The one on my 87 that failed was rubber, the rubber broke away and ripped.

The aftermarket replacements are rubber as well. My dad'* 86 LG3 has a solid one though so mine was probably not orginal.

Well there is nothing wrong with how the car starts or runs, it'* absolutely flawless, except just a SLIGHT vibration at ~1200 RPM. Not below not above. And because i really don't have the time or money to fix it right now and i rarely drive the car i'm not going to worry about it. I'll probably drive it till it either won't start or breaks then put the replacement motor i have in the shop in it.

Just as a side note am i correct in thinking that these are NON interference engines? I know they have quite a bit of valve lift but are also fairly low-compression factory. I just want to double check.

Yea i was never too interested in this car until it was mine. Amazing how fast ur mind changes. Then i found this great place and i'm hooked on it. Zipping around and beating ricers in a bone stock 20 year old boat is pretty entertaining. Thanks for all the help guys.

I have heard of chains failing prematurely on 87'* so maybe yours was changed already.