Hi-Ho Silver

ok. looked thru forum..thinking of GM12497698 system. like the simple
clean look. Not into Bling. will it work on 78 L48. Will ps pump be to low.
can I use sander type ac compressor..Upgrading ac from other reply.
Using stock radiator with shroud. Upgrades so far VBP suspension performance plus,steeriods. pulled motor out to rebuild...looking for mild upgrade's. Thanks for any help.

Mark Riles

It will work on your '78 and fit under your hood. The smog delete pulley as in the kit will not clear your passenger upper A arm bracket so you can either flip it around facing the inside or you can delete it and get a shorter belt. The power steering pump location is fine and will clear everything. The A/C compressor will be an issue. I have seen lined changed to match the newer compressor and upgrade the car's system to match the newer compressor. You will not be able to use the mechanical fan or shroud so plan on an electric fan swap. The kit uses a GM CS 130 alternator. They are fine but tend to overheat if you have a lot of load on the system. The fan qualifies as such so maybe plan on finding a higher power rebuilt CS 130. Only the plug on your harness needs to be changed to accommodate the newer style of alternator. You'll need a long style reverse flow water pump. Your power steering pump will work. Just change the pulley. The lower radiator hose might be an issue but can be solved with a universal flex hose. The problem is the new water pump dumps down in a different place than stock short pumps on Corvettes. Other than that it will all bolt in and fit.

alswagg

As for the fan, if you want to use a mechanical style, just us a reverse rotation fan and clutch. No problems. I have used several of these in our Jeep applications with GM 350 conversions with a serpentine belt. Much more reliable than the electric and cheaper. Al

Mark Riles

The mechanical fan will not work. Not because of the rotation but because the long water pump required with the serpentine setup pushes the fan too far into the opening of the shroud. The Jeep's radiator is vertical and therefor there is more room to play with in the shroud. On the Corvette the radiator is obviously angled which compounds the problem.

alswagg

I don't want to get into a long discussion, but I use the short water pumps, reverse rotation, and mechanical fans. I can probably measure the distance from pump face to fan blade if needed. Al

Mark Riles

With a short pump that is possible. However the serpentine system the OP is using does not have the option of a short water pump? That system must use the long water pump and that one fact puts the fan too far into the shroud to work.

wnmech

Looking at the OP part number for the kit it looks like the cost is around $1500 dollars new. I got my same kit from an 89 camaro small block everything shown in the picture for I think was about $125 dollars. Had the compressor overhauled and alternator overhauled for smnall cash and eliminated the smog pump and pulley bought a new water pump and used a different serpentine belt and cleaned up everything and works and looks like new