1937-1948 Cadillac and LaSalle Bronze Gears, Specialty Parts

Headquarters Machine manufactures the finest replacement kits for Cadillac and LaSalle Bronze Gears

THERE ARE 500 WAYS TO DO IT WRONG AND ONLY ONE WAY TO DO IT RIGHT!

If your “bronze gear” is showing any amount of wear, it is telling you something. Some time ago Jerry Steelman discovered that after thirty years of rebuilding engines he could no longer rebuild a 346 cubic inch Cadillac or a 322 cubic inch LaSalle engine and keep it running for more than a few thousand miles without the bronze gear failing. The bronze gear is the idler gear that connects the oil pump and distributor to the cam shaft in 1937 – 1948 Cadillac’s and LaSalle’s and, as the name suggests, it is made of bronze. The straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak, was the failure of the bronze gear in his 1946 Cadillac after only 8,700 miles of use.

That’s when he set out to build a better gear. Not only did Jerry build a better gear but he discovered that the secret to making a replacement for your bronze gear that will last requires several high quality precision construction components that he has incorporated into one system.  To read an interesting story and to learn more about how this solution came to be click here. Our bronze gear replacement kits are warranted and are available for $1,150 plus applicable tax and shipping. Click <here> for an order form.

Mixing and matching metal can have devastating affects – here’s one story of what can happen if you do:

    

You can’t mix and match metallurgy. The laws of physics don’t change. This is why the idler gear is a soft material. If something goes wrong it’s designed to do the least amount of damage.

    

These pictures were given to me by Al Morkunas from Virginia. He rebuilt a 1947 Cadillac and had put 20 miles on the car before this happened to the engine. Al said he bought a replacement camshaft and a hard idler gear.    

What happened was the hard idler gear wore the camshaft gear out and kicked it out the front of the engine ruining lifters on the way forward. This happened to Al when he was slowly driving about 15 MPH. If this happened at a higher speed it probably would have totaled the block and all.

    

The wear on the spiral tooth circled on the gear at left is readily apparent.