- Home »
- Catalog »
- Valvetrain Components »
- BOP Belt Drive
BOP Belt Drive
Pontiac V8 BOP Belt Drive
External, Adjustable and Dry — BOP Belt Drive for Pontiac V8s
A BOP Belt Drive replaces the timing chain on a Pontiac V8 with a dry, external synchronous belt drive. A belt is more accurate than a conventional timing chain, carries less reciprocating mass and absorbs the harmonics that a chain hands straight back to the valvetrain, which is why belt-drive engines are easier on valve springs and seats.
Butler stocks the BOP standard deck belt drives in four configurations: plain or with a motor plate, each built for a steel or a custom aluminum oil pan. All four use the needle roller thrust bearing for cam end play control, the wider belt and gear package, and a low-friction Kevlar reinforced belt.
Browse BOP Belt Drive Products
Popular Brands:
More About BOP Belt Drive
1. What a Belt Drive Does That a Chain Cannot
The case for a belt drive is not just accuracy. It is access and durability.
| Cam timing outside the engine | timing is externally adjustable to plus or minus 10 degrees. You can move the cam on a dyno or at the track without pulling a front cover. |
| Easier on the valvetrain | the drive absorbs and reduces harmonics going into the valve train, which improves valve spring and seat life significantly. On a high-spring-pressure roller engine that is real money. |
| Dry system | the drive runs outside the oil, so it can be inspected without draining anything. Cam removal is easy and does not require removing the front plate, and there is no messy timing chain cover to pull. |
| No block work | no block modifications are required, and the drive retains the stock harmonic balancer location. Accessories are driven behind the balancer. |
2. Picking the Right One
All four BOP drives Butler stocks are standard deck. The two questions that decide which one you need are the oil pan and whether the car runs a motor plate.
| Steel oil pan or aluminum | each drive is built for one or the other, because the kit includes an oil pan modification kit specific to the pan material. Order by the pan that is actually going on the engine. |
| Motor plate version | if the chassis mounts the engine on a plate rather than through the block, the motor plate drive is the one to order. |
| Deck height | these are the standard deck units. Note that tall deck versions of the BOP drive do not use an idler, so a tall deck engine is a different part. |
3. What Else You Need
A belt drive changes the front of the engine, so plan the rest of the front dress around it before the engine goes in the car.
| Three required extras | the drive requires a water pump, a radiator hose fitting and a timing pointer. None of them are included, and none of them are optional. |
| Pan modification | the oil pan modification kit is included with the drive, so the pan work is accounted for, but it is work that has to be done. |
| Cam end play | the drive now features a needle roller thrust bearing for cam end play control, which takes the job that the thrust plate does on a chain engine. |
Call before you order if you are not sure which oil pan you are running or whether your chassis needs the motor plate version. It is a short conversation that saves a long return.
Not sure what your Pontiac needs?
Email our tech team at tech@butlerperformance.com. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.