Hitchcocks Forum

I am in the final stages of restoring my 1958 Indian Trailblazer. The timing chain tension adjustment still has me baffled. I spent well over an hour messing with it yesterday and still can't get it assembled to tighten adequately when moved in an anticlockwise direction. Short of removing the fixing stud, I don't see how it can be done.

All illustrations and photos that I have seen show the quadrant to the left of the vertical slot ant yet say the quadrant must be moved to the left (counterclockwise) to tighten the chain. If the adjusting plate is installed with the quadrant to the left it cannot be moved further to the left to tighten the chain because it is already at the end of the slot. If the adjusting plate is installed with the quadrant to the right of the vertical slot there is not enough range of motion to adequately tighten the chain. (The chain is new.) If there is some other way to do this it seems like the vertical slot has no useful purpose. All ideas are welcome. I'm ready to start this thing!

Bruce

T, it is possible to insert the eccentric spindle the wrong way round. If you look at the diagram in the Workshop Manual you can see the correct orientation. Taking the adjustment stud out before fitting makes it very much easier to get right!
REgards, Mark

Thanks Mark. Just as I suspected. Sounds like the adjusting plate fork cannot drop straight over the spindle flats while the stud is in the vertical slot. What is the slot for? Bruce

T, the slot does actually aid adjustment once it's assembled correctly. You'll see when you get it right! Also, when adjusting chain tension you'll need to feed the slack round the idler to get even tension along all the chain runs. The timing marks may not align exactly but don't worry too much about this! Also, try and get the endfloat on the cams down to about 5-10 thou, it will make the engine run much quieter. MGB car front wheel bearing shims are perfect for the job, available in packs of assorted sizes quite cheap, try Rimmer Bros if you're in the UK. Good luck and let us all know how it goes,we don't see a lot of the Indians here! I have a Chief lined up for some point in the future...
REgards, Mark

hi trailblazer ive just done the camshaft end float on my 1961 s.meteor.there was loads of play as there was only thrust washers fitted i got shims from our hosts used 6 on each shaft.before putting on the timing chain i removed the tensioner stud from the crankcase this makes fitting the tensioner much easier.its imperitive you get the chain on correctly its possible to fit it wrongly and the idler will not fit correctly. once you have the chain on fit the idler sprocket into the chain push it up to the chaincase housing then push the eccentric spindle thro with the eccentric boss at the top.once fitted turn it anti clockwise to take up some of the chain slack. i then replaced the tensioner stud with a bolt and spring washer one more thing dont forget the large thrust washer that fits over the outside of the idler spindle and the outer timing case. i found mine did not have one. best of luck Chris.aka meteur.

Thank you Mark and Chris for your comments. I wish I had known about the cam end float before I got this far. Mine only has the thrust washers installed. The intake cam has .015" end float and the exhaust .010". I'm going to let it go for now.I gave up, removed the stud and installed the tension adjuster plate per the photos and illustrations. It works fine now. I'm going ahead with the assembly. By-the-way, I am in Wisconsin, USA. Bruce

Bruce, you may be ok with those measurements, it's a bit trial and error to be honest! The genuine Enfield shims aren't listed in the book for some reason and in any case they are rather flimsy and only available in one thickness which is why I go for the more sturdy and multi thickness MGB ones. Anyway, let us know how it goes!
REgards, Mark