Serpentine Belt brand opinion

'94 MTX something something If you were in a car show, what brand of belt would you buy. Short of finding some NOS Motorcraft? Do we know who manufactured them for For/Motorcraft/Yamaha? I would assume an Asian supplier but who knows? Maybe like Bando or Mitsuboshi or something? Which way should the lettering be facing?

Also, MC belt numbers, is the last digit a decimal, or an 8th? I've seen conflicting answers

I use Gates.

-Chad

Deathacus said:

'94 MTX something something If you were in a car show, what brand of belt would you buy. Short of finding some NOS Motorcraft? Do we know who manufactured them for For/Motorcraft/Yamaha? I would assume an Asian supplier but who knows? Maybe like Bando or Mitsuboshi or something? Which way should the lettering be facing?

Also, MC belt numbers, is the last digit a decimal, or an 8th? I've seen conflicting answers

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For a show-quality setup, I’d probably lean toward either an older-stock Motorcraft belt if you can still find one, or a high-quality Japanese belt like Bando or Mitsuboshi since they supplied a lot of OEM stuff back in the day anyway. I’ve also heard Gates made some of the Motorcraft-branded belts depending on the application/year, so tracing the true OEM source can get pretty murky. As for the lettering, most restorers I’ve seen keep it facing outward/upright so it’s readable from the passenger side, mostly for appearance points more than anything mechanical.
On the numbering, the last digit confusion comes up a lot. From what I remember on many older Ford/Motorcraft V-belts, the last number was typically the effective length in tenths rather than 1/8ths, but there were definitely exceptions depending on the belt series. Ford’s numbering system wasn’t always as consistent as people hope it was.

Thru a NOS listing on eBay, it appears the OEM timing belt was made by Unitta, which seems to be a Gates brand in Asia. So not necessarily confirmed but not unreasonable that Gates made the accessorie belts. Also found a Motorcraft article breaking down the part numbers, last digit is eighths, and measured from the outside circumference.