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March Performance Pulley's Style Track- Stylin'Dress For Success With The Style Track From March Performance Pulleys From the October, 2008 issue of Street Rodder By Jim Rizzo
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Dressing up a street rod engine has come a long way from the days of a rattle can and some chrome-plated tin. Today, aftermarket companies are pushing the envelope developing a bunch of cool CNC-machined gingerbread for our beloved rods-and some of 'em, like March Performance Pulley's serpentine drive systems, actually perform needed tasks above and beyond just looking good. With this in mind, we chose to equip our latest project engine, a muscular 351W Ford, with a new and really cool-looking Style Track system. March Performance's new Style Track serpentine system was created with a combination of style and affordability that's sure to find favor among enthusiasts everywhere; it definitely caught our eye. The stylized one-piece alternator and air-conditioning bracket provides solid support for the alternator and A/C compressor; and a separate bracket assembly allows the option of either power or non-power steering. Best of all, March's new Style Track bracket kit is much more affordable than similar units. The Style Track system we... The Style Track system we chose came complete with an alternator, an alternator pulley with fan and nose cover, a polished A/C compressor and nose cover, a water pump with pulley and cover, a crank pulley, and an alternator A/C bracket with the belt-tensioning tool. Kits with power steering include a GM Type 2 remote power steering pump and the power steering pump pulley with nose cover, which is everything we'd need for an awesome conversion. The Style Track makes use of an easy-to-use belt tension-adjustment tool. Once the belt tension has been set, the adjustment tool is easily removed and stowed away for future use. As a result, the Style Track displays a much cleaner appearance than others with large adjusting assemblies that are integral in their design. The Style Track comes complete with an alternator, an alternator pulley with fan and nose cover, a polished A/C compressor and nose cover, a water pump with pulley and cover, a crank pulley, and an alternator A/C bracket with the belt-tensioning tool. Kits with power steering include a GM Type 2 remote power steering pump and the power steering pump pulley with nose cover. These kits also include all the mounting hardware you'll need and detailed instructions so installation is a snap. You can also forget about polishing this assembly, as it features maintenance-free clear powdercoating-all features we liked when considering which system to use on this particular engine. Another important factor was the system's ease of installation. Since I do a lot of these installs in my home shop, I not only have to perform the actual install but also handle the photography and write the story-all while trying to stay one step ahead of the "page police" and make deadline. The Style Track was a really easy and straightforward install that only took me about an hour and a half from start to finish, even with the stop-and-start procedure required for developing the story (though the engine was out of the car and more easily accessible than it would have been if it were in the engine bay). That said, I'd happily repeat the install in any vehicle-it was that easy. So, check out the install shown here, and then get over to your preferred street rod parts source and take a look at a Style Track system in person.  The recipient of the new Style...  The recipient of the new Style Track system is an extremely healthy Ford Racing Performance Parts 351W destined for a future STREET RODDER project vehicle. Luckily for me, I got to perform the install out of the vehicle, which made it a bit easier, as you might imagine.  As with any V-to-serpentine-belt...  As with any V-to-serpentine-belt conversion, you'll have to swap the standard water pump for a reverse-rotation one, because the belt configuration reverses the direction that the water pump pulley turns. In our case (an early version SBF set up for V-belts), March supplied us with a new water pump and timing cover. This swap will not be required on late-model engines with factory serpentine systems. The job began by removing the harmonic balancer, so I could pull the old-style timing cover and pump. With the balancer out of the way, I pulled the water pump and then the timing cover assembly, taking care not to damage the pan gasket. I should also note that the fuel pump concentric will have to be removed and discarded and the system converted to an electric fuel pump.   The new timing cover and reverse-rotation...  The new timing cover and reverse-rotation pump were installed next. I bolted it in completely, and as is typical, I only then picked up and began to read the installation instructions supplied by March-hey, at least I read 'em.  