Call me a sissy but I insist on having power steering. Problem is my heads are not drilled with accessory holes so how do I mount a p/s pump on my block? Is there a stock bracket that is commonly found that doesn't require a bolt on the head? Also how does the pully come off the pump? By the way this is a v8 with long water pump

 

People have been asking this same question for the last 40 years, and the answer hasn't changed in all that time.

There is no such stock bracket, because the ones that were used with those heads, locate the PS pump where this chassis won't let it go because the steering gear is in the way.

Only 2 possibilities...

1. Get the right heads (the easy and sensible thing to do)

2. Spend twice as much on an aftermarket bracket set specifically for the purpose (although this has only become available in the last 10 or 15 years or so)

You CANNOT drill and tap the heads, because there's nothing there to drill. In a head with the holes, there's a thick deep bolt boss cast in; but in heads before those were added, all that's there, is a thin outer shell mabe 1/8" thick, then the water jacket which is about 1/8" wide, then the other wall of the water jacket. Guess what happens when you drill a hole; then realize that there isn't enough material there to hold a bolt; then realize that the bolt has to be just the EXACT right length; then realize that your trash pickup service won't haul away big scrap chunks of cast iron and you'll have to dispose of the ruined garbage some other way.

Also, since those heads are from before the days of leaded gas, the valve seats weren't induction-hardened; so they won't survive long on the street regardless.

Makes Option #1 look better all the time, eh?

The pulley comes off the pump with .... get ready for this, you won't be expecting it .... a PS pump pulley puller. You can "rent" it at AZ and Advance and wherever else.

 

theres a "secret" gas station in town that sells 100 octane leaded fuel so thats no problem but there has been so much money put into these heads from the p/o i'd kinda like to give em a try before i can em' and my neighbor is a machinist so it looks like i'm gunna start begging for some custom brackets lol. thanks for the input, this helps me a lot. this car is never going to be a daily and it isnt going to see the streets till spring anyway. i still think its odd the guy put 283 heads worked to hell and back on a 383... and it has roundy round tires on it LOL i'm so confused what he was doing with this car. mabye driving it to races on the weekends? the world will never know. thanks again.

 

You should make friends with Alan Grove. As in Alan Grove Accessory Brackets. Google it- I'm sure you'll find it pretty quick. He'll have probably have a setup to mount a PS pump without accessory holes in the heads. And they're not megabucks billet brackets. Prices are generally "regular guy" reasonable.

I have a buddy with a low-mount alternator bracket that he needed to clear a custom turbo setup and the Alan Grove setup bolted on and works just fine, as advertised.

 

I had an amazing flashback brought on by my brother on accident. I had plans years ago to put a hydro/electric power steering pump from a Toyota mr2, since I live in farm country my local Napa can make any hydraulic hoses needed SO!! here's the plan... ill be getting one of these pumps and some lines made and hopefully be able to make a tasty writeup about it, once and for all solving the problem of the power robbing power steering pump and giving crazies like myself hope for using parts that are completely impractical for a daily driver (like vintage heads probably used for roundly round racing)