The Nissan vg30I v-6 engine (1986-1990) Has steel gears that are close enough to use. Diameter, width and pitch are exact . They are about $8.00 us from a local U-pull-it salvage yard and are found in the d21 pickup, pathfinder, and some sedans. They only need to be bored to 1.00 " to fit the shaft and spaced 1/8" in the back and about 3/4" in the front. I suppose you could weld them on (spacers) but it doesn't seem necessary on a street engine. They can be bought new from one of the Nissanparts.com oem sites for $50. I just finished installing a used set and they seem to run true and should last forever. The key slot in the Nissan gear is wider and deeper than the Lotus so a special key should be made to fit the extra width on top. I just made a small spacer to fit next to the Lotus key. A useable belt number is dayco 95104 or maybe even a Goodyear 40104 (I think). There are only two gears per Nissan engine so you may need to rob 2 vg30's to get enough for the three on the 907. Don't try to bore them in a drill press, they won't come out true. Nissan campaigned these engines for years so they must be reliable, but every engine I looked at had extrmely loose belts as they were behind covers and could not be checked easily. Another good part is that with the wide key slot in the gear, you may have a little cam timing option by changing the drive key design. Will try to post pics soon.
Dan
02/07/08
I should probably add a caveat to all of this since the position of the keyway in the new gears are of no little significance. I would suggest that if you are not completely equipped and versed in cam timing to have the Nissan gears proffessionally keyed by a competent machine shop that can do the job accurately. I would hate to think that one of my ideas would cause anyone to bend a valve from inaccurate cam timing. I think the Nissan gears are a viable replacement but get them keyed and marked accurately.
Last edited on 02-07-2008 06:13 pm by Dan (Florida)
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