Project 666: Cooling System & Pulley Upgrade

[Bobby Kbro]

It’s a bit weird talking about cooling this time of year in the Inland Empire region of Southern California. It has been somewhat colder here than we are accustomed to. I realize that readers from back east would consider this climate more agreeable than the ice and snow of their late winter. Yet one thing is universal to racers and car enthusiasts: Winter is the time to do those upgrades to your performance machines that you can’t get to during the racing or cruising season.



The most recent upgrade we have been working on involves improving the cooling of our Project 666 -- with an upgraded Flex-a-lite Radiator/Fan combination and a Meziere Water Pump. At the time, we decided to pick up some horsepower and reduce engine clutter by installing a complete March Performance 5.0L Pulley/Bracket system since we were already ditching the stock water pump and engine driven fan.



Our Project

As a reminder, the Project 666 build is a 1986 Ford Mustang LX 5.0L that we will build out as a street/strip car with a projected horsepower of over 650 horses to the rear wheels (hence the moniker 666). That requires a serious cooling sytem that can cool on a stupidly hot Riverside day.


Project 666. 1986 5.0 Mustang LX

The ’79-93 Fox bodied Ford Mustangs have a large following among the street performer and drag strip devotees. One of the more desirable models of our '86 LX Mustang is that it is a bare bones version often referred to as a “stripper” model. As attractive as that tag sounds (no, the car did not belong to a Vegas showgirl), it is desirable because of the manual windows, door locks, seats, etc. No luxury power accessories of any kind. This absence of bulky electric acuation motors reduces the total weight even further. In short, our “stripper” Mustang was built for speed.

Currently our Fox Bodied “Stripper” Mustang is awaiting a new power plant, and the time is right to start preparing for this enhanced power package. Seeking to squeeze every once of horsepower out of our coupe, we will forgo some of the power robbing parasites that are engine driven and replace them with components that offer better performance than the stock parts.


The stock engine and cooling system. Lots of help needed here!

Why upgrade?

The new engine will be subjected to a harsher operating environment than the stock cooling system were intended to operate in. Because we are going to push this power plant for higher performance, we felt that the cooling system was a logical place to start our upgrades. Higher horse power motors generate more heat. Typical cooling systems on a stock Mustang operate in the 200 degree range and the internal pressure should be near 20 pounds.

Running hotter than these parameters tend to result in power loss, or worse, blown head gaskets and cracked cylinder heads. Therefore, it’s always a wise idea to upgrade your cooling system when you step up your motor performance. Good aluminum radiators can provide up to twenty five percent better cooling, and because we we’re planning on increasing our horsepower to 3 times the stock amount, it was a no-brainer to replace stock cooling system.

The Solution:

We installed the following components on Project 666:

• Meziere Water Pump, PN #WP111R
• Flex-a-lite Radiator/Fan Combination, PN #52185
• March Performance 5.0L Fox Pulley Drive Kit, PN #30061

Enter the companies of Flex-a-lite, March Performance and Meziere.

As luck would have it, March manufactures a pulley drive system specifically for the Ford 5.0 (Part #30061), that removes the power steering, A/C, water pump, and idler and replaces it with a complete custom March adjustable system. Perfect.

The March pulley drive kit was designed to work with almost any electric water pump on the market but we had knowledge that the Meziere electric water pump kit (part #WP111) worked extremely well with the March drive kit. We checked out Meziere and were pleased to find that their support & tech department was very knowledgeable with this particular application.

Then next step was to find an aluminum radiator that would provide us with the higher cooling needs of a high performance engine. Flex-a-lite is a well known brand that has established a good reputation in fans and cooling systems. Another quick phone call and we had the answers that we wanted. Flex-a-lite makes an application specific Radiator and Fan combo that fits the Mustang Fox Body platform, part # 52185.



We'll walk you through the entire installation and also talk a little about the features of each of the parts that we installed and why.

Getting started.

We started by removing the smog pump and plumbing. While the pump may not be as power robbing as some of the other accessories, the weight of the pump and all of the associated lines, valves and canisters added up to a considerable amount. Simply removing all the lines made the engine bay look a lot neater. The next step was getting rid of the power steering pump. We had already changed out the steering rack for a rack and pinion steering system, so the power steering pump and reservoir were just along for the ride. These parts were considerably heavier than their size would indicate. Yet again, once the parts were gone, the front of the engine bay took on a less congested appearance.

By now it was apparent that our coupe was undergoing a serious weight watchers program. This became infectious. The more we removed, the more we wanted to take off. It had already been decided to change out the water pump to improve cooling, and we knew that the radiator needed to be upgraded, it was only natural that the engine driven cooling fan fell into our cross hairs. Just for good measure, we removed the air conditioning compressor and all of the A/C lines. Our “stripper” had dropped so much weight that I envisioned the bright red coupe in a Jenny Craig commercial with Kirstie Alley.


Our "stripper" on Jenny Craig. Less weight in the engine bay.


Installation of the Flex-a-lite Radiator & Fan unit.

Installation of the components was very easy. We simply installed the components in the reverse order of the removal process. Starting with the Radiator and Fan kit, we opened the instructions and were pleasantly surprised to find that we were half way done with the task. Moving down the instructions past the initial 12 steps because the stock radiator was removed, we resisted the urge to take a “half-way” break. Assembling the radiator components took no time, as the electric fan is an integral part of the assembly. Only the overflow bottle needed to be attached to the radiator.


The Overflow Container

We were surprised at how lightweight the flex-a-lite radiator was compared to the overall size of the unit. It looked much thicker than the stock radiator and the flat side tank had a real impressive machined look where the stock radiator had rounded side tanks. It was easy to spot the larger core surface area and the twin rows of tubing running through the cooling fins. The core size alone measured 22 inches wide by 18 inches tall and 2 ˝ inches deep. Even with my limited understanding of thermodynamics, I understood that a larger core area was going to dissipate heat faster and more efficiently than the stock radiator’s smaller core area.

