Curious... When I had my flywheel balanced, they said that they could not balance the clutch also because of the weighs on the Centerforce DF.

 

That's odd. The weights on the clutch are actually loose on the wire and the wire is loose on the fingers, so the centrifugal force of the rotation is going to determine how they move, not the clutch casting itself (I would think).

The Engine Builder doing what he did, balanced the overall casting and from the appearances of it, I doubt that balancing the casting itself, has anything to do, with the action of the centrifugal weights on the clutch.

On researching this, I see, that there used to be a warning not to balance the clutch, but now it's removed. I also see that Centerforce has had balance problems in the past and they rebalanced the assembly, but if you, or your engine builder do it, you have to do it with the weights removed from the center of the clutch.

http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=14743

"You have to remove the weights to balance the clutch. They actually come out pretty easily. There is just a small wire that holds them in place and it can removed easily and reinstalled. I called Centerforce today and confirmed that the clutch should be balanced with the weights removed. With the weights removed my clutch rotates by it self until the heavy part is on the bottom when it was attached to the balance wheel. Centerforce is going to rebalance the pressure plate. Good for them to stand behind their products. My pressure plate is out of warranty. After seeing this thing vibrate while it was just spinning a few hundred RPMs I will never put a pressure plate on again without having it checked for balance. "

"yes, i had a vibration after installing mine, it was just in a range of 1000 rpm then went away. i had it balanced at the machine shop, my machinist said he has seen several centerforce clutches that were out of balance, you would think for what they cost, they would be perfectly balanced. David"

My engine guy, has a pretty solid reputation for many years. The circle track guy knows him, my drag boat bud, who's Dad and him, built world record drag boats knows him well and I'll trust that he knows what he's doing on this. He does back up all his work as well. I've got a one year warranty on everything. He values his reputation.

Thanks for bringing this up, nonetheless. It is a concern and if I have any problems, I'll certainly post it here.

 

I wish I would have known that back when I had it out, I would have pulled the weights and had them balance it. Next time.

 

I didn't know either. It wasn't until you brought it up, that I even knew about that. But if you don't have any vibration in your drivetrain, I wouldn't worry a whole lot about it, until it's time to redo it.

 

Here we go, a Monday night at the Shop and John, again, did a beautiful job on the engine. This is what we call our 'Industrial Look'. Minimal chrome, black and silver paint, with an emphasis on function, versus all the shiny goodies, you can throw on it. Put the belt on it last night. Almost ready to put in. Maybe by the end of the week.




The proud parents of yet another healthy little SBC to roll out of our Shop. I'm on the left, my partner John is on the right.



Finally, a bird's eye view of the various projects. Sassy up front, the '74 short and wide is next (back in the Shop for the fourth time! The engine builders behind us, Juan, Manny and Roberto, really screwed up!) and finally, the latest, a bud's '72 El Camino, that has a pretty healthy little SBC, that's been massaged internally and is a good little runner.

 

Looks good. The stock Firebird crank pulley was too big on mine, that's why I went with the March underdrive pulley kit.

 

Just so I know, what did the Firebird crank pulley interfere with as far as it's size? Diameter? Depth? Also, the March kit, was that all the pulleys or just the crank pulley?

 

So how much have you spent on the setup, just the serpentine setup not counting the e-fan you're going to put on. And are you going to give us a detailed list of parts needed

 

Crank pulley only. It either hit or was very close to the frame/ crossmember, don't remember exactly.

 

Good to know, we'll have to check out the one we have, for that problem as well. Thanks!

 

I sure will. I didn't exactly get a deal on the Serpentine to begin with, because time was limited and the local pull-your-parts had little in the way of cars, that were older than 2000! I'll put together a list and post it as soon as it's installed.

 

that engine looks great.

 

Thanks and I'll pass that along to my Shop Partner, John. I've done it before, but he's the Master, who puts all of this together! He's a laid-back, but frightening combination of OCD and **** Retentive, along with a mix of Mechanical Genius! It's always got to be 'right' or he'll redo it, again and again, scratching his noggin.