A quick coat of paint to match...  A quick coat of paint to match the engine block came next, and I read on while it dried.  Upon actually reading the...  Upon actually reading the instructions, I learned three of the original water pump bolts (arrows) were supposed to be replaced by a set of studs included in the kit-someday, I'll learn my lesson and actually read the assembly instructions before I start a job.  Luckily, I was able to thread...  Luckily, I was able to thread the studs in without a problem; the directions were clear as to where they went.  Three threaded stainless spacer...  Three threaded stainless spacer assemblies were then screwed into place on the aforementioned studs and will serve as mounting points for the front main bracket, but not quite yet.  With the four studs in place,...  With the four studs in place, I was ready to proceed, now paying close attention to said installation directions.  The next step was to install...  The next step was to install the A/C rear support bracket to the passenger-side head using the supplied bolt and washer. It was left loose at this point, though.  I then grabbed the rear power...  I then grabbed the rear power steering bracket and timing pointer assemblies and hardware.  The timing pointer was mounted...  The timing pointer was mounted over (actually, in front of) the rear power steering bracket, as shown, and two of the supplied 5/16 bolts were used to mount them. These were left loose for the time being, as well. Also, March supplies a pair of spacers for those situations where power steering will not be used, so you can properly mount the timing pointer alone.  The alternator rear support...  The alternator rear support was next. There's a threaded bushing in the kit that threads into the bracket, as shown.  With the bushing in place,...  With the bushing in place, the bracket to the driver-side head was mounted with the supplied 7/16 or 3/8 bolt from the hardware selection. This one was left loose, too.  The front main bracket was...  The front main bracket was secured using two 5/16x5-1/2-inch-long socket-head capscrews, along with two spacers between the bracket and the water pump. Then, three 5/16 bolts were installed through the bracket and into the threaded stainless spacers, which were previously threaded onto the water pump studs.  This machined bushing that...  This machined bushing that comes with the supplied hardware will be a part in the upper alternator mounting.  The alternator-mounting ears...  The alternator-mounting ears were lined up with the upper and lower brackets and attached, as shown, using the small bushing shown in the previous photo at the top, and another larger spacer (also supplied in the kit) at the bottom mounting point. Once it was mounted, the attaching bolts were left a bit loose, but the bracket-to-cylinder-head bolt was tightened up.  With the bracketry in place,...  With the bracketry in place, the A/C compressor cover was attached to the compressor. The compressor mounts to the bracket in much the same way as the alternator, and the March design makes it pretty foolproof-as long as you read the instruction sheet.  So far, so good. This Style...  So far, so good. This Style Track system is one good-looking accessory, that's for sure.  The power steering pump bracket...  The power steering pump bracket was then secured to the pump, using Loctite on the threads of the 8mm screws from the hardware pack. Then, the bracket and pump assembly was installed to the main front bracket.  Once attached to the main...  Once attached to the main bracket at the front, it was secured at the rear with an 8mm bolt provided. The balance of the bracketry was tightened and all of the mounting bolts of the assembly were rechecked.  Here's the nearly completed...  Here's the nearly completed assembly from another angle. Pretty impressive, don't ya think? March also supplies a good-looking billet power steering pump pulley and cover as part of the kit, and as you can see, I hadn't gotten around to pressing it on at the time of this photo.  The water pump pulley was...  The water pump pulley was next, and it's one of the most stylized components in the kit, aside from the front main bracket, that is. Just like the alternator and A/C pulleys, it comes complete with a nose cone cover.  The final steps involved the...  The final steps involved the crank pulley and serpentine belt installation. Both were as straightforward and easy as the rest of the install, and they're perfect finishing touches to a fine system.
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March Performance Pulleys
6020 Hix Rd.
Westland
MI
48185
734-729-9070
www.marchperf.com
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Ford Racing Performance Parts
44050 N. Groesbeck Hwy.
Clinton Township
MI
48036
5-86/-468-1356
www.fordracingparts.com
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