351C Serpentine (Home Made)

[AcesArneson]

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).

 

[AcesArneson]

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.

 

[AcesArneson]

One more spacer ought to do it!

 

[tony-muscle]

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?

 

[Cleveland Crush]

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??

 

[giantpune]

+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.

 

[AcesArneson]

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?

Yes the A/C unit from the 89 LTD is passenger side. https://www.cjponyparts.com/pa-perf...NnVTsbl3jCW752jUpuInj1lLbcG6oTE0aAp6VEALw_wcB

 

[AcesArneson]

"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.

 

[AcesArneson]

+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.

 

[AcesArneson]

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

 

[69 Rustang]

Very nice work—I have been thinking of doing this myself, but wow, I believe the $12K in time after seeing it done.

 

[will e]

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.

 

[AcesArneson]

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.

 

[will e]

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!

 

[AcesArneson]

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.