Shop tip to anyone rebuilding a 60s-70s engine: try not to mix pulleys, water pump, and harmonic balancer from different years. Yes they will all fit, but the pulleys may not line up.

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Asked by Norm Feb 28, 2014 at 12:10 PM about the Pontiac GTO

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Pontiac changed pulley design nearly every year, for many different models and applications. The water pump changed from 8 bolt to 11 bolt in 69 but there are also short snout and long snout variations. The harmonic damper changed from 3 bolt to 4 bolt in 68. My point is, try to keep the front of the engine consistent, If you're rebuilding a mid-70's 400 and want it to look like a mid 60's, take the time to match everything. Timing cover, pump, pulleys, harmonic damper, air conditioning. There are combos that will work, but many that don't.

2 Answers

215

Been there, huge hassle - added power steering to my '68 - Thanks to my friend Steve Snyder (RIP Steve...) we found a combination that worked but it took several tries!

1 people found this helpful.
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Sometimes you have to try full-size combos when adding PS or AC. Why Pontiac made them different I have no idea. Glad you were able to make it work!

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