hi,
i have heard that we can convert serpentine belt setup on our cars,is is really all that hard?i mean i have a 86 z28,with the full setup,it doesnt look like it would be hard,just use everything off of it,except i want to keep my alternator,because it is lifetime,and is a 100 amp,can i just simply change the pulleys on that?would i have any problems connecting things with my edelbrock rpm heads,with my a/c?i definaltly want a/c also,thanks alot.
phil

 

this is th results from a search "v-belt to serpentine"

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sea...der=descending

the search button is a woderful thing

 

http://www.sethirdgen.org/serpentine.htm

 

I just did this swap on my car about 2 months ago. Here is everything you will need fro mthe donor car.

Both aluminium accessory brackets
2 metal support bars (for a/c and alternator)
Alternator(at least for core)
A/C compressor
Power steering pump (your old one will work if you can manage to swap them, its a pita)
Air pump
Water pump (at least for core)
Water pump pulley
Crank pulley
Tensioner
All bolts
Wiring connector for alternator (i just cut it off with about 8" of wire on it)

The swap is pretty straight forward, the only modifications needed are lengthening the wires for the A/C compressor and alternator. Also, V-belt alternators have a 2-wire plug that is different from serpentine 3-wire plugs. Re-wiring it is not too hard, red goes to red, black to black, but the tan wire goes to a tan wire v-belt cars have which is close to the alternator and attaches to the + battery cable. Also, invest a couple bucks for some convoluted tubing. It looks a hell of a lot nicer than wires running everywhere, it actually looks stock.

This may be because i have sbc 400 heads made in 1980, but my passenger side head did not have one of the accessory bolt holes. It doesnt seem to cause any problems, though, there are still plenty of bolts that hold everything to the engine.

I would pull the water pump and alternator and use them for cores. I actually used the junkyard alternator when I swapped and it died a week later. Even if the water pump is in good condition, Autozone sells a reman one for $15.49 after core. Definitely get the WP pulley, though, because the pump from autozone does not come with one.

I would also recommend changing to aluminium radiator and electric fan, becuase its more efficient than the old copper-brass radiator system. But if you want to keep your belt driven fan it will also boly back up with no problem.

Even though the smog pumps may look the same, they actually are different. V-belt ones are about 2" longer than serpentine ones. V6 smog pumps will work, but you must drill the threads out of one of the mounting holes for the long V8 bolt to go through. but you need to use the V8 pulley, because the v6 one is bigger. I am using a v6 smog pump with no problems, its actually even the same PN listed on the back. I didnt take the V8 pump because it was making a funny noise thwn I spun the pulley.

My stock metal fuel line that goes from the fuel pump to the carb would not fit because the psgr side sccessory bracket was in the way. I tried to bend it to go around the bracket using pliers, and I accidentally tore a hole in it. So I cut the metal line about 1.5" after the fitting to the pump and used a rubebr hose all the way up to the carb.

These are the little things which make converting to serpentine a little trickier than it seems. Its not really that hard, but it took me about 3 days to have it all done, because I had to make 2 trips to the junk yard, and a few to autozone. I really need to write a tech article on this.