My son bought a 91 Z28 with a tpi 305. The motor was partially torn apart when he bought it. It is a project car for us and it will be his first car. The block was in poor condition so we picked up another block out of another Z. We have replace the suspension, steering, repainted the engine compartment among a list of other things. We have most of the motor back together but we are stuck. I'm not new to fixing cars, I'm currently restoring a 77 trans am, but I'm trying to set this up as original minus the air pump.
Couple questions:
I have the bracket that holds the ps pump and alt but I need the bracket for the a/c and air pump. Anyone know where I can get one cheap?

I also need the bolts that hold the brackets to the motor. They are missing. Any body have those?

We can not locate the bolts for the thermostat housing. I thought one of the bolts was a stud and a nut. Is that true and if so can I just use two bolts or must I use one with a stud?

Does anyone have any close up pictures of the front of a 305 tpi so I can use that as a reference. It would make it so much easier to put this back together.

I have read that I can bypass the air pump and not use it which would be nice b/c that is missing as well. Can I just put a bypass pulling in its place, block off the tubes on top of the exhaust manifolds, and call it good?

Thanks in advance. It would have been easier but we started with the motor torn apart and a few pieces missing.

 

Hopefully someone can supply the big front aluminum A/C bracket for you. Don't forget to also get the cross brace that mounts that bracket to the exhaust manifold for stability. Also get the bolts. I know there is at least 1 honkin' large bolt that goes through the bracket and the compressor into the pass side head.

There is also a stud required in the head to help mount the bracket as you can see in the pic:



On your thermostat housing, you do not need a bolt with a stud. Two bolts will work fine.

And as far as your A.I.R. pump goes, you do not need a bypass pulley, you just need to get a special length belt aand re-route it a certain way (search this site and you will find the diagram). And yes, you can just block off the air tubes in the manifold. These old ECM's weren't smart enough to detect malfunction and set codes for the A.I.R. system.

 

The A.I.R. ports are usually tubing thread, not pipe thread, and the proper size bolt fits right in. I use very short thread, like 1/2" and just run them down tight. I have not had any leaks. I do not remember the exact size of the bolt, it was just standard hardware store stuff, not metric as I recall.

You can get complete used serpentine stuff from guys who advertise here. I have looked at Hawk's website before and they sell stuff from parted out cars. I am sure if you contact some of the vendors they will have what you need. If you part out enough wrecked cars, you end up with the bolts and accessories for just one side of the engine hahahha.

Don't discount posting a thread in the Parts Wanted section. I have done it and tend to get results pretty quickly. Somebody on thirdgen.org has those parts in their garage and wants to cash them in. I'd give that a shot.

 

"Don't forget to also get the cross brace that mounts that bracket to the exhaust manifold for stability. Also get the bolts. I know there is at least 1 honkin' large bolt that goes through the bracket and the compressor into the pass side head."

Thank you for the help. Is there a bracket to the exhaust manifold on both the passenger side and driver side bracket?

I'm noticed in your picture where two of the studs go. Any idea where the other ones go or a picture of the motor with the brackets attached?

I'm trying to find someone that has all of the bolts/studs for the brackets. What a pain the a .
I will do the research to figure out how to bypass the air pump. Glad to hear I can do that b/c I don't have one and it will save some cash and some space in the engine compartment.
Thanks again!

 

I really appreciate the help on the port bolts info. Hopefully I can find the right bolts to cap them off.
I will definitely try the parts wanted section. This is my son's first project and he is finding out how much fun it can be.

 

Any pictures of the front of the motor with the brackets on so I can see where the studs go and where the bolts go?

 

I took the pic above so I will remember where the studs go on reassembly. There are 3 total. The one you can easily on the pass side head, another one in the driver's side head (with a nut on it in the pic), and another one down on the block near the timing marks. Everything else that that holds the brackets to the engine are bolts.

And yes, there is also a stabilizing bracket on the driver's side bracket that runs to the foremost exhaust manifold bolt. You can just barely see it if you zoom in behind the PS pump in this pic:

 

Thanks for the pics. It looks like the a/c comp mounts high on the pass side, the tensioner pulley next to that and I assume the air pump mounts to the lower part of the bracket on the pass side? It sounds dumb I know, but the car came in pieces and never owning one of these in the past I'm not sure. I've looked at a few other pics and it looks like the air pump mounted high on the pass side.

Thanks