. But not to worry, Danny “B” has been making and selling the same stuff to Comp Cams for a long time too – see Comp’s Chevy Belt Drives, same Design, Markings, Fab Etc. To see for yourself, go to his web site- tcwperformance.com BTW, Danny has sold this business to Ted Wadlington a long time back, and Ted has taken it to a whole new level with complete CNC machining the part fits excellent and all the bolt holes line up. Talk to Ted he has a great love for these belt drives and us Racers !
The Innovators West belt drive has additional features such as the adjustable tensioner pulley for being able to precisely set your belt tension (an issue when dealing with different production tolerances of new belts or tensioning used belts) as well as optional BBC style mounts off of the cover which allows the easy mounting of accessories (motor plates, p/s pumps, alternators, crank trigger brackets, oil pumps, etc…). The belt drives are also offered in machined billet or a tumbled finish (not shown above). Other options include high vacuum seals and a steel can drive hub. Coming soon are more options such as belt drive distributors, cam driven pump drives and cam sync pickups.