Every once in a while an upgrade comes along that's a "must-have" in my book — a great blend of increased performance and nicer appearance — and for a reasonable price. I recently installed a Millerspeed Belt Drive System on the front of the 331, and the "wow" factor is simply off the charts. Millerspeed offers 2 belt widths — 1" and the wild 2". I went with the narrower 1" kit for the street.
The 1" wide kit for small-block Ford. (Millerspeed photo)
...and the 2" kit with alternator fan/bracket
and power steering pump. (Millerspeed photo)
Previously, I had installed a March 1550 aluminum pulley kit on this engine, and it was an upgrade for me at the time, replacing the heavier stock-style steel pulleys. I bought the March 1-groove pulley kit (#1550), and then bought a shorter belt, so soon I had about $225 in that kit. Immediately, I noticed a crank pulley wobble, but couldn't confirm it until much later when I happened to buy a new balancer, and the pulley still wobbled. A digital caliper then showed the holes were drilled very slightly off-center. In addition, my new 3G alternator upgrade required a minimum of a 2-groove alternator pulley to turn the alternator under load, so I definitely needed a new pulley kit.
Here's the March 1550 kit I'm replacing. Belt is not included.
Enter Millerspeed... This kit has been offered for at least the past few years, and has had some positive press, but I hadn't heard of it until I stumbled upon a Millerspeed auction on eBay last month. Here's the 1" kit I bought — the wild 2" kit usually runs about $325.
Here's Millerspeed's small-block Ford kit. Belt is included.
The belt drive system installs as easily as any other pulley kit, and the quality is absolutely top-notch. The 2" kit gives off noticeable belt whine, similar to a supercharger setup, but the 1" kit is quiet.
The Millerspeed kit installed.
...and another angle.
Here's a video of a small-block Ford in a Cobra to give you an idea of the appearance and sound using the wider (and wilder!) 2" kit. I think either kit is just superb.
The Tri-Ax shifter in the Bullitt was noisy after years of hard use. There was a loud buzz or rattle above 4000rpm under hard acceleration. Steeda rebuilds these units at their Georgia facility. I sent it in and a couple days later had it back fully rebuilt, for free. Great customer service.
A shifter gasket kit from AmericanMuscle.com didn't fit,
so I used some grey RTV instead.
I set the Tri-Ax shift "stops" further out than normal,
since the TR3650 apparently has internal shift stops.
I reinstalled the lower shifter boot (Ford #1R3Z-7277-AA for $13.80).
I replaced the torn upper shift boot (Ford #3R3Z-7277_AA for $35.98).
The Tri-Ax handle is lighter than the stock handle,
but the stock handle will work if you prefer the length.
Here's the finished install with the Bullitt knob and boot.
Amazon now has these Triax shifters for, at the time of this writing, $169.99 with free shipping. That's a great price for a great shifter like this. The links are for the TR3650 shifter (Left) and the T5 shifter (Right).
