funfer2 Kevin have you looked into the Danny bee belt drive kit. I don't know what the width of the belt is but they run big blocks with them and turn 9000 rpm in some motors maken 1000 hp I think there is two widths of belt. George Anderson has 1 on one of his motors he built. the price is high but the trade off is worth a couple of hp. The tensioner is spring loaded to keep the timing correct. I don't know the belt life on it. Average car is 60K, same system. Something to look into. Good luck with the left hand turn car.
don't get runned over. Rick Lake