What fanbelt fits flathead in F15
 

At startup stage now and need to get a fanbelt on the Ford sidevalve.
Can anyone direct me to best place to get something suitable?
Am keeping the unwired and fanless generator for tensioning purposes - how the hell do I get to bolt once radiator is in?
OR: is there a better way of doing it?
(Perhaps I should wait a couple of weeks and just peer into Blitzes at Corowa)

Ford CMP Flathead V8 fan belts
 

Hi Dave,

Here are some notes on Ford CMP sidevalve V8 fan belts that I compiled a while back. May be of some help. I have Total Drive Plus B52 belts on my engine.

Fan belts: Ford originals marked “Ford 51-8520”, 55-5/8” OD, 5/8” wide at top (actually 21/32”)

New ones: Total Drive Plus, Match Free* B52.
Correct one- has outer circumference of 52” + 3” = 55”

Understanding the Part Number
B – The B stands for a “B” section v-belt. This is considered a “Classic” v-belt style that has a top width of 21/32 (0.656) inches, but is commonly referred to as a 5/8 (0.625) inch belt. The thickness of the belt is 13/32 (0.406) inches.
52– 52 inches is the inside circumference of the belt. For B-section v-belts, the outside circumference is found by adding 3 inches to the inside length of the belt. So, the outside circumference of the B52 belt is 55 inches (52+3).

*Match free- means the belts are manufactured to close length tolerances eliminating the need for matching the belts on multiple row pulleys such as the double row pulleys on the CMP truck engines.

Here is the link from where I obtained my info.
http://www.biedlers-belts.com/gates-b52-belt.html

Cheers,

B52 is the typical industrial replacement, the modern metric replacement is 17A1435. I have Dayco TopCog 17A1435 on my engines.

Many belt suppliers wont hold stock of B Section or 17A belts, and only supply A Section, or 13A or 15A belts. These belts will sit lower in the pulleys (13A will actually ride in the bottom of the V, not recommended), and therefore the length needs to be an inch or two shorter: A51 or 15A1385. They also don't bear the same torque as B Section, so should only be used if nothing else is available.

It should also be noted that there are 2 Generator Pulley sizes used on Blitzes. Check which size you have. The most commonly found size is 4 1/2" dia, and that is what I have in conjunction with the 1435 belts. There is also a 3 1/2" pulley used on vehicles that were used to charge batteries at idling speed. If you have this pulley size, you might also need a slightly shorter belt, perhaps a B51 or 17A1370.