I apologize if this has been asked a thousand times but will a serpentine belt setup work under a stock hood? See picture of the setup I am looking at.

 

maverickmk
IF I was looking to go serpentine I would look at the Holley Mid-Mount for the SBC (or BBC if that's what you have). You can just buy the main water holding contraption and buy the separate attachments separately (the whole kit is ridiculously/outrageously expensive from Holley)..... I did not even know they made one until I started reading posts about folks using the Holley Mid-Mount for their LS Engines..... and then I found out that holley makes a MId-Mount for SBCs and BBCs.
The Holley Mid-Mount appears to tuck everything nice and tight ....

Go eyeball this thread for the Holley Mid Mount for LS Engines..... the whole thing is quite interesting. https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1608357453

 

Here is the main manifold...... not cheap but you can get the rest of the components separately. It is just so nice and tight:
https://www.holley.com/products/engi...caAhUgEALw_wcB

and here is the whole holley kit..... there is a video withing also. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hly-20-240

 

And it says it's.california emissions legal! So much for the land of the free.
It's a nice system.

 

I switched over to a serpentine belt system many years ago after having too many squeaks coming from the original belts. Back in the 1990's the Holley accessory mount didn't exist yet so I went with a MARCH Performance and used one of their kits that fit my 427 BB just perfectly.

My 1968 C3 was equipped with a BB from the factory and the new March Serpentine Pulley Kit worked very well for my application. The parts I purchased from March were all polished aluminum and the brackets all fit like a glove. The pulleys they use are beautiful as well, the entire system uses very little space UNLESS you have A/C. I don't know how they would deal with A/C but I am sure they have solutions available.

With a Serpentine belt I all need to carry is one belt for a spare. The system is quieter and all the pulleys have nicely machined center caps to add to the overall good looking system. There is lots more room in front of the engine than before. I do use an electric fan mounted to a shroud over the radiator which opens up the space even more.

My only complaint was that on the brackets they used powder coating. It must not have been prepped before because the powder coating came off in sheets from the flat surfaces on the brackets. To make my installation work I was required to switch to a newer style power steering pump and this meant using an external reservoir to have enough of a volume to assist in the cooling. Higher temperatures hurt the seals and components in the power steering system. By using over 32 ounces of extra fluid in the PS system the temperature is lower than normal and this should help my rack and Pinion Steering system last longer.

 

If it is going on a small block, some people use the serpentine setup from a late 80's camaro or firebird. Just an option. Should work depending on year.

 

That is probably the best bargain. However this Holley mid mount is so cool that if was looking for stock pulleys nowadays (they have gotten ridiculously expensive compared to when I had to search and source mine one at a time) I would consider going to that. I think you can buy the main support body from holley and then the remaining parts can get sourced relatively inexpensive....and it's all tucked in so nicely.

 

This is the one I am looking at (w/o accessories): https://www.speedmaster79.com/PCE415...xoCFTkQAvD_BwE

Here it is one with all the accessories: https://www.speedmaster79.com/Chevy-...eservoir-Black

I like the price point on these.

 

Not to be a Debbie downer, but that seems really high in the front.
Have you considered your hood clearance?

 

The SpeedMaster accessory drive is much cheaper but that is probably because of where it was made. SpeedMaster has many things made in China and I would likely assume that this is as well.

The one thing I can point out that can be a real PIA is the SpeedMaster doesn't seem to have any kind of automatic belt tension assembly built into it. This is a little thing to some, but even the serpentine belts will need to be adjusted manually IF you don't have an automatic belt tensioner.

The March system is a good looking system and is competitive price wise. With all the options for small blocks you might get lucky at a junkyard. I would probably use Junk-yard sourced items over new Chinese parts.

 

You didn't read my original post, did you?

 

After looking at the instructions for the Holley setup, I don’t think the BBC setup will work. It pushes everything too far forward and would require crossmember mods. I have been using the March setup for over 10 years.

 

I don’t see a tensioner in that photo

 

I sure did. And I guess, my polite inquiry will give you this response.

That will not fit under a standard hood.

 

The alternator and AC pump are used as the tensioners.

 

Most serpentine setups have a spring tensioner. It will work without it, but will need to be adjusted often.