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After reading about all of the successes with the Borgeson PS conversion I opted to buy one for my daughter's 72. I figured it would be easier to do it now before dropping the body back on.
I'm having major issues with pully alignment and I'm using the factory mounting system from Paragon, along with a couple of different balancer pullys. One is #1813 62-80 two groove, the other is #887 62-80 and a #2579 for 75-80 with A/C and or 81-82 all. Also have the 1769 63-74 PS add-on pully but it doesn't fit inside any of the above pullys.
None of those tried will line up with the PS pump pully.
The engine is a balanced 383 built by the local sprint car engine bulder and he uses a harmonic balancer that is 1 3/16" thick, 6 1/2" diameter.
Any wise counsel and advice from those that have won this battle with pully alignment?
I'm in the middle of doing one as well and had a minor alignment issue. I bought the pump and bracket from Borgeson. I have a double groove balancer pulley and keyed/tapered (cone shaped) pump pulley from Ecklers. It's on a ZZ4 motor. I had to shim the pump bracket with a couple of stainless steel washers. There is plently of thread in the block. The stainless washers I used (Lowe's, not HD) are thinner so I could do more fine adjusting. Once I get it finished and I'm satified with the alignment, I'll buy and cut a proper spacer.
Have you had any problems getting the pittman arm on?
If you change the balancer pulley, you're going to have to change your fan pulley and your AC bracket/pulley.
From: Who says "Nothing is impossible" ? I've been doing nothing for years.
Originally Posted by Borgeson
The problem we with pulley alignment boils down to: Is it a "real" corvette motor. Original Corvette SBC/SWP motors ran a pulley offset that differed from every other SBC/SWP. If our P/S bracket & pulley is used on an original motor with all original brackets and pulleys there will be no issues. If the pulley system is just a generic SBC then you will need a different pulley. Hope this helps.
The problem we with pulley alignment boils down to: Is it a "real" corvette motor. Original Corvette SBC/SWP motors ran a pulley offset that differed from every other SBC/SWP.
That's kind of an odd marketing strategy. If I had a "real" corvette motor, why would I be installing a non-OEM power steering unit?
Originally Posted by Borgeson
If our P/S bracket & pulley is used on an original motor with all original brackets and pulleys there will be no issues. If the pulley system is just a generic SBC then you will need a different pulley. Hope this helps.
If I already have bracket and pulley's that are in alignment from an original motor, why would I buy new ones? I think you could make a killing selling brackets/pulleys for generic SBC's since that's where most of these units are probably going.
He's just saying that Corvette stuff is often different. Water pumps are different lengths etc. BUT...regular stuff WILL bolt on....but the original Vette brackets will be off some. Just a matter of figuring out what you're dealing with.
I have about as goofy a deal as you can imagine with a bigblock in a C-2 using .600" raised exhaust ports, C-3 pulleys, aftermarket water pump, an early Camaro style alternator bracket, super tall valve covers and a Nippondenso alternator. I was able to get the proper pulley's from Borgeson just by explaining exactly what I was using. All lined up just fine. Then later I installed a Jesel cam belt drive and had to space the water pump out 1/4" and was able to simply do the same thing with the PS brackets.
Post some pics and maybe we can help narrow it down.
From: Who says "Nothing is impossible" ? I've been doing nothing for years.
Originally Posted by Kevin68
That's kind of an odd marketing strategy. If I had a "real" corvette motor, why would I be installing a non-OEM power steering unit?
If I already have bracket and pulley's that are in alignment from an original motor, why would I buy new ones? I think you could make a killing selling brackets/pulleys for generic SBC's since that's where most of these units are probably going.
The pulley spacing is different on a C3 Corvette small block than any other small block put in any other Chevy car. That is why or should I say the most probable cause of your alignment problem
The pulley spacing is different on a C3 Corvette small block than any other small block put in any other Chevy car. That is why or should I say the most probable cause of your alignment problem
Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. The alignment actually turned out to be easier than I was expecting. I talked to Jeff (with Borgeson) before I bought and he told me I would have to look elsewhere for a pulley setup, so I knew what I what getting into. My point was simply that most (I'm guessing) of these units are not going into original cars, and I think Borgeson could make more money and have less frustrated customers if they had a few other bracket/pulley options.