Vegantune 140TC Cam Belt

[bjwright]

Hello all, from a newbie!

Apologies if this is not considered a legitimate Lotus Elan enquiry, but I am hoping the crossover between Lotus and Vegantune might be...... I'm struggling to identify which cam belt is needed for this engine fitted to a 1987 1699cc Evante.

Does anyone have any suggestions who I could contact or where I could source a new belt please?

Any help would be gratefully received!
Many thanks
Barnaby

[Evante]

Hi,

I had a 1988 Evante 140TC with their 1700 engine. The cam belt is from a 1968-1972 Fiat 124 sport Coupe/Spyder.

What kind of car is your engine in?

JAS

[2cams70]

I had a 1988 Evante 140TC with their 1700 engine. The cam belt is from a 1968-1972 Fiat 124 sport Coupe/Spyder.

What kind of car is your engine in?

Yes credit to Fiat again. Fiat were the first to develop rubber drive belts for use in OHC applications. Other manufacturers followed by example including Cosworth with the BDA. Credit to them also for the modern FWD configuration of transverse front mounted engine with transmission mounted directly behind. They developed it first in the Fiat 128. Very innovative company in the early days.

[Gopherit]

Choose from list!
Evante Timing Belt

AE TB122
Bosch 9144161148
CONTINENTAL 555LA075
CONTINENTAL 5921
CONTINENTAL 6585921
CONTINENTAL CT652
Dayco 148R190
Dayco 148S190
Dayco 94064
Dayco 94667
Gates 41148X3/4
Gates 5022
Gates K015022
Goodyear 148LH190
Goodyear 2455420
HAVAM1 VS 9101
HUTCHINSON 555 LA 075
KLEBER 1.148.190
Lemforder 800060072
MOPROD MTB23
Quinton Hazell QTB123
SKF VKMA 02012
TRW 48-17522
UNIPART GTB1022

[bjwright]

Wow! Thank you; I really appreciate the support guys.

The engine is in a 1987 Evante but has been stored for many years and with unknown history, i wouldn’t want to take any risks by measuring the existing belt - could be an expensive mistake!

Thanks for the very comprehensive list of part numbers, this is a huge help.

[Evante]

Are you in the US?

There were only two that I knew of that were here. A red one that had a lotus engine and mine, a 1988 green one that I sold to a guy in North Carolina. He converted it to electronic fuel injection.

Best,

JAS

[bjwright]

Hi JAS

No, I’m in the UK.

Not many here now for sure!

[denicholls2]

Note that although innovative, those rubber bands weren't good for much more than their listed service of 20k miles. Subtract from that for age. My local junkyard had a row of 124's with the remnants of their timing belts sticking out. American suburbia, that place where nobody reads the maintenance schedule 'cause for your Chevy, there's just no need.

I had a 124 Sport and with the exception that in the winter the alternator expected you to drive like an Italian or the battery went dead, I called it "A reliable British sportscar." I don't own an Elan, but the Sport had a shifter that was like an extension of your body -- think it into the right gear and away you go. The best linkage I've experienced.

I rebuilt my engine as soon as I bought it and was glad I did. The keyway for the engine pulley had enlarged almost enough to let the Woodruff key out. Loose pulley nut. Would have had the same end as a belt in ribbons.

Floors were finest Italian steel, offering me the Flintstone model in its last days. Nowadays they just snip in a new floorpan in a 30-minute video on YouTube. Not then. I remember a guy at Foreign Motors in Boston (the place Jay Leno used to work -- hey, was it him?) telling me they wouldn't put a FIAT over five years old on a lift because of liability. He pointed me toward a new Lancia because they were still importing them at the time.

By comparison, I discovered only after driving 85mph all day across I-10 in my "new to me" Audi Avant that it didn't have the 80k miles showing on the odometer but closer to 140k. On the original belt. The mileage was mickeyed right before my father bought it (from a dealer) according to Carfax. Boy was I glad that I replaced it right after driving 8,000 miles coming back from Texas. It's hot out there in the western desert. Also explained a bit why the car pretty much fell apart in the years I owned it. The heated seats were a treat in New England winters, though.

[bjwright]

Hello folks,

Many thanks to Gopherit for the belt list below, from which we ordered a couple in the hope we'd be lucky. However neither fitted and it may become an expensive hobby if we continue through the list.....

What we know is that the existing cam belt (no markings visible at all) is:

146 teeth
Belt circumference is Approx 1376mm
Belt width is 19mm
Teeth pitch approx 9.5mm

Does anyone know how we can identify the correct belt from the above? Is there a good web site out there?

Any comment or advice received with thanks!
Barnaby

AE TB122
Bosch 9144161148
CONTINENTAL 555LA075
CONTINENTAL 5921
CONTINENTAL 6585921
CONTINENTAL CT652
Dayco 148R190
Dayco 148S190
Dayco 94064
Dayco 94667
Gates 41148X3/4
Gates 5022
Gates K015022
Goodyear 148LH190
Goodyear 2455420
HAVAM1 VS 9101
HUTCHINSON 555 LA 075
KLEBER 1.148.190
Lemforder 800060072
MOPROD MTB23
Quinton Hazell QTB123
SKF VKMA 02012
TRW 48-17522
UNIPART GTB1022

[ncm]

Hi, there is a reference to Rob Morley of Protune in billwill's second post here :- viewtopic.php?f=39&t=43331&start=&uid=4893 . Protune have a website here :- http://www.pro-tune.com/vta.htm .
Might be worth a phone call?
Brian.

[billwill]

Yes, Rob might know; he did a lot of work on Vegantune Engines when he worked at Vegantune (Finchley).

[bjwright]

Hello all,

In case it’s useful, we found two compatible cam belts, both manufactured by Gates; 5005 and T020.

Thanks again for all the advice and comment.

Barnaby