Fronzizzle

I’ve been searching on this topic for a couple of days now, there is so much information that I think I’ve just confused myself even more…

I’m swapping out my 305 for a 383 with the HSR setup (1985 IROC-Z). I have the old engine out, and I want to make sure to get the right items for the new one. I’m not concerned with cost too much, I don’t mind spending more now to save me trouble later – though I certainly don’t want to waste money on something that isn’t needed.

The water pump off of the 305 appears to be original, or least very old so I plan on swapping that out for a new one. The alternator is okay, but I would like to upgrade to a 150 amp one. The power steering pump is shot (leaks, rusted, pulley has some movement) so I plan on replacing that as well. I’m going to be running electric cooling fans and no A/C. I would also like something that looks good, but probably not chrome.

My questions are:

1) I’ve read a lot about regular rotation water pumps and reverse rotation – I think the reverse rotation is for the serpentine belt setup, right? If I’m not going with that then I just get a regular rotation? I guess the first question is, should I go with the serpentine setup?
2) Long neck water pump is what is on our cars, not short right?
3) I’ve read a lot of posts about underdrive kits, performance pulleys, etc. Just wondering if these are a good idea or not? I think that when getting something like this, the alternator pulley sometimes needs to be changed to make sure the charging stays the same – is that correct?
4) My biggest question is, I’m not sure the best way to get everything I need. I know that there are pulley kits, there are kits that come with pulleys and water pumps and power steering pumps…just not sure if these are a good deal as they seem pretty expensive. However, once you put together everything piece-meal it might be better in the long run.

One of the ones I was looking at is:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MCH-22020/

If I went with this, I’d still have to get a water pump, alternator and power steering pump. I did find another kit that had everything except the alternator (including PS pump and water pump), I think it was a little more than $800.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

JamesC

iTrader: (5)

I purchased a GM kit for my 85.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/afte...rsion-kit.html

Forgot to mention that there's a non-AC version.

JamesC

305sbc

iTrader: (3)

Correct.

For what you are doing it would be much easier to stay with the pulley set up you have from your 1985.

Correct.

Underdrive pulleys do work. You get a small increase in fuel mileage and power.
You can buy just an underdrive crankshaft pulley (smaller than stock), or also get the underdrive water-pump pulley (larger than stock), and the underdrive alternator pulley (larger than stock), OR any combination of the pulleys.

Underdriving the alternator often causes issues with street driving for many people due to a drop in voltage while at an idle. To avoid this you can just use your stock alternator pulley, OR you can use an over-drive alternator pulley (smaller diameter than stock) to keep the charging rate up.


The large sets are mostly for looks and are very expensive.
Best deal is to find the correct pulleys for sale used in the classifieds or ebay.

Personally I wouldn't pay more than $150 for all pulleys, but I don't care about the looks.

Fronzizzle

Okay...thanks for all the great information.

My current plan then is to (1) get a 150 amp alternator, (2) find a PS pump and reservior, (3) get a new water pump and then (4) get a smaller crank pulley, a larger water pump pulley and a smaller alternator pulley.

What about any needed brackets? I assume I can just reuse all my existing ones?

Fronzizzle

I was just looking at Summit's site, looks like I could also get:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-340500/

And then maybe replace the alternator pulley with:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ASP-520004/

I think this would give me all of the brackets and pulleys I need and provide me with the type of appearance I want for around $400. More than the $150, though, but again I think I would have everything.

305sbc

iTrader: (3)

Yes pretty much. Two of the brackets "might" need some slight modification to get fit and adjustment for your new accessories if their size is different than stock, but no big deal.
Keep in mind that you do NOT have serpentine pulleys right now.
What you have now should be a combination of a wide belt and a couple of V-belts if you are all stock.
Wide belt doesn't mean serpentine.

To convert to serpentine would be a much bigger deal, and they use a different configuration for accessories and bracket mounting points.