So....another day of fussin and cussin and filin and fittin and mock up brackets in the trash. The up side is this is a view that no one will see. Managed to get some more wrap on the alternator and water pump pulleys. The downside is I'm probably committed to removing the valve cover or the alternator to make the signal wire connection. Since I've decided to accept that, I can now figger to move the alternator another 1/4-3/8 inch toward the centerline. The idler and tensioner pulleys are not yet resolved except in a very general way. Sunday is the Long Beach Swap Meet where I'll meet the alternator guy to swap out the V Groove pulley for a 7 groove piece. Then I can begin finalizing the design of the brackets.
It’s hard for me to tell from the pic but sometimes it’s possible to unbolt the alternator halves and re clock it so your connection will be in a more accessible location. Maybe the guy changing the pulley can help. And great project and workmanship I’ve been following from the beginning. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
73RR has great solution. I'm trying to do blown 354 with AC so always paying attention to other similar challenges
I can’t really tell from your picture, but you mentioned idler and tensioner. If you are using a spring style tensioner, it MUST be mounted after all the driven accessories. It appears that it is before all the driven accessories. If it’s a solid tensioner, disregard my reply. If it is a spring style, you need to change the plan.
Good input, thank you. I was just thinking about that as I look at that part of the serpentine system.
As always seems to happen. One set of eyes is sharper than many. Actually it is usually the other way around. Either way the more people look at something a "mistake" will eventually found so it can be corrected.
Finally happened! Like jewelry,...but more expensive unless you're talkin about platinum and diamonds. I'll get back to the serpentine system after I recover from the shock, and maybe a few beers,....like tomorrow.
Dunno if you boys are interested but I somehow feel compelled to let you know I'm still kickin. Getting these pulleys lined up has been a bitch. I decided to revisit the inventory of stuff I have. Turns out the alternator and Its' pulley now establish a new plain for the belt. Had to make a 3/8" spacer for the crank pulley and now instead of fussin with more spacers for the Chev rev rotation pulley I'm on the hunt for something that comes closer to the alignment requirements. Looks like a small block Mopar pulley will suit the app. However, the pulley comes with a water pump. It appears to be pressed on the shaft with no obvious way to use a puller. If I have to destroy the water pump to get the pulley I need,....so be it! Note that the SBC water pump pulley (on the right of the top pic) has a step of about 3/8". The Mopar pulley (below) is flat across the face and that diff. is about what's needed to get things aligned.
The holes are not threaded. But that got me to, why not thread them so's I can use a puller. Therefore, the next step is to get a water pump from the wrecking yard and do the pulley extraction. The pic above is a new pump, and I plan to return it. I'll be dipped if I'll pay $45.00 for the whole new assembly just to get a $5.00 pulley.
Thinking out of the box here but could you put it in a freezer than pop it off, guess that's not really thinking out of the box if you consider a freezer a box?
Well, it ended up costing me $13.00 for the $5.00 pulley and application of sever measures to separate it from the pump. The shaft was hard as a diamond so no drilling and heat and puller were unsuccessful. Amazing how much metal you can move with a cut-off wheel.
Looking at your right hand in those pics, you should wear riggers gloves when doing those dangerous jobs LOL
Dunno if I'm overly anal, under confident or just a stubborn SOB. The serpentine belt idea is kicking my butt. Been thru more pulleys and spacers and bracket mockups than I'd like to admit. I thought I was pretty clever letting the crank pulley establish the plane of the belt system, FAIL!!!... could not nest the alternator far enough to the rear. So, the alternator now establishes a new plane for the belt system and I am fussin with alternative pulleys and spacers to get things aligned. Finally resolved a solid and secure alternator mounting. Now to imagineering the tensioning mechanism which has me trying to nail down points in space for the bracket for two pulleys and the adjustment mechanism. I am hoping to silicon braze a boss into the cast iron water cross-over for anchoring the adjuster assembly, (see X) something I've never attempted. I worry about warpage. If any of y'all have any experience re this, I'd appreciate any input.
I think that should work. Careful fitting of the boss and cleanliness of all areas and I can't see it not working. My experience with silicone braze is it can't be clean enough but of course I'm usually dealing with farm equipment.
Brazing USUALLY doesn't use enough heat to cause much warping. Especially with a tightly fitting bung with not much filler needed.
I have jumped from one frustrating project to another. Spent an inordinate amount of time getting all the serpentine pulleys aligned,....almost there but the next order of business is to refine the brackets so's they'll be robust enough to deliver the torque to all the components,....w/o flexing and maybe throwing the single belt. All of this head scratching and prototyping and trashed pieces don't yield much to show. Sooo,....I tried a practice slide show, on the new computer which is also driving me to drink. Well shit! that's not working for me either
Okay Boys,.....progress report,....finally. Got the water crossover bored for the bosses and friend Mike TIG brazed them on the fixture put together to resist warpage, that worked as planned. Finalized the brackets but isn't it amazing how moving one centerline 1/8 of an inch can throw off your whole plan. Discovered that I'm real good at making little pieces outta big pieces. I must have 100 lbs of scrap 3/16 plate The brackets need to be finished but they are functional. Ta Daaa
Mr. Bill, love this thread! Really like seeing you sort out this to be what you want it to be! Great work!
A smallish job I finally got to was to finish the dip-stick detail. Nice there was a threaded boss in the head convenient to the bracket. And now with the "Pulley Project" pretty well resolved, I can pull the mockup heads and flip the engine so's the dip-stick can be calibrated, and then finally bolt the pan on for the last time. Later in the project, after heads and rockers and push rods, I'll need to resolve location of the blower pulley. I'm surprised that no-one pointed out the misalignment, 'tho I purposely posted pics that did not show the flaw. At this point, extending the input shaft seems the best solution given the other features I'd like to include.
Probably just me but I struggle to 'like' the looks of the Eaton.... maybe its the transition to the old 2x4 intake. The rest of the bits and pieces are spot-on as usual. .
And finally got a little more stuff to share with y'all. This allowed me to determine and ID the oil level. This is 5 quarts in the pan and the pickup is well submerged. I'm estimating an oil change will require 6+ quarts considering the engine block and filter. The rocker shafts alone took one squirt-can each to fill. And those heads are a "ball buster"!....especially since setting the first one in place. I had it switched front to back. If there is a 50% chance of getting it right, for me it means a 100% chance of getting it wrong. I figured they weighed 80-90 lbs each,.....until I put one on the scale. Shit!!!! only 55 lbs. Must be an age thing.
Yeah, they are rather svelte compared to the 392 head which is 68 lbs empty. And yes, I am sure that you will dress the Eaton in a tuxedo... .
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