Big block serpentine woes

[Twin_Turbo]

Ugh, after trying to get that Chinese alternator drive junk to work by machining the pulleys and what now we gave up. Belts too short, new ordered belt is not going to work either without cutting into the upper rad hose, trouble trouble trouble.

So, enter billet specialties serpentine drive for just the water pump and alternator. Nice looking stuff, black beats shiny chrome so black it is. Too bad it doesn't fit without chopping up the front crossmember. Aarrgh...is nothing ever easy? So, radiator comes out again and time to start cutting. This is the end result, looks pretty good if I say so myself.

Rats...zis sjeet aint't gonna fit like this:



Cut, chop weld:



Aahh...much better:

 

[Curby]

Looks very nice.

Face it, you LOVED geting out the cutoff wheel, plasma cutter, metal hammer, welder, and grinder! I know I do.

I just wish I didn't have to have a real job to pay for the toys!

That is much better than just raising the motor mounts and causing all kinds of other issues.

That car will be SICK!

 

[Bullshark]

Too bad it doesn't fit without chopping up the front crossmember. Aarrgh...is nothing ever easy? So, radiator comes out again and time to start cutting. This is the end result, looks pretty good if I say so myself.

Yep, that's why I took the easy way out and used the old stock v-belt stuff. Hey Marck, dump that bell crank on the throttle linkage. It stuck open on me.....that was a wild ride. :quote: I reworked it using shoulder bearing washers. I still want to find a ball bearing bell crank like the ones I have seen on Marine racing applications.

Bullshark

 

[BBShark]

My crossmember cutout for my serpentine setup looks just like yours but I haven't plated it in yet. I suck at welding and I figure I will fab and tack everything that needs welding and have someone come over and finish it.

I know what you mean about the belt length. I did my pulley layout in CAD to figure the belt length. You know how they ask you when you go to the parts store, what year and model your car is or whether it has AM/FM radio if you need brake pads? Well try going in an tell them you need a 99 inch six rib serpentine belt! First question, "what's it for"?

The other challenge is alignment of all of this stuff. I had to make a laser pointer that nested into the ribs of the pulleys that I could check alignment with.

It would have been easier to make it out of aluminum plate.:smash:

 

[Twin_Turbo]

I used a laser pointer for belt alignment too, however it was just my measuring tape w/ pointer and I held it so the laser line was straight with the ribs and eyeballed it

Those look like F body brackets where are they from? It looks like there's an adapter plate with standoffs on the dr. side head for the alternator mount. Obviously there's a spacer behind the crank pulley too.

 

[mrvette]

I have a 18" steel rule, carpenters' tool, that I use for pulley alignment...

:hunter:

 

[BBShark]

I used a laser pointer for belt alignment too, however it was just my measuring tape w/ pointer and I held it so the laser line was straight with the ribs and eyeballed it

Those look like F body brackets where are they from? It looks like there's an adapter plate with standoffs on the dr. side head for the alternator mount. Obviously there's a spacer behind the crank pulley too.

The brackets are off a 93 Tahoe. The water pump pulley pretty much dictates where all the accessories go. Your right, there is a spacer on the crank pulley and adapter plates on the front of the heads with studs pointing out to hang the brackets on the SBC mounting holes.

 

[pmazza]

That is a very nice setup. I had the March alt/PS with remote reservoir for awhile and it fit very well since it was designed with the short pump and Corvette in mind.

When I moved the alt to the passenger head I used Jones Racing stuff and it is really nice. They don't have ready made kits, but you can pretty much come up with any type of configuration you want if you modify some things. Their crankshaft drive hub lets you place the belts where you want them.

http://www.jonesracingproducts.com/





Phil

 

[mrvette]

Which is something I can't understand about GM, seems to me that IF any accessory drive will fit a vette, it will fit ANY thing in the lineup, belts close to the block accessories up higher and snugged in, it works from a diesel locomotive to a vette, leave it the hell alone already.....

now on a BB, since they not IN a vette for decades now....I can see it as a issue to not bother, but still......:bonkers: seems that ONE set of accessory drives should fit ALL....

 

[Jughead]

I admit I haven't been on this forum a lot but when did you wise up and switch to a BB?

 

[yellow fever]

I stuck with V-belts on my 74 BB but my solution to drive the A/C and clear the frame cross member without having to cut it was a March 3-groove 5 1/2" diameter underdrive crank pulley. The spacing lined up perfectly with the special BB Corvette-only 3-groove water pump pulley and you get a slight horsepower boost as well.