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.
I had a great time getting the Bullitt tuned on the dyno at Fastlane Motorsports last week. So I decided to bring the '66 today. It went well and the car didn't need any tuning at all: the carb and the timing appeared spot on. I was surprised! (I will adjust the valve lash sometime this summer though, since it has been about 2,500 miles since the last adjustment.) The numbers were 349HP/370TQ and the A/F ratio looked good too.
I visited Fastlane Motorsports in Benson, NC. The Bullitt spent a couple hours on the dyno getting tuned this afternoon, and the second and final tune was good for a stout 494HP/466TQ. This was with an outside temperature of about 80 degrees. (In fact, just the "house tune" for my car's particular combo, which we started off with, was already good for 453HP.) Base timing is at 14 degrees, which is safe for 93 and even 91 octane. I wanted to not have to worry about using 91 octane if needed on a trip or something.
I learned a lot about how the car's onboard computer works, and it's way more advanced than I realized. For instance, the computer can pull timing if the Inlet Air Temp gets too high, so there's a margin for safety there even with a supercharged car (if the probe has been installed in the correct location.)
I've decided I'm bringing in the '66 for a pull or two next week! :-)
Jay Leno has a website at www.jaylenosgarage.com that features some of his vehicles. One of his vehicles is a '65 Shelby GT-350. He drives it around in a short video, and the site features tons of videos of his other cars too. Check it out!
