What type of water pump to use on my 68 w/347 stroker moter

skiwater · 10-15-2002

I have a 68 coupe that I have built a 347 stroker for. The donor block I used was out of a 1983 5.0. I am getting rid of the serpentine belt and going to a v-belt. My question is what water pump do I use? I tried a 1968 water pump but it didn't work because it was a RH inlet and it conflicted with my timing marker. I can't use a water pump off of an '83 because it is reverse rotation due to the serpentine belt. My newest idea is a 69 water pump with a LH inlet. Does anyone know if this will work? Thanks in advance for any help. I'm new to the forum so I suppose I'll be prowling around a lot looking for info. Has anyone had any experience with the strokers. I've used aluminum RPM heads that were ported and polished. RPM air gap manifold with a 750 cfm double pumper. The heads were shaved to bring compression to 10.3 to 1. I've bought a tremec 3550 to put behind it and I'm installing 3.55 posi gears. I'm hoping it will end up being somewhat fast. Time will tell. I'm tired of looking at the parts in the garage and body work will be done next week. It is time to see if all the money I've dumped in to this project is going to pay off.
Jason

Vortex · 10-15-2002

Bear with us if you dont get a response, the site is currently "wiggy"
How close does the 83 come to the timing? can you plumb some way to get the inlet up off of it? use elbows and such to move it?

Mustang Chuck · 10-17-2002

I suspect that you will need a water pump from around 74 through 78. This engine used the inlet you are looking for.

Twister · 10-17-2002

use a 70-78 water pump, standerd rotation, and set up for a cross flow radiator

Jeff65 · 10-18-2002

Let me say that it does not make a difference which inlet side you use, you simply need to use the harmonic for the same year group. Example: my 5.0L powered '65 uses v-belts, uses early timing cover, passenger side inlet and NPD conversion harmonic. Timing index and mark is on the drivers side. I did this because I wanted to use production radiator. My 3 core is quite adequate, I have a/c and I have run the engine for long periods on 100+ degree days with no temperature problems whatsoever.

I could have used the drivers side inlet, the NPD conversion harmonic for '70-'78. Point being, you can do whichever you wish, you just have to have consistency. Note: timing marks on harmonics are 90 degrees apart depending on whether you use left/right inlet water pump. Just make sure you use the correct harmonic.

skiwater · 10-18-2002

I think I have a new plan. I'm going to use a 68 water pump. I've removed the timing marker and I intend to find TDC and create a new timing mark on the dampner. There is a place on the timing cover that I can tap out and install a new timing mark on the left (drivers side) of the engine. Does anyone see any problems with this plan? I can't find any flaws so long as I am certain of TDC when I make the new mark on the balancer.