Doing an engine swap on my '84 TA. Eliminating smog pump and AC. Instead of going through the trouble of modifying brackets to deal with adding headers and whatever other headaches I may encounter, I think I'm going to get this system, as long as it'll work with my stock alternator and PS pump. Can anyone shed some light on if this will work for me?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/su...make/chevrolet

 

what engine are you installing? There are some things to be aware of. You will need to check water pump rotation, and some PS pumps are metric.

 

Just a regular 350. Regular iron heads. I'm not too worried about the mounts fitting the engine and heads. The water pump on my '84 is V-Belt style, so it should be clockwise (regular flow). This says its regular flow. My major concern is the PS pump. I have no idea if it's a Saginaw, but I was hoping someone else might.

 

The details say it does have a Saginaw pump, and based on the pic it looks like it. Just so you know, this is a serp set up but still functions like a V-belt setup where you have to put tension on the belts by adjusting the alternator and p/s pump. there are two separate belts on that as well. Its not the typical serp belt setup like you would find on the 88-92 vehicles, there is no tensioner.

 

Sorry I meant to say I'm not sure if my car has a Saginaw. I was hoping someone else might know.

I don't mind the V-Belt setup (or that this functions like one), I was just looking to get this because it pulls the mounting setup off of the exhaust manifolds, which I'm replacing with Dyno Don headers. If there's an easier way to retain the setup I have or find another setup that's simple that's just PS pump and alternator, I'm open to that as well. I just want something that eliminates smog pump and AC without being too much of a headache.

 

I am planning to run the factory serp setup with headers, not using the braces. From what i've read the main reason for the brace is the amount of force the A/C compressor puts on the system, delete that and you should be good.

 

I'm considering raiding a boneyard and finding an '88-'92 serp setup. The issue's going to be finding one without the AC and smog pump.

 

I have an 84 and I bought a March serpentine system for it, mine has a saginaw metric pump, I think that is standard.

 

Yup, that uses a "regular flow" pump, because it's NOT "serpentine" (snake-like). It's a traditional system, just with the wide flat ribbed belts instead of the V type.

Yes your car has a Saginaw pump. These all do.

Apart from the ABUSE and INCORRECT APPLICATION of the word "serpentine", that should work fine.

Sorry to hear you're downgrading your car and turning it into a filthy and B.O.-ridden POS like so many others of these have become. Re-consider hacking the AC off your car. If there's ANY ONE FEATURE that divides between "nice" cars and "POS" cars, that would be it; with the possible exception of an unbearably loud exhaust.

Yes I spend a fair amount of time in CT, I know what the weather is like. Leave your AC intact. Fix it if it's broke. It's just not that hard.

 

That seems like a lot of time and money just to avoid coming up with a way to mount your stuff with headers.

On my 85 I grabbed a bracket out of the junk yard and tweaked it a bit to fit from the alternator to the header bolt, and for the power stwering bracket I just used a sleeve and a long bolt. It's really not hard to come up with a solution.

 

First of all, I'm not doing this because it's the easy way out. Second, I resent you referring to my car as a POS. It's quite possible to have a nice car without AC. In fact, some of us prefer to ride down the road with the windows down so we can listen to our engine and admire the work we've done. Why do I want AC when it will NEVER be used? What's the point? So I can get your approval and not have a "POS," as you would call it? I'll roll without AC thank you very much.

 

My dad and I have been looking it over. We're going to fab something up. At the time I was just looking for an opportunity to pretty up the engine compartment along with make life easier, but with some paint and polish I can make the stock stuff look just as good.

Thanks for the opinion, though. I appreciate the fact that some people can give advice without opinionated bashing.

 

i did the serpentine set on my 83 camaro with out a problem and it has headers..(parting out now :/)

only thing i changed the water pump to a newer water pump for a 88 camaro and changed the outlets on the water flow all it really needs..

and yes just tweak the braces..

 

Although this is a serpentene setup on my 88 GTA and not a v-belt configuration, you still run into the exact same problems when you go to headers. You can see that on my GTA, I just used a threaded rod and 3 nuts to secure the bracket. You can do the same thing with the alternator and the power steering brackets if you don't want to fab up something that goes right to the header flange:

 

I have had both setups on my car(just switched from v belts to serpentine). They both have mounts from the brackets to the exhaust bolts. What I did is I had old studs that are used with cars with manifolds to hold the dipstick and other various items. Basically just like Jim's pic. Worked well on both setups.
If you change from v belts to serpentine, you will need a new waterpump (serpentine requires reverse flow) and a new power steering pump(mounts are different, clocked differently) and a new high pressure line.

 

The 88-92 serp setup doesn't use the same style PS pump?

 

Its the same 'style' but not the same pump. Its clocked differently, the bolt holes are different and the return tube is at a different angle.