For decades, most mass-produced four-and six-cylinder engines in the worldwide auto market had a common component: the timing belt. A belt timing mechanism between crankshaft and camshaft delivered a quiet, lightweight engineering advance, which brought the efficiency of overhead-cam (OHC) engines to the motoring public.
Belt drive had its start in the 1950s’ Devin-Panhard racing engines and in small-scale production in Europe, but it was a familiar figure—General Motors’ John Z. DeLorean—who had the vision to put it into large-scale production in North America for the first time.
Overhead-cam configuration had long been seen as the best way to maximize horsepower, but early interfaces between cam and crankshaft using chains or gears were faulty and expensive.
German automaker Hans Glas was the first to use a timing belt in a production vehicle in…
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Reminisce (Digital) - 1 Issue, October/November 2022