A minor mystery water pump pulley?

[dmsfrr]

Not 100% sure what this part belongs to. I'm guessing it's a machined steel 'alternate' version of a '57 T-Bird water pump pulley. Maybe a heavy duty version for one of the hi-perf engines?.
B7S-8509-A is on the sticker.

The used one on the right in the first photo is stamped steel and looks like the several others I've had my hands on. Without a scale, it weighs several ounces? maybe a pound at the most.

The one on the left in the first photo may possibly have been cut on a lathe from a solid chunk of steel. Feels like it weighs about three to five pounds.

They are both the same outer diameter and overall thickness. The center hole in the new one is just a hair smaller. The shoulder up to the center hub is obviously different, otherwise they both look to have the same dimensions.

8509 is a water pump pulley number and B7S is a '57 T-Bird prefix, letter A might a revision number???

[Late model]

dmsfrr,

Did you see this one on ebay? It looks just like the one in your pic, and it has the same part number, but unfortunately there isn't anything that would confirm it's actually for a T-bird.

Don

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by Late model

dmsfrr,
Did you see this one on ebay? It looks just like the one in your pic, and it has the same part number, but unfortunately there isn't anything that would confirm it's actually for a T-bird.

Don

The one at this link??? Except for paint condition it does look the same.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/14355724396...QAAOSw~exeYtdl

"B" = the 50's decade and "7" = '57
The third character of the part number, the letter "S" designates a part made for Thunderbirds.
(scroll half-way down the page at this link)
https://www.fordification.com/tech/datecodes.htm

.

[KULTULZ]

Here is the MPC CATALOGING for the BIRD pulley -

B5S for 1955-56
B7S for late 1956-1957

[Late model]

Another geezer moment. I forgot to paste the link.

[55blacktie]

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Considering 57 Tbirds continued in production after the 58 Ford models were released, it could be that Ford ran short of parts and used that wp pulley. 57 Tbirds were made up until December, 57. My 55 Tbird wp pulley is the usual stamped sheet metal. Of course, I don't know with absolutely certainty that it's the pulley that left the assembly line on January 20, 55.

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by 55blacktie

Considering 57 Tbirds continued in production after the 58 Ford models were released, it could be that Ford ran short of parts and used that wp pulley. 57 Tbirds were made up until December, 57. ...

For whatever it's worth and assuming it's original, the used w/p pulley in the right side of the first photo came out of a '57 Bird built in the 3rd week of Nov. '57.
The engine was not previously rebuilt & by all indications (block date code) is 'original' to the car.
The radiator does seem to have been replaced at some point, no date code stamped in the top.

The sticker says it's a 'service part' possibly made after the normal production run(?) for replacing a failed or damaged original.

Originally Posted by KULTULZ

Here is the MPC CATALOGING for the BIRD pulley -
B5S for 1955-56
B7S for late 1956-1957

Ok so there don't appear to be any additional versions, nothing heavy duty or with slightly different hub dimensions for the E or F code supercharged version with a different belt setup.

[KULTULZ]

Originally Posted by dmsfrr

For whatever it's worth and assuming it's original, the used w/p pulley in the right side of the first photo came out of a '57 Bird built in the 3rd week of Nov. '57.

The engine was not previously rebuilt & by all indications (block date code) is 'original' to the car.

The radiator does seem to have been replaced at some point, no date code stamped in the top.

The sticker says it's a 'service part' possibly made after the normal production run(?) for replacing a failed or damaged original.

Ok so there don't appear to be any additional versions, nothing heavy duty or with slightly different hub dimensions for the E or F code supercharged version with a different belt setup.

Does it compare the same as the one on your 57 BIRD?

SERVICE REPLACEMENT PARTS are usually a little different from ASSEMBLY PARTS, especially if the part is carried for years. And then it could be vendor differences. It also may be a later re-design as FORD possibly had failures.

You say the rad was replaced. Could it be a pulley from another application trying to speed the pump up?

No STAMPING ID or FORD OVAL?

If it was HI-PO, the cataloging would have been dropped years ago (or description in a SERVICE LETTER). I checked a 1959 PRINT ISSUE MPC ( as compared to the 1964 FINAL ISSUE) and the PN was the same. Doesn't mean the actual part design was the same.

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by KULTULZ

Does it compare the same as the one on your 57 BIRD?
...
You say the rad was replaced. Could it be a pulley from another application trying to speed the pump up?

No STAMPING ID or FORD OVAL?

If it was HI-PO, the cataloging would have been dropped years ago (or description in a SERVICE LETTER). I checked a 1959 PRINT ISSUE MPC ( as compared to the 1964 FINAL ISSUE) and the PN was the same. Doesn't mean the actual part design was the same.

Except for the fact that it is made differently & weighs much more, the functional dimensions all seem the same.

The existing radiator and apparently original used water pump pulley are both from the '57 Bird I bought a couple years back. That used '57 pump pulley was compared to two others in '57 Birds and found to be the same.
The new/replacement pulley with the sticker was in a box of misc leftover parts that arrived just last week.

The new pulley has no logos or ID markings in or on the metal except for the one paper sticker.

[KULTULZ]

The new pulley has no logos or ID markings in or on the metal except for the one paper sticker.

That sticker is correct. As I remember ... ... FORD began using that system in the eighties.

Now your original pulley, it has no STAMPING ID or FORD OVAL?

That is why I could never do a numbers correct resto. They would have to put me in the rubber room.

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by KULTULZ

That sticker is correct. As I remember ... ... FORD began using that system in the eighties.

Now your original pulley, it has no STAMPING ID or FORD OVAL?

That is why I could never do a numbers correct resto. They would have to put me in the rubber room.

The old pulley out of the car does not have any logo or ID markings I can see, even after getting the light amount of crud off of it.

[KULTULZ]

Originally Posted by dmsfrr

The old pulley out of the car does not have any logo or ID markings I can see, even after getting the light amount of crud off of it.

That's interesting as the BIRD pulleys would have been unique due to the WP/crank pulley spacing? I would think FORD would have ID'd them for engine assembly.

Any info at CTCI or a BIRD message board?

[KULTULZ]

I am sure what you have is OEM.

The SERVICE REPLACEMENT is a later design (for whatever reason).

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by KULTULZ

That's interesting as the BIRD pulleys would have been unique due to the WP/crank pulley spacing? I would think FORD would have ID'd them for engine assembly.

Any info at CTCI or a BIRD message board?

Up until a couple days ago I'd never known the style made of solid steel even existed. I briefly looked in the big red CTCI restoration manual and didn't see them mentioned.

Originally Posted by KULTULZ

...
The SERVICE REPLACEMENT is a later design (for whatever reason).

I'll guess the dies that were made to stamp the original pieces weren't kept for very long.
.