Would I be wasting the extra money to have a double timing chain set up (or whatever it is called) put in my car or should I just stay with the orig single set up? If I stay single should I get new gears or just use the old ones? Clearly if I got double I get gears for that. Will my shop need anything else setting it up either way? Thanks
Single is fine for normal driving. You need to change gears and chain as a set, otherwise you will have rapid wear.
if just a regular cruiser , maybe a little light duty lead foot action , a good quality all steel single chain n gear setup should be fine . will need a timing cover gasket kit that should include cover gskt , water pump gasket , front crank seal . good time for new hoses , clamps , maybe thermostat etc . and , also a good time to freshen up your oil pump situation ( do your homework , check specs n steps ) since the cover is off . a ton easier .
Steel single gears are pretty tough (probably not tough enough for 500 hp drag racing). They are a little noisier than the factory nylon gears. Chain get sloppy after a lot of miles. Short story... friend of mine had a 70 Corvette with a 350 than had no power and it sucked to drive. He sold it to a guy real cheap. That guy put a new timing chain on it and the car was a screamer after that.
