Will 8ba water pumps work on a 99a merc block. I am putting an 8ba cam, dist & timing cover in my '39 99a merc motor wich seems straight forward enough. I would like to use 8ba truck water pumps to clear the dist housing but there is an extra hole at the top center of the water pump which doesn't match the block. Any help will be appreciated as I did a search & couldn't find an answer. Thanks in advance, Charlie.
They will fit but the uppermost water hole in pump has to be plugged...you will see when you put it against the block. That hole is for a thermostat byp*** on the late engines and will not be missed in any way. Crank pulleys will swap. You are taking a big step backward on ignition there, from a pretty good stocker to absolute junk!
x2 on the stock 8BA dist, use a cut down Chev or Mallory with the 8BA front either buy one done or do it yourself .....see http://www.flatheadv8.org/hei.htm
Great, thanks thats all I wanted to hear. I will be using a a malory dual point dist. Thanks Charlie.
When I did that swap,it was nessary to grind the back of the pump impeller,for clearance to the inside of the block. I can't remember how much I removed,it may have been about .080". I used a bench mounted belt sander,to remove the metal. Don't forget to change the timing gears as well.
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