Another Timing Chain Question

[shadetree77]

I took the timing chain off of my '53 Manhattan to replace it.The manual says, "The chain can be checked for excessive wear or stretch as follows: Press the opposite sides of the chain together with finger pressure. If the sides of the chain can be pressed together easily, the chain has been worn or excessively stretched and must be replaced. A usable chain cannot be pressed together readily with the fingers."

I took that to mean that you put a finger on each side of the chain in the middle and press. If the chain comes together it is no good. So I did that and as you can see from the picture, it goes together in the middle very easily. It does NOT press together at the ends. Because of this, I figured it was no good so I ordered a new chain from Kanter. The new chain is on the left in the picture next to the old one. The new one can be very easily pushed together from bottom to top. What is the deal here guys? Can anyone provide some insight? Am I reading the manual wrong or perhaps timing chain technology has changed and this test no longer applies??

[joefrazer]

The new style chain will work on your car. As you surmised, the "press together" test doesn't apply to the new unit. Your old chain was due for replacement...it's the center of the chain that shouldn't meet when pressed together.

I put one of the new style units on my 50K and it's doing the job!

[shadetree77]

Thank you for the lightning fast response! I really appreciate all of your help. I wouldn't be this far along without it. Hopefully I'll have this mess put back together in the near future. Linus (my '53) is gonna' run like a champ after all of this work! Can't wait for him to join Lucy (my '52 Buick) on the roads of Michigan next Summer.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Willys Motors changed the timing chain design for the 226 around 1957; it is narrower than the earlier type but works very well and the typical rebuild these days uses the narrower chain.  Remember, these chains were built to run a 4-wheel drive platform vehicle rather than 2-wheel drive street (it went into the station wagon and truck types) so it should be good.