FIAT cam belt design

[C M Smith <cmsmith@domain.elided>]

I believe the first mass production use of rubber belt cam drives was on 
the FIAT 124 when they grafted that twin cam head onto the rather 
pedestrian pushrod four to create a sports car engine. Clever idea. The 
main problem with cam belts is they are a consumable and people forget to 
have them serviced periodically. There are lots of advantages to rubber 
belt cam drives. Unfortunately, the designers of the 164 V6 (actually the 
Alfa 6 V6) also forgot about serviceability of this component and made the 
whole thing ridiculously expensive. You can change the cambelt on a Mazda 
four in about 1.5 hours for $90 plus parts, say $200 tops. By the time you 
have "done" the 164 cambelt you have spent close to $1,500 including 
various parts you change "in case they fail later". All prices in Canadian 
funds out here in the boonies of Western Canada.


Michael Smith
White 1991 164L
Original owner
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