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I would like to change the belts from the multi-belt system to a single serpentine belt system. I think there are a lot of gotchas in this process. I'm trying to figure out what some of those are.
When I look at the kits I see a lot of differences. Some things seem the same throughout.
I know I will need a new alternator. Maybe I can just swap the pulley.
Most kits have a power steering pump pulley. I think I can swap that.
The big questions are the air conditioner and the fan.
The air conditioner has already been changed to R-134A. But I think I will have to change the compressor if I do this conversion. That means drain and recharge. Other option, remove the go with no A/C. Would prefer to keep A/C, but it doesn't really work well right now anyway. But I will have to address than when I work on the interior. I can't say that anything in the HVAC system really work top notch.
As you may be able to see from the picture, the fan doesn't have a round shaft. It has a star type pattern. I've never really seen this before that I have noticed on a car. Maybe I was just never paying attention to the fan shaft at car shows. Not really a top priority to me. Is this common? What is it called? Would I have to change the fan also if I switch?
Do people have pictures of their belt conversions? What kit did you use? How hard was it? Do you HAVE to pull the motor to do it?
This motor is a 383, but it's my understanding that standard SBC kits would all be the same.
How do they do the tensioner? New cars have a spring loaded tensioner, but when I look at some kits I don't see one. Do you just tighten the belts by moving the alternator and roll with it?
Thanks for all the help.
I was at an all GM car show last year and saw a 78 or 79 C3 that had a serp belt set up. He used a complete set up from a 89 firebird and said 88-92 firebird and camaro set ups and some same year truck set ups will work too. I have an 84 C4 and used a dorman 34157 ac delete pully kit to eliminate my ac compressor. It is for the 88-92 f bodies and some same years chevy trucks. About $40 on Amazon.
I chose the Holley for my SBC 400 with A/C, 150amp ALT and PS for my R&P in which I had to make a 90 degree hose connection from Gottashow.com . You have to be careful of what you by or use because of the limited space on a C3. Check all dimensions. I chose the Holley because there no clearance issues. Worth the price with no headaches.
I did this on my 79, and used a setup off of a 92 Camaro. I sourced mine from Ebay - spent less that $150 on the brackets and pulleys. More was spent on the alt, water pump, PS pump, and other additional parts - some of which was required. I didn't track all the costs.
The brackets basically bolted right up. This setup is exactly the same as the GM serp kit you can buy at Jegs or Summit. In the interest of full disclosure, the GM setup does require some adjustments - so expect some modifications to make all the parts come together. I would still do it again - none of these are big problems, just a list of "to-do's" that you may want to be aware of.
Here is a summary of what I dealt with:
•I switched over to the Camaro power steering pump (not required, I just needed a pump anyway and I got one with the correct pulley) - If you do this, take the inlet fitting from your old PS pump and put it on the new one, so your PS hoses still bolt up. Either steering pump will work. The C3 pump from a 79 will bolt into the Camaro bracket. You have to change the pulley. In my case, I found a pump for a Camaro (with the pulley) so I just used that and swapped inlets.
•I had to experiment with water neck and radiator hose combinations to avoid rubbing on the belt. I found one that pointed straight forward from the intake and looked for a suitable hose at a local parts store.
•The lower rad hose is the stock hose, but required trimming and may sit tight against the lower cross member.
•You will have to convert to the later style alternator (CS130 or similar). I used a pre made pigtail from Summit to ease the conversion.
•I used the water pump for a 92 Z28.
•If you have AC, you may need a later pancake compressor; I was not able to convert my stock C3 pancake compressor to a serpentine pulley. Going with a later AC pump may also require an adapter to the older style AC hose block. AC specialists can set you up with an adapter. I called Classic Auto Air and they set me up with a washer/adapter kit that works well. If you don't have AC just run the AC delete pulley.
•The air pump delete pulley is not required, and I didn't use it. If you choose to run it. You may need to clearance the bracket and flip it over. The long straight run between the AC compressor and crank pulley has not given me any problems.
• I also had to reroute the fuel line - if you go with hard lines, will take a little massaging to ensure you don't rub anywhere. I still ran up the front of the block, but you have to work around the brackets so stock line won't work. Not hard, just took a little patience.
•Stock 92 Camaro pulleys all worked and cleared the crossmember - some claim you will need underdrive pulleys. I did not need to go that route.
