351c fuel pump help

If I remeber correctly when I put mine together it was the same way, it dosen't fit flush untill you tighten the bolts down which can be a pain if your using short hardware as you'll have to compress the spring inside the pump in order to start the bolt in the bottom.

just tap your ingnition to get the motor to turn just a bit. the cam lobe for fuel pump arm just needs to rotate a bit.

Ford's have a fuel pump eccentric to acctuate the pump arm. This is bolted to the front of the timing gear, and the bolt hole thru which the retainer bolt fits is offset, making the eccentric act like a cam lobe. The pump arm rides directly on the eccentric. Depending on it's position, you may have to press down on the pump body to get the pump bolts to line up. Sometimes its also possible to make the pump arm over ride the eccentric. If you're lucky the pump will slide right into place with the pump arm under the eccentric where it's supposed to be.