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??