•Also, if you go the same way I did, and choose not to use the idler pulley below the AC compressor, the belt is not the default stock 92 camaro belt. You will need one that is shorter than stock. My local autozone store let me look at the belts so I picked on that was maybe 4-6 inches inches shorter before I purchased one.
Caskiguy, That system looks really great. Was there enough room to get a spreader bar in there? Looking at where mine sets compared to the pictures is pretty hard to tell.
Cooper9811, That sounds like a great value. Do you have any installed pictures?
Caskiguy, That system looks really great. Was there enough room to get a spreader bar in there? Looking at where mine sets compared to the pictures is pretty hard to tell.
Cooper9811, That sounds like a great value. Do you have any installed pictures?
I had ordered a Speeddirect spreader bar before I installed the Holley serpentine kit and No this one doesn't fit. I may after the radiator and body are installed devise a way to use the bar with a new bracket if possible. But my crossmember is in good shape so I'll see what I come up with if anything. Holley SBC Serpentine Kit
This kit comes without the AC compressor and comes with a pulley to take it's place. I chose this kit because I wanted to run a Sanden compressor and I hoped I could run the one I already had (turned out to be a nope). Kit #19418818 is the same but comes with the pancake style R4 compressor.
After installing this kit, it doesn't seem like there is enough room for a mechanical fan but not sure. I had already converted to dual electric fans so that didn't matter to me.
Several issues came up with the compressor. I wasn't able to convert my existing Sanden compressor to a 6 groove pulley. 6 groove replacement clutch/pulley assemblys are nearly impossible to find, require special tools to swap, and were pricey. It wasn't much more money to just buy a new Sanden 508 compressor so that's what I did. But, Sanden doesn't offer the 508 compressor with a 6 groove pulley. They do offer a 7 groove pulley. I confirmed with Vintage Air that the 7 groove pulley would work for my needs as 6 of the grooves would line up perfectly. Unfortunately, I couldn't clock the compressor to avoid interference. Putting the AC hose ports on top didn't allow enough room between them and the hood to attach hoses. Clocking it 90 degrees toward the valve covers also didn't allow enough room for connections and would also have interfered with removing the valve cover. Clocking 90 degrees toward the fender showed that one of the compressor head bolts interfered with the valve cover. Can't clock it 180 degrees as the compressor oil fill port must be horizontal or above. I came up with a couple of solutions. Vintage Air offers a 508 compressor with 7 groove pulley and rear exit ports. I also found that I could replace the 508's compressor head to get the rear exit ports. The new head and gasket were less than $40 so that's what I did. If I had known ahead of time, I would have just ordered the rear exit compressor to start with. I will have to get new AC hoses made up to connect to the rear exit ports.
I originally wanted to reuse my CS144 alternator but gave up on that as being too much trouble. The kit came with a 105A alternator. The new alternator hot stud was going to interfere with the valve cover. You could clock the back half of the alternator to avoid that interference, but that negates being able to use the rear reinforcement bracket that attaches to an exhaust manifold bolt. I wanted more alternator anyway and picked up a 140A PowerMaster that had the hot stud on the side of the case and gives enough clearance to the valve cover. That alternator puts out over 100A at idle and allowed me to use the rear mounting bracket.
There is an idler pulley on the passenger side that hits the upper A-arm unless you flip it 180 degrees. That works but requires you to grind a little excess material off the end of the bracket to get it to slip into place. Flipping this pulley requires a longer belt. I'm assuming the new compressor and conversion bracket will also change the belt length. I have measured for a new belt but haven't picked up any to test yet.
Hot Rod magazine installed the kit with the AC compressor in an article and they detail some of the same issues I've presented: https://www.hotrod.com/articles/chev...-c3-corvettes/
Note that the part number in their article is different. I couldn't find that part number so I think GM must have changed it along the way.
My original lower radiator hose fit after cutting a couple of inches off the water pump end. I need to source a new upper radiator hose, preferable one that routes behind the alternator as I need the space directly in front of the engine for an air cleaner. From my research on this forum and other places, I need to take a look at an upper hose from an '87 Camaro and a '95 Bronco.
Can't say how I like the system yet as I'm still finishing up the engine/transmission swap but it looks good and everything now fits.
I probably saved some bucks installing this system over the Holley mentioned above but I can already tell the Holley system was very likely to be a lot less trouble.
Hope this helps.
