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PS WP and bracket changes 68 289 to 70 302 help!

Fordrevhead

New Member
Hey all, active over on 1969stang forum but this one may need some help from more people with knowledge of the pre 69 and post 70 Mustangs.

I need some help with power steering brackets, etc. I am putting a 68 289 into a 1970 Mustang.

I already have a good rebuilt 1968 PS pump and a 69 front steel PS bracket (3C511-351W).

I need to use the 1970+ water pump so the inlet is on the drivers side to match the RAD. The 69 bracket looks to have the incorrect bolt flange spacing and offsets to work with this water pump.

I also cant use the 1970 'power steering pump adjusting bracket' because I am not using the special 1970 only pump.

I cant tell from pictures I have found, but is a 68 pump with the smaller centered outlet the same as a 71-73 pump? I know the return port location changed, but I can deal with that.

My thoughts are to switch to a 71-73 front bracket and adjusting bracket IF the 68 pump will mount in it.

Thanks!
FRH
 
Wel, I have bad news and more bad news. It is going to be extremely difficult to mix/match pre '70 brackets with '70/later balancer and water pump. EVERYTHING changed in '70 ... EVERYTHING!

Both alternator brackets, all the PS brackets, the water pump, and the dampner all changed in '70. It's pretty much an "all or nothing" deal. You can use the '69 PS pump with the '70 balancer if you run a conversion dampner. Otherwise, it's all '70/later, or all '69/earlier. No parts interchange.

You can use a '70 bracket with a '69/earlier pump, but you'll probably never get the '69 bracket to work. You have to cut off part of the '70 bracket, where the return hose attaches.
 
Agree with Johnpro. If you are going with a 70+ water pump you need a 70+ bracket. The pump mounting holes are the same for the pre-70 pumps as far as I know, so yeah you should be able to use the 70 bracket with the 68 pump. It was the holes for the water pump on the bracket that changed.

The only other way around this is to either go all serpentine with a late model bracketry and reverse flow waterpump, or go with a March 70+ PS bracket. Good luck finding a 70+ stock bracket :craz Be careful using 351w brackets on a 302, you will run into issues.
 
OK there's two PS brkts. The flat brkt Ford called the front bracket (hooks to WP w/ one slot), and the other is the adjusting bracket.

The 70 brkts are both steel. The adjusting bracket from a 70 pump will NOT fit ANY other pump w/o modification (cutting and welding and such). The 70 pump has the outlet on the back off center and larger than any other year and the bracket has a "C" shaped brace that hooks here. I want to retain the stock look of the 70 steel bracket (and it will fit my coor scheme better:) so I dont want to try to use the 68 aluminum. I believe in 71 the PS pump switched back to the centered and smaller outlet AND I am hoping that the mtg hole patterns, thickness, hub offset and pulley faces are the same as the 68 pump, as I have two good 68 pumps and NO good 70 pumps.

I am using an aftermarket balancer for a 70 302 with both the 3 and 4 bolt pattern just in case. 70 timing indicator (pass side), 70+ style water pump, 73 alternator brackets (same as 70), pulleys have not been chosen but probably going underdrive v belts (for now).

I went through this when I did a 5.0 conversion and had to source all of the serpentine stuff and reverse WP etc. So this is easier and less expensive.
 
ok, mocked it all up today. so the 68 ps pump fits the 71 cradle bracket and the 71 flat bracket fits the 70+ water pump. use the pulleys all from one year or the other and it all works. Since it's going in a 70 I need the wp on the drivers side anyway.

But the 71 brackets are butt ugly though... so I might just piece together a serpentine system, lol

anyone use a Fox body PS pump on the 70 power assist system??
 
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