The truck pump has a 3/4" pilot whereas the cars are 5/8" The car pumps I have look to be about 4 1/2" from the gasket surface to the fan mounting flange. The only truck pump I have looks to be about 5". So I only see about 1/2" difference.



I also thought truck pumps have extra ribbing on the snout but some of my car pumps also have the ribbing and do match the dimensions of one I know is for a car application.


Lawrenceville, GA

Charlie. The factory HD truck pumps may have had an extra rib, but all the aftermarket pump castings I ever found used the same basic casting as the pass car.

Frank/Rebop

Bristol, In ( by Elkhart) 

Alan, per your request I measured flange to end of shaft length on my 292 in a 58 Ranchero. 

It is 5 1/2". I don't think this is what you were hoping for!

Thanks 58Rancho for measuring your pump. You are right...that is not the measurement I wanted. I will just have to wait to see what I get from NAPA on the pump I ordered. I may have to cut off a piece of the end of the shaft and/or adjust the position of the pulley hub and use a thinner spacer in order to get proper clearance and belt alignment. Thanks, Alan

Alan

My water pump from flange to tip is also 5 1/2 inch so it seems you should try to replace the water pump with the shorter one if you can. The belt alignment is much more important.

Back in the day, when guys swapped 390 FEs into 55/59 Fords it was common to remount the radiator in front of the vertical brace that it attaches to to gain some room. Pete

Pete55, your idea would be a good one if I was working on a '54 Ford and not a '54 Mercury. The Ford core support/hood latch panels were designed to take the radiator either behind or in front of the support. The V-8 car radiator mounted behind and the 6 cyl. in front in order to have room for the longer 6 cyl engine. Mercurys all came equipped with V-8's so they were not set up like Fords. I am trying to do this car to look original other than the '61 292 so I don't want to do any major cutting or fabricating. Somebody out there must have put a 292 in their '54 Mercury so please let me know how you solved the fan clearance problem. Thanks, Alan

I received the correct water pump today. It has an "ECE" casting # so it was from a '55 or later passenger car. The center shaft is 5/8" in diameter but only about 1/2" shorter than the one on the truck water pump which was on the engine which had a larger 3/4" shaft. I went through my extra parts and the thinnest fan spacer I have is 1" thick. I set up the pump, the fan and the spacer, with the radiator in the car (without actually bolting it together). It looks like the fan will only be about 1/2" from the radiator. Two questions: Does anyone know of a Y-Block fan spacer thinner than 1"? Also, with so little clearance, I am going to have to assemble the pump, pulley spacer and fan and then install the radiator last. It will be impossible to install the fan last as there is insufficient space to insert the fan bolts with the radiator in place. How am I going to wedge the radiator in place last without messing up the fins bu scraping the radiator on the fan blades. Any ideas? Remember, this is a '54 Mercury , not Ford so the radiator will only go in one way. The smaller '54 Mercury water pump is more than 1" shorter than the '55 and later pumps. Thanks, Alan

I think 1" is about the shortest spacer possible because the pilot is about 1" Do you have to use a spacer?

Make sure that your pulleys are lining up.


Lawrenceville, GA

That, my friend Charlie is a brilliant idea...just leave the spacer out entirely. I just bench assembled everything without the spacer and it looks like it goes together fine without it. Does anyone see any problem with leaving out the spacer? Alan

I had pretty good space on mine but still taped a cardboard panel to remedy my clumsyness when I removed mine.  Thinking now would have been wiser to pull fan, might help.

Ted, Redding, CA