DC
Update: Thought I would update this post with new belt and hose info to help others that find this in the future. My setup ended up requiring a 100-5/8" belt. I used a NAPA belt #25-061000 (Gates #K061000RPM). Perfect fit.
The Camaro upper radiator hose is a no go. It's only 1-1/4" ID and is not long enough to reach the radiator. Other than that it is about the right shape.
The Bronco hose may be my solution but it's not perfect. Because of my Edelbrock XT intake, I have to run a thermostat housing with a neck that points toward the left corner of the car (about 45 degrees from the front of the car). The Bronco hose needs the thermostat housing neck to point toward the fender (90 degrees from the front). The other end will work for anyone who has a straight neck off of the radiator but mine is at about a 45 degree angle back toward the center of the car. The Bronco hose has a 1-3/4" end on the radiator side that will need to be cut off for anyone who has a straight radiator neck. I think if I source a short 45 degree elbow and a short 90 degree elbow with a couple of metal splices, the Bronco hose will work for me. Still looking for better solutions and will update again if I find one.
Last edited by DC3; May 9, 2020 at 09:21 PM.
Reason: Added Belt and Hose Info
I have a system by March Performance and it came as a complete kit. The kit I ordered was for a 427 Big block with Power Steering. The only big change was going to a newer power steering pump with an external reservoir. The March kit was about $1200 when I bought it and it still works to this day.
The quality of their Powder Coating is a Joke as it is still peeling off in sheets which I have never seen before on other powder coated parts. I have brought this to their attention and they did nothing.
The March Performance system does not have a spring tensioner so keeping the belt tight is a "manual" process. Fortunately it is easy and fast to do. The system has been on my C3 Corvette since I bought it. It certainly opens up the engine bay on a 1968 Big block. The original system of belts got difficult as all I could find for my C3 were the wrong width belts. Turns out in the 1960's there were several width belts and the ones used on my 427 are mostly reproduction belts which are not as good as the original manufactured belts.
That Holley system looks awesome but smells of money knowing Holley. I too have a Holley Sniper EFI on my 427, it is an awesome piece of equipment.
I have a system by March Performance and it came as a complete kit. The kit I ordered was for a 427 Big block with Power Steering. The only big change was going to a newer power steering pump with an external reservoir. The March kit was about $1200 when I bought it and it still works to this day.
The quality of their Powder Coating is a Joke as it is still peeling off in sheets which I have never seen before on other powder coated parts. I have brought this to their attention and they did nothing.
The March Performance system does not have a spring tensioner so keeping the belt tight is a "manual" process. Fortunately it is easy and fast to do. The system has been on my C3 Corvette since I bought it. It certainly opens up the engine bay on a 1968 Big block. The original system of belts got difficult as all I could find for my C3 were the wrong width belts. Turns out in the 1960's there were several width belts and the ones used on my 427 are mostly reproduction belts which are not as good as the original manufactured belts.
That Holley system looks awesome but smells of money knowing Holley. I too have a Holley Sniper EFI on my 427, it is an awesome piece of equipment.
My Holley Mid Mount system I bought through Jegs on sale and they now are taking off $100 for purchases over 1200 so it would run 1399. thats 800/1000 cheaper than Vintage Air and the dimensions are within 1/16 to an 1/8" difference, Holley being smaller by the PS unit attached no detached reservoir needed.
Since this is most recent topic about serpentine conversion, hope to get some info. I am new to this forum and recently purchased 1979 corvette for a project.
Need to replace water pump and want to put electric fans as well. Also need to take alternator off to get to steering pump, which might need to be replaced as well.
I wanted to change the whole thing to serpentine system. Found on Facebook person selling everything off 95 Cadillac, he said it bolted on his 1973 SMC.
Wonder if it will fit 79 Corvette and appreciate any input. I anticipate A/C would be pain to get fit and working.
This is Facebook Liting Looks like what I need, alternator is on the right side
Also, would it be beneficial to get electric water pump?
I had to grind a small bit of clearance on the alternator bracket, and I think we made a longer bolt with a piece of all-thread, very minor, if you have even minimal fabrication skills you can do it. It looks similar to the Cadillac, but can't confirm it's the same. If it's super cheap, go for it, and post your findings here for everyone else. I wouldn't bother with electric water pump, I just put on a 1995 truck pump. Stock length belt worked as well.
Serpentine belt conversion kits