We finalized the radiator installation by sliding it into the area where the stock radiator was mounted, then attached the supplied brackets to hold the radiator in place. This took a total of 10 minutes and our new radiator and electric cooling fan were installed with only a couple of wires and the variable speed control yet to install. Bypassing the electrical for the time being, we started installation of the electric water pump.

A couple of cool things I wanted to mention about the Flex-a-lite Radiator and Black Magic Extreme fan combination:

• The Flex-a-lite radiator features internal and external fins. The way this design works is that internal fins absorb the heat, and the external fins radiate it away.
• The external fins allow easy mounting of fans and accessories.
• The radiator is a cross-flow design with (2) 1-inch diameter tubes.
• The radiator comes with a Black Magic Extreme fan, which is probably the most popular aftermarket fan in the history of the Mustang aftermarket. This has a great mounting system, and includes a Variable Speed control which integrates an adjustable thermostat, A/C controller, and manual on/off switch.
• Best part, includes all brackets, wires, and bolts!

Sliding the Radiator in place.

Installing the Meziere Electric Water pump

The Meziere water pump was almost too perfect to install on a used block. The pump itself is svelte and much sleeker than the heavy cast metal stock centrifugal pump. The Meziere water pump for the 5.0 engines can be ordered in 35 gallons per minute (GPM) or 55 GPM high flow model. It does not come with provisions for heater or bypass hose, which was fine for our street/strip car. We ordered the WP311R which comes in Red, polished and waxed.

The nice thing about the Meziere pump is that it's built right here in the US, and has a reputation for being a serious workhorse. It even comes with a 2 year unlimited mileage guarantee and Meziere told us that it can handle daily driver, high-horsepower applications without breaking a sweat.



Here is some information on our Meziere electric water pump:

• Fits small block Ford 302 & 351 (perfect for our new 9.5 deck motor)
• 3,000+ hour life for street or drag use
• 55 gal/minute flow
• Stainless Steel Hardware w/ Stainless Steel Main Shaft
• This pump is supplied complete with gaskets, hardware and fittings. No additional items should be necessary.

In terms of choosing the "right" pump for your application, Meziere told us, "The standard 35 GPM pump is suitable for normally aspirated engines up to 650 horsepower. Supercharged, turbocharged and high compression, and high horsepower applications should use the 55 GPM high flow pump.


Installing the Backing Plate.

If you must have the heater and bypass hose provisions, they can be ordered from the factory when you order the pump. Of course, you will have to block off the heater and bypass hose outlets at the source if you didn’t order the provisions. The back plate mounted up easily to the engine block and the pump mounts directly to the back plate. Gaskets for the pump to the back plate come with the kit. We recommend gasket sealer when installing the gaskets.


The Meziere electric water pump.

The engine bay was really beginning to look like it had some room for the bigger motor. To finish the upgrade, we needed to install the March pulley drive system. We had removed every drive pulley from the motor with the single exception of the alternator drive pulley. Our project car still needed the alternator because we wanted to be able to drive it on the streets for extended periods of time (like driving to the race track and back home after making a few passes).


The March Performance Underdrive Crankshaft Pulley.

The factory mounting position for the alternator made it very difficult, if not impossible to mount a serpentine belt from the crankshaft drive pulley to the alternator pulley and still have clearance for the electric water pump housing. There are a few pulley kits on the market that you can buy to help solve the belt routing problem, but we chose the March kit (part # 30061) because of the completeness of the kit. We knew that the drive system would work with our other components, the existing engine and the new engine when it was installed.


The Alternator Positioning Bracket.

Although the pulley drive looked pretty intimidating, the instructions were very complete. They even included a couple of drawings, which helped this barely literate retired Marine understand the installation process (a picture is still worth a thousand words in my book). What I found interesting about the drive kit was, even though we were using the existing stock alternator, March included a pulley for the alternator. May not sound like much, but having the crankshaft pulley, idler pulley and the alternator pulley all look the same really improved the look of the engine block. The kit can easily be installed in 20 minutes, which includes time for coffee breaks.

Once installed, we had to get ourselves a 41-inch 6-rib serpentine belt and adjust the adjustable support link to properly space the alternator and put the correct amount of tension on the belt. It was really easy and simple, not to mention the horsepower increase and weight loss.


Alternator Pulley installation.

The Final Steps

All that was left in our installation was wiring. Flex-a-lite and Meziere both include a complete wiring harness and fuses, including a complete variable speed control (VSC) that helps with a daily driver. We chose to not install the VSC because our car was going to see such little street driving, and instead installed a simpler on/off switch and 30 amp relay. However, we recommend the VSC if you are going to drive on the street regularly no matter your application.

In recapping this upgrade, we managed to upgrade our cooling system in preparation of installing a bigger engine in our street/strip project car. We were able to replace a lot of the heavy stock components with stronger lightweight parts, and we eliminated the dispensable accessory drives. We estimated a total weight loss of 40 pounds and recaptured 23 to 40 of lost horsepower. Everyone in the shop was pretty excited about the lightweight “stripper” with more power.

Check out the final "after" photo showing the complete March pulley system, Meziere pump, and Flex-a-lite Radiator/Fan combination. We're going to drive it around in the next few weeks and give you a full cooling system performance report - tested exclusively in our oppressive Riverside heat!


The completed cooling system and accessory drive.

Source:

Flex-a-Lite Consolidated
1-800-851-1510
Flex-a-lite

March Performance
239-593-4074
March Performance

Meziere Enterprises
1-800-208-1755
Meziere Enterprises

[sealer]