Water pumps
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 439
Likes: 0
From: Mukilteo Washington
Water pumps
I would like to do some thing different on the pulleys for my 383 I'm building, I’m already going to install a aluminum radiator with duel fans so I don’t have to worry about the fan and shroud, I would need a pulley set up for the crank, water pump, alternator and power steering (I don’t have air), I've looked at March and Zoops web site and liked some of there polished aluminum stuff, I really don’t like the look of the long alternator adjustment arm so I’d like some aluminum brackets as well, for my 77 with a 5.8" long water pump I could only find aluminum replacements pulleys. I would like to keep this below $400.00 so serpentine is out, I plan on changing the alt with a 120 amp and go with a aluminum pump. March has some nice things for long and short water pumps so can I go this route?
I’ve read that a long pump will interfere with the power steering pulley and cross member, I have about .200" clearance in this area now and a shorter belt would help, I don’t think I can go with a short pump, the pump that’s on the car rest against the timing chain cover, I wonder if the pump on the car now is a short pump because the bets are slightly cocked forward to the other pulleys and a shorter pump will not fit over the timing chain cover, does a short pump fit our car? Any suggestions? Thanks.
I’ve read that a long pump will interfere with the power steering pulley and cross member, I have about .200" clearance in this area now and a shorter belt would help, I don’t think I can go with a short pump, the pump that’s on the car rest against the timing chain cover, I wonder if the pump on the car now is a short pump because the bets are slightly cocked forward to the other pulleys and a shorter pump will not fit over the timing chain cover, does a short pump fit our car? Any suggestions? Thanks.
Race Director
Joined: Nov 1999
Posts: 10,643
Likes: 8
From: Foxfield CO 1970 Convertible
I don't think you want to go with a long water pump. Corvette kept the short water pumps but used a larger ¾-inch pilot shaft (standard is 5/8 inch), which is the diameter of the small snout that locates the water-pump pulley.
You can up your alternator output by getting an alternator rebuilt kit - $39 or so and save a few bucks.
http://chevyhiperformance.com/techarticles/49718/
You can up your alternator output by getting an alternator rebuilt kit - $39 or so and save a few bucks.
http://chevyhiperformance.com/techarticles/49718/
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,167
Likes: 2
From: Ft.Worth Texas
Well, I just looked at my stock '78 and it has a short WP. So short the back of it appears to be against the timing cover. I just bought a gm crate motor and it came with a long wp.. I think it is 1 1/4 inch longer but it is hard to measure exactly right now...will check later. Looks like I may need to use the short one for the PS to clear the crossmember...looks real close. There are 3 pulleys on crank. The one on front is smaller and serves the ps pump. There are 2 belt pulley on wp for ac alt and wp.
I'll let ya know of any problems when I do the swap next week.
I'll let ya know of any problems when I do the swap next week.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 439
Likes: 0
From: Mukilteo Washington
Originally Posted by David Ey
Well, I just looked at my stock '78 and it has a short WP. So short the back of it appears to be against the timing cover. I just bought a gm crate motor and it came with a long wp.. I think it is 1 1/4 inch longer but it is hard to measure exactly right now...will check later. Looks like I may need to use the short one for the PS to clear the crossmember...looks real close. There are 3 pulleys on crank. The one on front is smaller and serves the ps pump. There are 2 belt pulley on wp for ac alt and wp.
I'll let ya know of any problems when I do the swap next week.
I'll let ya know of any problems when I do the swap next week.
) and have a stock 5.8" pump with stock pulleys, I can not see why a short pump with matching pulleys and brackets will not work but I don’t want to flush $400-$500 bucks because I missed something.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
