I have a 302 from an '87 Ford truck (block id # E7TE)....in my '50 F1 pickup. The old pulleys are all jumbled up...nothing fitting true. I'd like to rip all that out ....and I want to pick up a complete set of salvageyard 302 brackets (for Alternator/A-C/Water Pump/Power Steering)and get everything back straight. I have a 3 bolt crank pulley. I plan on staying with V belt....Can I use just about any system I can find, V-belt-wise, that has a 3 bolt crank pulley?

I'd also like to get the harmonic balancer and A/C compressor that comes with it (planning to install A/C in truck this summer).

I am running a GM Saginaw power steering pump but I have located at Summit...a "Borgeson Universal" Power Steering Pump bracket (#802409) that is meant to adapt a Saginaw pump to a SBF that is running a V-belt.

Does this all sound readily do-able to anyone?
Thanks in advance.

 

With regards to "using any 3-bolt crank pulley" almost yes.....in the 60's & 70's Ford used a variety of pulleys (diameters) and related combinations to make things work....inconsistency was the key word. by the 80's it was much more standardized so just check the diameter and you should be ok.
Now for another FYI...........
IMHO, I would not recommend using any oem pulley's for other than a show vehicle. Reason: the pulley's are made from stamped steel, metal fatigue is setting in meaning the pulley can and will fail sending shrapnel (chunks of metal) through the hood, radiator and possibly engine accessories. These "faults" can only be detected by magnfluxing the components in most cases, however sometimes you can place a pulley on a lathe, spin at a slow rpm and check for visual deformities. A few years ago I was traveling back from a cruise night when 2 cars, both 1960's, T-Bird and Mustang, both experienced sudden pulley failures- one went through the hood the other through the radiator, destroying the battery, wiring and ac. I pulled my pulley's and found metal fatigue, replaced them with new aftermarket units (while I went with March for show purposes, less expensive units are available).

 

The problem in using the 3 bolt crank pulley and balancer is the pulley offset is different from the 4 bolt stuff, you cannot mix this stuff without going thru a lot of headaches. Some of The 3 bolt accessory brackets also had a different head bolt pattern than the later heads. I would suggest using a 4 bolt balancer and picking an accessory setup from one vehicle that suits your needs.

 

Well I hadn't thought about the pulleys and metal fatigue, but I sure see your point. So accordingly, looks like if I find me a good quality aftermarket billit or steel crank pully to correspond to the one that is on the car or truck I remove the whole bracket system from, I should be okay, since I am not planning on using any of the other pulleys on various accessories...just the brackets. I've got, as I said, my GM power steering pump, my alternator, and I am about to put a brand new water pump (and timing gear while I'm at it) on the engine. and as I mentioned, I think I'll put aftermarket A/C on it this summer, with a new pulley on the compressor.

Thanks very much for the tip to not use the old crank pulley.

 

An update on my engine's crank pulley....I had slept too many times I guess....I thought we had installed a 3 bolt billit pulley on it last Fall, but thought I'd make sure today and turns out it is a 4 bolt.
I don't know for sure but it seems like (from what I have researched) with an '87 (truck) engine that my engine would have originally had a serpinetine system on it...that would have dictated a reverse flow water pump also. If that is the case, the only reason I can think of that it has all the ill-fitting V-belt stuff on it now is that the builders of the rod truck (back in the early 1990s) is that they decided to go with a GM powersteering pump that had a V-belt and just sort of grafted on other ill fitting V-belt accessories and crank pulley. (alternator and water pump---there is no A/C ...yet).

Back to my present situation ie. I would like to keep the GM Saginaw pump so I'm thinking I will need to find an older 302 V-belt system of brackets....and then utilize the aftermarket Summit/Borgeson power steering pump bracket mounted low on the block (driver side). (that will then allow me to use the Ford OEM bracket for the A/C to mount it up higher --driver side)

I figure if I can get all the upper pulleys to line up, I can find a billit crank (with or without spacers)....or possibly even be able to use my current billit 4 hole crank pulley........ to line up on all of the upper pulleys. I know this sounds kinda backwards but I just mean that I can adjust my crank pulley...either thru off-set or spacers....if I can get all the uppers to line up on that.

 

In that case I'll bet they just left the reverse flow pump and timing cover in place, if so then it's not going to cool worth a damn running the pump backwards. I'd take a look at the casting numbers on the timing cover and see what vintage that part is. If it has no fuel pump boss, it's a reverse timing cover. You'll need to replace it with a std rotation cover (you can get one off the same year Crown Vic as the motor you've got now) and pump

 

No the water pump on it is not a reverse flow. It's been running for years this way with no heating problem.

Another question: When I talked to a buddy today about wanting to get hold of a matching set of brackets for a V-belt run Ford system (except for the power steering bracket, because I'm running a GM Saginaw pump) he said, "Well, why don't you just swap out the GM Saginaw pump with a Ford power steering pump. Then everything would fit like it's supposed to!". He went on to say that, "You might have to change the hose ends you have now with your GM Saginaw so they would hook up to the Ford (pump) but that's no big deal". It made me wonder..."would that work"? The pressure in the GM is actually a bit high and provides a little too "twitchy" a feel to steering anyway. I have heard that a Ford pump runs with less pressure. Could this actually be a better system to run? (for more feel to the steering)

 

The later Ford pumps (1980's and later) do seem to provide a little less power assist than earlier models. It was an effort to reduce energy consumption to save gas. The steering does feel like it takes a little more effort than earlier models.

One problem is they seem to have too small of a reservoir. For example, my 1987 Mustang GT has a small pump with a plastic body (and it buzzes more). If I try to drive it through a fast slalom, it will run out of power after about 3 series of very fast left-right turns. On the other hand, the steering on my 1969 Mach I always seemed over-assisted. Its steering ratio isn't quite as fast as the 87 GT, so I have turn the wheel a lot faster, but it has never run out of power through slaloms.

BTW, this talk of failing pulleys has me worried about the crank pulley on my 69 Mach I. It is a triple pulley, so I guess it's for the PS, alternator, and maybe a smog pump, which it didn't have when I got it from the previous owner. Should I be considering a replacement?

 

I've never had a pulley fail, the one mentioned here is the first. I wouldn't worry about running an older pulley. I've seen a couple that had worn sheeves though, I wouldn't run one that did.