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- Timing Covers
Timing Covers
Pontiac V8 Timing Covers
Right Pattern, Right Year — Timing Covers for Pontiac V8s
A Pontiac timing cover is a coolant part. The water pump bolts to it, coolant crosses through its sleeves, and the divider plate seals against its face, so a cover that is corroded, warped or drilled wrong will run an engine hot no matter what pump is hanging on it.
Butler stocks new cast aluminum covers in both patterns — 8-bolt for 1964-68 326 through 428 engines and 11-bolt for 1969-79 350-455 — along with stock reconditioned covers by year group and a dimpled 11-bolt cover that clears a Tri-Power thermostat housing.
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1. Eight bolt or eleven bolt
The bolt count around the water pump is the whole decision. Everything else — pump hub height, pulley alignment, which divider plate fits — follows from it.
| 8-bolt, 1964-1968 | used on 326, 350, 400, 421 and 428 engines. Butler stocks a new 8-bolt cover for these, plus reconditioned originals. |
| 11-bolt, 1969-79 | 350, 400 and 455. Butler's cast aluminum 11-bolt cover in natural finish is a direct replacement for 1969 and up, and Butler recommends replacing the cover sleeves with o-rings and fitting a new divider plate at the same time. |
| Stock reconditioned | original covers cleaned up and sold by year group, with separate 1964-65, 1966-67 and 1968 8-bolt listings and a 1969-79 11-bolt dimpled cover. These are the covers to use when the car has to look untouched. |
2. Tri-Power and the dimple
This is the single most common ordering mistake on this page. Reproduction timing covers will not work with Tri-Power — the thermostat housing will not clear. The reconditioned 11-bolt cover for 1969-79 is dimpled for exactly that reason, and the new 8-bolt cover Butler sells has the dimple for Tri-Power intake manifolds cast in.
3. What to expect from a reproduction cover
Butler is straight about what these parts are. The new 8-bolt cover is not an exact stock reproduction, and knowing its quirks up front saves an afternoon.
| Balancer fit | it is made for later-model 4-bolt balancers but will work with 64-67 style 6-bolt balancers, though spacing from the timing marks to the damper hub may be greater than stock. |
| Timing tab and seal | it carries a 0-6-12 degree timing tab with the 69-and-up timing mark, comes with the front seal installed and the heater nipple drilled. |
| No alignment sleeve counter-bore | the cover is not machined for alignment sleeves, so it centers by hand. Butler's shop method is to pull the dowels from the block, snug the cover bolts, slip the balancer on far enough to engage the seal, and reposition the cover until the seal is centered on the balancer before final torque. |
| Divider plate fit | some fitting may be required to properly fit water pump plates, and the plate may need about 1/16" ground off to sit correctly. |
4. What to buy with the cover
Butler's timing cover and water pump install kit for the 11-bolt 1969-79 front end takes care of the rest in one part number: a stainless divider plate, steel sleeves, timing cover gasket, fuel pump gasket, timing cover to intake o-ring, timing cover seal and two water pump gaskets. Use it on a new cover or to refresh the one already on the engine. If you also need the pump and pulley, look at the conversion and replacement kits instead of buying pieces separately.
Not sure what your Pontiac needs?
Call our tech team at 866-762-7527. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.