351C Serpentine (Home Made)

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AcesArneson

73' Vert with NACA Ram Air
7173 Mustang Supporter Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2019
Messages
390
Reaction score
264
Location
Fort McMurray, Alberta
My Car
'73 Vert with 4R70W
351C Ram Air 2V 441 hp @ 6000 RPM
SEFI EEC-V (2004)
9" trac-loc limited slip 3.5:1
P-Zero 265/35ZR-19's front 305/30ZR-19's rear
Well? What's the verdict?

-3G Alternator from PA
-OEM Power steering pump with pulley from 1989 LTD Crown Vic
-Dual Serpentine crank pulley from a 1989 LTD Crown Vic 302
-A/C compressor, condenser, etc.. from a 1989 LTD Crown Vic (Rebuild kit is on the way)-
-Water pump pulley from a 1989 LTD Crown Vic
-Dual tensioner/pulley from a 5.7L Dodge Ram (I know, I really struggled with this one)
-Single tensioner from 2004 Cougar.
-Brackets from 1973 Mustang, 73-79 Ford Trucks, 1989 LTD, and home made.

I think if I do it again I will just take everything from the 1989 LTD Crown Vic 302 and make an adapter plate for each side to bolt them up to the heads. I really wanted the A/C unit on the passenger side, I have always hated those hoses running over the top of the engine, makes the Mustang look like a sedan. In retrospect it would have been much easier to stick with the original brackets and hunt for a 3 or 4 G alternator that would fit on the passenger side (The PA Alternator is 1/2" too long) and just leave the A/C on the drivers (maybe run those ugly hoses under the engine).
 

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I have spent way more time on this than I thought I would need to. I am about 97% of the way there. I think I need one more bracket between the water pump and the alternator, or perhaps replacing a couple of the smaller ones with one solid piece to hold the long bolt on the alternator from being pulled to the middle with tension.
 

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Well? What's the verdict?

-3G Alternator from PA
-OEM Power steering pump with pulley from 1989 LTD Crown Vic
-Dual Serpentine crank pulley from a 1989 LTD Crown Vic 302
-A/C compressor, condenser, etc.. from a 1989 LTD Crown Vic (Rebuild kit is on the way)-
-Water pump pulley from a 1989 LTD Crown Vic
-Dual tensioner/pulley from a 5.7L Dodge Ram (I know, I really struggled with this one)
-Single tensioner from 2004 Cougar.
-Brackets from 1973 Mustang, 73-79 Ford Trucks, 1989 LTD, and home made.

I think if I do it again I will just take everything from the 1989 LTD Crown Vic 302 and make an adapter plate for each side to bolt them up to the heads. I really wanted the A/C unit on the passenger side, I have always hated those hoses running over the top of the engine, makes the Mustang look like a sedan. In retrospect it would have been much easier to stick with the original brackets and hunt for a 3 or 4 G alternator that would fit on the passenger side (The PA Alternator is 1/2" too long) and just leave the A/C on the drivers (maybe run those ugly hoses under the engine).
"hunt for a 3 or 4 G alternator that would fit on the passenger side (The PA Alternator is 1/2" too long)"
Just FYI: PA Performance offers a small case 3G alternator. I see you have the large case. Perhaps the small case may meet your dimensional requirements??
 
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+150 points for creativity and ingenuity.

My critique I guess would be it looks pretty complex. Is that 6 idler pulleys?

CVF sells serpentine kits with the AC compressor on the passenger side.
1731330384578.png
 
"hunt for a 3 or 4 G alternator that would fit on the passenger side (The PA Alternator is 1/2" too long)"
Just FYI: PA Performance offers a small case 3G alternator. I see you have the large case. Perhaps the small case may meet your dimensional requirements??
Yeah you are likely right. I wanted the 130 Amp and that was the only one they had when I ordered it 18 months ago. I used to know guys that could just name a vehicle I could scavenge parts from but it seems as I age the pool of old knowledge seems to be drying up.
 
+150 points for creativity and ingenuity.

My critique I guess would be it looks pretty complex. Is that 6 idler pulleys?

CVF sells serpentine kits with the AC compressor on the passenger side.
View attachment 95062
No 3 idlers and 2 tensioners. I just couldn’t convince myself to spend all that cash on a new system but over the entire project I have easily spent over $600 on parts and $12K on time. I just love repurposing old stuff though so it’s hard to quantify the knowledge gained over the total cost. I am still not finished. The A/C system is going to require a bit of work. The only part I am not replacing is the condenser. I have ordered new filters —and a dryer and may need a new reservoir. I am just waiting for the compressor gasket kit to rebuild the seal on the compressor. When I pulled the clutch and pulley off I found the clutch plate completely worn out so had to add another $140 in parts. In the end I probably won’t save a dime on this one but I will know exactly what to look for when I get into rebuilding my ‘68 coupe.
 
Wow. That's a lot of work. Thank you for sharing. Does the 1989 LTD Crown Vic 302 have the A/C compressor on the passenger or driver side? Also, what is PA for alternator?
Included the link in reply to PA Performance
 
WOW is right. It looks overly complicated? But that's from a strictly amateur perspective. There is no way I could have conceived of nor do I have the skills to put something like that together.
 
Once you have the pulleys It’s easy to figure out. Just really time consuming. I am flying down at the beginning of December if you want to take your car out for a drive.
 
Once you have the pulleys It’s easy to figure out. Just really time consuming. I am flying down at the beginning of December if you want to take your car out for a drive.
That sounds good! It's running, has new tires and I fixed the motor mounts. I need a bit more time to get the timing and carbs adjusted but she's good for driving!
 
Very nice work—I have been thinking of doing this myself, but wow, I believe the $12K in time after seeing it done.
If you are thinking about doing it yourself look in a local junkyard for an '89 LTD or truck with a 302 and look at the brackets. There may be a pulley on the air pump but I disregarded the air pump altogether since it was not part of the Cleveland set up in my '73. This is the only configuration I found with a dual serpentine pulley on the crankshaft which is a must-have if you have a regular rotation water-pump which most Clevelands have. You can use every pulley from this vehicle for your conversion. You will likely need water-pump spacers or crankshaft spacer to get the water-pump and crank aligned perfectly as a starting step. Once those two pulleys are on you can space everything else to line up with them. The brackets will not fit on a 351C so you will need to modify them. I really like the power-steering/alternator combined bracket but never thought about just making an adapter plate to mount it on the Cleveland head, in hindsight I really wish I had thought about it, definitely going that way on my next project putting a Cleveland into a '68 coupe.
 

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