Yes, the noise from those gears would be positively frightening. Think of the noise from a normal gear drive setup, with three gears only, and then add another 5 or 6 gears!
I don't know if anybody has noticed this, but looking at Sneaky Pete's gear drive, he is turning the right cam backwards! What the heck is that all about? Maybe he is trying to compensate for the side to side differences in the SOHC valvetrain. As set up stock, the right cam pushes on the rocker arm roller wheel to start the intake valve opening, and the left cam pulls on the rocker arm roller wheel to start the intake valve opening. This leads to differences in how the valve acts from side to side, even if the cam lobes are identical. Comp addressed this with their most recent cam grinds for the SOHC, by making slightly different grinds for the left and right cams. Maybe Sneaky Pete was trying to address it with reverse cam rotation back in the '60s. I wonder if you have to use two left cams with that setup, or a custom grind on the right, or what...
Edit: Come to think of it, two left cams wouldn't work because of the bearing spacing. Must have required a custom cam...