Harmonic balancer/ flex plate /timing chain set advice.

[v8Dave]

Hello everyone I am after some advice and guidance as regards to a 445 fe street stroker motor parts.
I currently have a new professional products 427fe balancer however I was thinking of buying a Romac  427 fe balancer instead based on reviews does anyone have advice or experience with Romac balances are they a lot better balancer or should I stick with the professional products one?
When looking at the Romac balancer it says you can order it with undersized Id bore size for scat and aftermarket stroker cranks,I have a scat forged 4.250 stroker crankshaft and have measured the snout of the crank where the harmonic balancer slides on,the measurement I got was 1.375(1inch 3/8) is that the standard size for a normal cast fe factory crankshaft as well or is my measurement smaller than a stock crankshaft snout?
My next question is what is, a good reliable street performance double roller timing chain set I have been looking at the ford performance parts timing chain set for the fe or the comp cams #7108. Anyone know of a better good reliable timing set? What would you recommend based on experience.
Lastly I'm looking to buy a new flex plate for the 390/445 fe. It has a c6 transmission on the back what are your thoughts/ opinions on a good flex plate search for genuine nos or I was looking at a performance automatic platinum extreme  series #pa36400 internal balance. Is there a better option/ that people who have had more fe experience than me are using.
Thank you for your time or any help you can provide.
Many thanks
Dave

[blykins]

I prefer the Powerbond balancers, but Romac are certainly a high quality as well.  You don't need to order them with any undersize or anything special.  They will pull on without an issue. 

If you're running a cast cam (flat tappet), I would run the Ford Racing set.  If you're running a steel cam, I like using the Cloyes 9-3508X9 set. 

The PA flexplates are nice. 

[v8Dave]

Hello Brent
Thank you for your reply.
The reason I asked about the balancer and flex plate was because I am having the rotating assembly balanced for my fe 445 and would like people's input/ advice as regards to what has worked for them.
As I mentioned I have a professional products fe427 balancer and wasn't sure if I should purchase the Roman 427 fe balancer if it's more robust,and with it being Sfi approved, I don't mind buying good products as I would like to build the motor once and do it right and make it last.Have you ever had problems with either balancer Brent when you have built or dynoed a engine?
Thanks for the In put as well regarding the flex plate again I needed it for the rotating assembly to be balanced and was just curious what people with classic fe powered cars and mustangs are using and has worked for them.
I took your advice from last year when I posted and got some Mahle power pak dished pistons and shelved the flat tops and have also purchased some fe trick flow heads and shelved the edelbrock76cc heads. As regards timing chain I just thought if I purchase a flex plate and balancer from summit I should get a timing chain set ready and didn't think how it relates to the camshaft  I should of known better my mistake. I will contact yourself as regards to a camshaft and what you think would be best.
Hydraulic flat tappet or hydraulic roller.
Thanks again Brent and for anyone else that offers some help and guidance.
Kind regards
Dave.

[v8Dave]

I forgot to mention I enjoy the YouTube videos Brent. Keep up the good work.

[blykins]

Hello Brent
Thank you for your reply.
The reason I asked about the balancer and flex plate was because I am having the rotating assembly balanced for my fe 445 and would like people's input/ advice as regards to what has worked for them.
As I mentioned I have a professional products fe427 balancer and wasn't sure if I should purchase the Roman 427 fe balancer if it's more robust,and with it being Sfi approved, I don't mind buying good products as I would like to build the motor once and do it right and make it last.Have you ever had problems with either balancer Brent when you have built or dynoed a engine?
Thanks for the In put as well regarding the flex plate again I needed it for the rotating assembly to be balanced and was just curious what people with classic fe powered cars and mustangs are using and has worked for them.
I took your advice from last year when I posted and got some Mahle power pak dished pistons and shelved the flat tops and have also purchased some fe trick flow heads and shelved the edelbrock76cc heads. As regards timing chain I just thought if I purchase a flex plate and balancer from summit I should get a timing chain set ready and didn't think how it relates to the camshaft  I should of known better my mistake. I will contact yourself as regards to a camshaft and what you think would be best.
Hydraulic flat tappet or hydraulic roller.
Thanks again Brent and for anyone else that offers some help and guidance.
Kind regards
Dave.

I have used all of the above balancers and haven't had any issues with them.   I had read of several instances where the SFI Professional Products balancers had some issues, but never experienced that.   

I have used the Powerbond and Romac balancers up to 7500 rpm.  I have not tried that with the Pro Products piece, but on a street engine they should be fine.

[Rory428]

Brent, just curious why you prefer one timing set over another based on cast or steel cam cores? As for dampers, I had a SFI Powerbond on my old 331 SB Ford, my new 347 has an aluminum ATI, and my 427 & 428 FEs used a steel ATI, never had any issues with any of them, other than the minor timing mark crank pulley tweaks needed with the FE ATI unit, (which took all of about 10 minutes to address both). For the money, hard to beat the Powerbonds.
As far as automatic flexplates, back when I ran automatics in my Fairmont, 20+ years ago, I used nothing but factory original Ford 428 C6 flexplates, never had an issue, even with several hundred WOT transbrake launches. I assume, technically the "spoked" 428 flexplates are weaker than solid 390 style, but I never hurt one. If you have a good condition factory Ford flexplate, with nice starter teeth,I would use that, if the engine retains the factory external balance configuration.

[blykins]

Brent, just curious why you prefer one timing set over another based on cast or steel cam cores?

Rory, it's because of the material.  The Ford Racing set has a cast iron cam gear, while the Cloyes set is billet steel.  I try to match materials as much as I can, and not have one component significantly softer/harder than a mating component.

[Posi67]

I have two Romac's so one for each engine. Really like them but where does one buy those nowadays? I'll have to check but know I had one with an Aluminum Hub (SA Series) As for timing sets, I also like my Rollmaster however have a Summit brand on my 390 that looked nice with a fully indexed crank gear.

[KMcCullah]

I ran the Professional Products damper for a few years on my 504. It didn't take long for the laser etched timing marks and numbers to become illegible. Like one mud race actually. I ended up having to hand scribe the timing marks. The Professional Products unit was zinged past 7K rpms many times without issue I'll add. Earlier this year I replaced it with a ATI-918310 because I needed a SFI approved damper at my local drag strip.