so, I am having trouble wrapping my mind around this. Are you saying that if I put on a 79 mustang water pump it will be fine with v-belts running forward rotation and still bolt to my late 80s timing cover? It's just confusing me because if 79s were actually serpentine, how would they spin forward? Any serpentine I have seen, the belt goes around the water pump, and then to the left side of the crank pulley. If it goes to the left side of the crank pulley (looking at it straight on), then it will turn the water pump ccw. If there were a case where the belt went around the top of the water pump, around the power steering and then the crank, then it would spin cw. I can't find a belt diagram for 79 mustangs however. Were there any 80s 5.0s that ran v-belts and still will bolt to a late model timing cover? Some forums I saw, people claimed that 84 crown vics with a 5.0 fit the bill. Any thoughts? I don't want to take any chances on this. Again, I definately appreciate the help, I just am having trouble understanding.