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Need help finding right serpentine kit

6K views 36 replies 16 participants last post by  rick71ghia 
#1 ·
I just picked up my new 408 yesterday and now I need to order the right brackets or kit for my alternator and reverse rotation water pump. Also need the 4 bolt lower pulley. No ac and no power steering. Any help would be great. Thanks guys.
 
#2 ·
Ive been looking at CVF Racing's web site at their serpentine systems. They seem to have many different styles and configurations. I don't have any first hand experience with them though.
 
#3 ·
I used the March Performance set. I have the 6 grooved ribbed pulley's. I ran a ribbed belt for the crank, water pump, alt and a separate belt for the crank, A/C. I ran into a problem with matching up pulley's, so I called them and told them my set up. they knew the exact water pump pulley that I needed for my system. Turns out, it is listed for a chrysler.

As usual, I would have save myself some time and money if I had called them before I started buying various pulleys.

https://marchperformance.com/
 
#37 · (Edited)
+1 - that's what I'm using on my 347. Felt the same way - had to have a spring tensioner.
 
#8 ·
Yeah they are very pricey. Some of them include nice components like a Powermaster alternator and/or compact Sandan Compressor for AC. Those additional parts add up on the less expensive kits.
 
#9 ·
I run a March serpentine pulley/belt system with my set up. No AC, no powersteering. It does have a belt tensioner, I don't know why one of the previous posters would say that it doesn't. The belt is manually tensioned at the alternator with a turn buckle. Very simple and effective, I never have to reset it or anything. It does not run a separate spring loaded idler tensioner found in newer type vehicles/systems, but those aren't necessary either. I ran the same style March system on an old 5.0 when I removed the spring loaded tensioner, AC, powersteering, and smog pump.
 
#14 ·
...I don't know why one of the previous posters would say that it doesn't. The belt is manually tensioned at the alternator with a turn buckle. Very simple and effective, I never have to reset it or anything. It does not run a separate spring loaded idler tensioner found in newer type vehicles/systems, but those aren't necessary either...
All systems have a "tensioner" when you define it like that. But, the OP wants a spring-loaded tensioner like factory (and other) systems so that belt tension is always right and doesn't have to be periodically checked and adjusted. Spring-type tensioners may not be "necessary", but they are desirable for most.

I have a March system, myself. It looks and works great. But, I don't like the "manual" tensioner, either. But, I think it's a trade-off. I haven't seen a system with a spring tensioner that looks ad good or clean as one with a manual tensioner. It's about preferences.
 
#10 ·
If you're only running the water pump & alternator, then how about you change to a standard rotation water pump.

I've used a kit for this on one of my other cars before sold by ReplicaParts.com. He sells mostly go guys building Cobra Replicas, but his parts will work on almost any 302/351.
Standard rotation water pump kit

The 4 bolt crank pulley would be an easy find at Summit or elsewhere.
 
#11 ·
If you're only running the water pump & alternator, then how about you change to a standard rotation water pump.

I've used a kit for this on one of my other cars before sold by ReplicaParts.com. He sells mostly go guys building Cobra Replicas, but his parts will work on almost any 302/351.
Standard rotation water pump kit

The 4 bolt crank pulley would be an easy find at Summit or elsewhere.
+1. I used the same kit on my Cobra, but mounted the alternator down by the block. All it took was a different tensioner rod.
 
#19 ·
Lies. I ran my same March tensioner/pulley system with my mechanical fuel pump and later with my electric fuel pump. Zero difference.
 
#13 ·
I hesitated to post this, because this is not the forum for selling. But I have a Ford serpentine set up off a 351W that I pulled from a mid 80's van. It is for a reverse water pump, but also for power steering, as well as a smog pump. It also has an idler where the air conditioning compressor mounts. Most of that could probably be bypassed (using a shorter belt, of course) If you are interested you may have it for 100 plus shipping. PM me if interested, I could send you some pics.
 
#20 ·
A spring loaded tensioner is not very expensive. Most of the kits that have one, use a generic tensioner available at any parts store and then a fancy cover to look nice.

I currently have a CVF system on my coupe and it works fine, just have to adjust it periodically to prevent squealing or slippage. The spring loaded ones do that automatically, just more convenient for a car that is driven daily in my opinion.
 
#21 ·
Looks like you might need a 90* thermostat housing with that kit.

 
#22 ·
So I'm still doing my home work and I came across this kit: https://www.cvfracing.com/Ford-351W-Serpentine-Conversion-Alternator-p/302-serpentine-alt.htm

I then sent an email to them asking if I could simply buy a normal standard rotation water pump to use with the kit instead of the ford performance one. Their response was "as long as you switch your timing cover to standard rotation you could use a standard rotation pump and that system." Is the timing cover really different? I thought you could bolt up either rotation without issue.
 
#24 ·
Well, I think I've made my decision. I'm going to replace my water pump with a standard rotation high volume water pump https://www.summitracing.com/parts/tff-1468c/overview/make/ford and then buy the kit from CVF Racing: https://www.cvfracing.com/Ford-351W-Serpentine-Conversion-Alternator-p/302-serpentine-alt.htm

This will allow me to keep the 45 degree water neck I already have, add a high flow water pump and stay under the cost of the March system if I kept what I had and bought a 90 degree water neck (by far).
 
#26 ·
That looks good. Pretty much the same difference as the March system, except March's is $440 for whatever reason. I'm not sure why I bought the March system instead, maybe I just didn't shop around. Can't remember.
 
#31 ·
I was looking and referencing the photo posted by RickD above. But their could be other versions available. I have both forms in my cars but since I just bought the water pumps based on model year of engine, I never paid attention to the differences between them, they just fit and worked.
 
#35 ·
Just wanted to post a quick follow up. I got the kit installed and actually had a couple parts left over. I have a 3g alternator so the alt fan doesn't fit and if I put a spacer on the alt bolt so the fan doesn't hit the alternator itself then the pulley is too far out and doesn't line up correctly. The kit did clearly state it fits 1g and 2g alternators only, but without the fan it fits just fine. The kit also comes with a crank pulley spacer. My build didn't require this, but some others might. The fit is pretty good, but with the reverse rotation timing cover I think it's affecting how things line up a bit along with the 3G alternator. I had to do some grinding on the rear of the alternator so it wouldn't sit on the head. Lastly, the adjustable tension arm is adjusted as small as it will go and the belt is pretty damn tight. I'll fire the engine up by months end to see if it needs any more tension. It was a PITA to get the belt on for sure. I'll try and take some pictures when I get home later.
 
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