When I was assembling the engine, I used mostly stock parts. I had some issues getting the PA Performance 130 amp alternator fitting due to it being larger. It all started with the ’72 timing chain cover, but I was never able to really get things like I wanted. I had a constant belt squeal that just wouldn’t go away. Possibly related to the power steering pump. Trying to fix all those things at once, I ordered a CVF Racing pulley system. As a bonus, its a pretty nice dress up.

With just 2 belts, its not too complicated, but there are more than a couple moving parts. I went with a black finish and think everything looks great. Very high quality machining. I had to start by buying a few socketed allen wrench head sockets since many of the bolts are socket head. More tools can’t be bad.

The spacer for the harmonic balancer was first. I have a 3 bolt original 69 mustang balancer. This engine should have had a 4 bolt since it is a 73, but the spacer will take either bolt pattern so that isolates the balancer oddities. This part is the one silver part, but it will be hidden once it’s all together so it doesn’t matter.

I put the crank pulley on next. I also started putting the alternator on, but ran into the same problems as before in that it’s too big. I ordered the 95 amp normal sized version to get it back to standard. Bigger is not always better. I hope to be able to use the larger alternator on the 65 project with the serpentine belt system. Kick that down the road for future me to deal with.

The water pump pulley is in place to check alignment, but the bolts holding it on need to also hold the fan clutch, but for now I want to keep it focused to the project at hand. I will install the fan again when it’s all done. Both center pulleys went on easy and look great.

On the other hand, the power steering is as much of a problem as the alternator. First, I had to get the pulley off the power steering pump that came with the Borgeson conversion kit. This is a Saginaw “canned ham” style with an integral fluid reservoir, which is pretty common across a number of cars. I rented a power steering pump pulley removal tool at the local auto parts store, and the pulley came off without issues. Next, test fitting the new CVF pulley showed that it was not the same and wasn’t going to work.

This was the start of my education on the Saginaw pumps. I learned that there are 2 different diameters of the pulley bore. The one I had was a 3/4 smooth bore which is just pressed on tight. The other is a 5/8 bore with a key to keep the pulley from turning on the shaft. It also has a threaded nose to have a retaining nut. Of course, the pulley that came with the kit was for the bore I didn’t have. Reaching out to CVF support informed me that they do not make a V belt pulley for the 3/4 smooth bore. They suggested I get the same style pump from the auto parts store, but get it for a 70 Camaro.

At Napa, I was able to get the part with only minor discomfort for asking for a Camaro part for the Mustang. It looked nearly identical. The pulley bore was smaller, but it also had a different angle for the return hose inlet. This one faced the engine rather than directly to the firewall. Not ideal, but I was able to make it work with just a slightly longer piece of return hose. The fitting for the pressure outlet was the same so that hose fit fine. Ideally, I would try to find another version with a better inlet, but searching for a while didn’t yield good results.

The pump now has hoses that fit, a pulley that fits, and it looks like it is going to mount up. The pulley has to be off in order to get the mounting bolts in place, but with this keyed pump, its not an issue. No specialized tools are required to get it back in place. I just need to acquire a retaining bolt for the pulley, and a new belt. The previous belt is now slightly too long. I ended up cutting it and using it as a measurement to the maximum and minimum length for buying a new one.

I do like this power steering pump bracket better than the one that came with the kit. The bracket on the original one only attached to the back side of the pump. I think that may have been one of the reasons for my belt squeal. Another being an out of round crank pulley. This new bracket has a front and back attach point, making it more solid.

With all of that in place, it’s back to the alternator. When I ordered the new 95 amp, I went ahead and also bought the black powder coating. It is a nice looking piece of hardware. I really need to stop falling for that trap of pretty things that cost too much. I am starting to understand my wife’s attraction to jewelry that sparkles.

Side by side, you can see the size difference in the two. Even with a smaller diameter, the 95 is still a deep alternator which is going to cause some discomfort later, trying to keep it from grounding on the block.

PA Performance sells a 3G adapter kit which plugs into the main port on their alternator and wires into the system. The white wire just connects to the shown spot on the alternator. The yellow wire goes to the same terminal the battery feed goes to, and the green wire connects to the green wire in the AAW wiring harness.

For the alternator, the pulley looks a lot like the one that came with it. I used an air ratchet to get the bolt off, and put the new one back on. I didn’t get a close up, but the pulley has a nice machined cap that hides the nut as well. I couldn’t use the fan that came with the kit since it didn’t fit with the shape of the face of the alternator. It does have an internal fan, so I won’t be losing sleep over that. With all the black, its going to blend into the engine bay anyhow.

Looking back, I never showed how I setup the battery wiring either. To cover that, I picked up a heavy duty positive battery wire with an inline fuse, which I mounted on the apron just behind the battery. Since I didn’t plan properly, you can see the green wire running across the red wire. I should have fed it through the engine feed rather than the lighting feed. Some day I may even fix that, but man, that’s a lot of wire pulling.

To finish this up, I put the fan back on and picked up a couple belts from the local Napa from my cut previous belts for measurements. With a temporary power steering pulley bolt until I get a black one, everything is back to good and I’m back on the road after too long down. I can also call this a success since the belt squeal is totally gone.

UPDATE: I addressed a long standing issue I had with the alternator, which is how the positive terminal connected so close to the block. I wrote an updated post on reclocking the alternator, which I wasn’t aware was a thing when I originally did this install. It’s a must do for safety and to get everything working correctly. You can find it here.