Thread: How to shorten a small block Ford.

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Any of us who play with Ford small blocks know two things for sure. First of all they cost a lot more to build than a sbc, and secondly they are l- o- n -g! Most of the block is really compact, but it is the timing chain cover and water pump that stick way out there, making swapping them into lots of cars tough.

When I built my 27 roadster way back when I used a 302 Ford, but because there were no short water pump setups that I knew about at the time my pulley to radiator clearance was very tight. Consequently, I had to use a very short electric fan that didn't have many cfms to it. Now that I am redoing the car I decided to cure that problem once and for all by putting on one of the Ford Racing short water pumps that pick up about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inches of room. I thought it would be easy, but Ford threw me a wrench by discontinuing some of the parts needed to make this swap.

I guess Ford has cut back on lots of "old" parts because of their financial situation, and these Ford Racing parts were some of the ones to go. What it takes to make the swap are:

1) The short water pump itself, part number M-8501-E351S about $ 139.00

2) The correct timing cover is part number M-6059-D351 about $ 125.00

3) Pulley set M-8509 Q..............no longer available from Ford.

However, I was determined to end up with a shorter setup, so when I struck out at Summit (they had the water pumps but no timing cover) I called Jegs. Luckily, they had the water pump and timing housing.....I was part way there.

For the pulleys I first called Ford to confirm they were no longer available, and found out they were not. So I called March Mfg. March is right down the road from me in Naples Florida, and they are USELESS! They could care less if they help you or not, and were extremely dry on the phone, like he couldn't be bothered. (I had the same experience with them 2 years ago when trying to convert my Son Don's 306 Ford from serpentine to V belt.) All the guy would say is "Ford discontinued them and we never made them. Goodbye!"

So I called Zoops Products and the guy there was VERY helpful. Turns out they do make the exact pulleys I need for this setup, and here are the part numbers:

1) Water pump pulley, part number 6011, about $ 81.00

2) Crank pulley, part number 6012, about $ 72.00

However, to use the crank pulley you MUST use Ford Racing SFI approved harmonic balancer part number M-6316-C351, about $ 250.00.

After mounting it all up I found that my crank pulley sits 3/16 too far in to line up with the water pump pulley, but the guy at Zoops told me that might happen. Ford has so many variations that Zoops offers several thicknesses of spacers to use, but you have to mount the pulley first to see how far off you are. Tonight I ordered the 3/16 spacer from Zoops @ $ 32.00

So, my short water pump setup ended up costing me about $ 700 so far, and I still haven't gotten my alternator to determine what bracketry I will need to mount it in the new shorter position. Zoops makes those brackets too (Don has one on his 306), so when I get the alternator I'll go from there.

I would caution anyone thinking of doing this to move quickly as the timing covers seem to be getting a little hard to find, but Jegs told me they do have some yet. Summit does not, and Ford Racing does not. I took some pictures of the various components and how the short one compares to the regular Ford setup. I will have to post them in two posts, as this forum only allows 4 images per post.

First of all, here is what the long pump looks like in my Son's T, and the second picture is how the short setup looks in the same profile. His measures 6.25 from water pump flange surface to tip of pulley, and mine measures 4.75. You can also see the misalignment on mine that will require the 3/16 spacer.