I'll put up a pic, of the El Camino motor tomorrow! No rubber lines at all on the engine. They did all the vacuum lines, custom bent, with metal tubing. The vacuum advance on the distributor, brake booster and PCV valve. All done with aluminum tubing. Looks, very, very cool! I haven't seen an engine in a street car, done like this yet.

 

Cool deal, thanks

 

Ok, here's the list, for the overpriced Serp Setup, I got (but I did get the AC compressor as well and it still turns freely!) The alternator was fine, as was the power steering pump, but the water pump, had to be replaced


Initial Purchase $300.00
Water Pump $30.00
AC Delete Pulley $40.00
Smog Delete Pulley $40.00
Three cans paint $30.00
Belt $20.00
Fan (Used Elect) $40.00
Fan Mech. Reverse $40.00
Subtract 1 fan -$40.00

Total $500.00


If you go with the Ebay kit, with just the pulleys and the castings, you're looking at this, but you'd have to get an alternator, water pump and power steering pump to go along with this.

Initial Purchase $180.00
Water Pump $30.00
AC Delete Pulley $40.00
Smog Delete Pulley $40.00
Three cans paint $30.00
Belt $20.00
Fan (Used Elect) $40.00
Fan Mech. Reverse $40.00
Subtract 1 fan chce -$40.00
Total $380.00

Add the alternator, water pump and power steering and you're probably, right back at $500. Unless you go the junkyard route. We found nothing wrong with the alternator that came with the Caprice, but John did disassemble it, clean it, lube it and put it back together, so your experience may vary.

Tonight, we'll find out, if the Caprice Crank Pulley is a match for what came off the Corvette and we'll eyeball, whether it's going to fit, per MIKE80's input. More info later and thanks all, for following. We're supposed to pick up the engine hoist tonight, so we can get the engine in.

 

not bad, saves you about $200 off a brand new kit from GM

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevrolet-Performance-12497697-Serpentine-Accessory-Drive-System-without-A-C-/400674321767?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5d4a0cf567&vxp=mtr

 

True, but there's a trade-off, all that stuff is brand new. We had to clean all our stuff up and it's used. But, on the other hand, got an AC compressor out of it. I think I can bring the price down, to where it might even be cheaper, as I buddied up with the junkyard owners of a non-chain pull-your-part.

I'll have to admit, there might be $200 of 'sweat equity' in mine, versus the already, cleaned up, nice shiny stuff from GM. A lot of cleaning up, scrubbing decades of grease buildup off of the parts and then prepping them for paint.

I'm kind of stoked that you found that, because it might save some of the 'busier' guys here, who actually have a life (a wife, etc) that valuable family time, versus, us, the Shop Hobo's, wandering around a dirty junkyard after work.

BTW, the Caprice crank pulley, is exactly the same diameter as what came off the Corvette, so I believe we're good. Otherwise, ordering an undersize pulley from those guys, would've slayed any savings I would've had.

 

Here's how I went about doing mine. I found this '89 Firebird set for $100 on Ebay.



Then I replaced the following;

waterpump with a Victor Jr reverse flow http://www.summitracing.com/parts/EDL-8881

AC compressor for a '87 vette http://www.ecklerscorvette.com/corve...1985-1987.html

March underdrive pulley kit (waterpump, alt., & crank) http://www.summitracing.com/parts/mc...model/firebird

I converted to R143a and had a bad compressor which needed to be replaced anyway. The alternator went after a couple months, so I had to replace it. I'm still using the power steering pump. I have newer heads, World Products, so had the bolt holes for the brackets. I left the smog location empty and used a shorter belt.

 

You did better than I did, by just a little bit! The March kit, brought it up to $274, versus $300, but it just goes to show, that a little searching, a couple of mods and some wrenching, will get you a Serpentine Belt system on your C3, with all the attendant advantages! Good one!

BTW, we could've left the smog empty, but my partner, didn't like the 'blank' space and he felt it looked better with the pulley there, than not. Tonight, get the clutch and flywheel on and put the engine in. Thanks for your input on this, as we can cover all the different versions (Firebird/Camaro, Caprice and Jegs) in one thread.

 

Since ours are practically the same, I figured I'd post it up to show some other options. I may throw the delete smog pulley in one of these days.