gtaguy87

Im looking to supercharge my 87 GTA and i was told i have to change over to a serpentine set up. I was wondering if anyone knows what parts i need and if anyone has any good pictures of what it will look like to give me a better idea on what i have to do. thanks for the help

IROCZZ3

http://sethirdgen.org/serpentine.htm

gtaguy87

thanks alot for the good instructions, I might have a shop do it for me though seems like a lot of work, and i dont want to mess anything up. Thanks for the help though

Ward

iTrader: (1)

I have done this conversion on my 83, and it was definitely worth it. My engine now revs smoother and faster, not to mention the serpentine belt is quieter. I got all the parts for mine from a local junk yard for about $90 total, and most of that price was the alternator and A/C compressor.
Heres what you will need.

Water Pump - I got mine from autozone for $15.49. Don't use your v-belt one, you need a reverse flow pump.

Smog pump and pulley - If you want one, you'll need one from a serpentine car. Your v-belt smog pump won't fit.

Power steering pump pulley - I replaced the whole power steering pump, simply because its a PITA to remove the pulley. Autozone does have a tool you can rent to remove it, however.

Crank Pulley - self explanatory

Water pump pulley - self explanatory

A/C Compressor and lines - it may be possible to simply change the clutch on the compressor, but I just got the whole thing.

Alternator - you cannot just change the pulley on the alternator, you need the serpentine alternator. If you're getting these parts from a junk yard like I did, just use the alternator as a core on a new one. Also, you'll need to cut the alternator wiring connector off the harness, its a different plug than the v-belt alternator.

Tensioner - self explanatory

Aluminum brackets, and 2 steel support rods - I did get the steel rods from the donor car, but I did not install them and I am not having any problems.

All bolts - If you're getting these parts from a junk yard, just getevery bolt you remove. Most junk yards don't even charge for bolts.


You'll need to exend the wires to the A/C compressor, and the alternator since they switch sides. The alternator is wired a little different, and I don't exactly remember which color goes where. Let me know if you're still interested in doing this, and I can go look at my car real quick and see.

If your car is carbureted, you'll need about 2 feet of rubber fuel line to go from the fuel pump to the carb, the steel line wont fit. I tried to bend mine to fit, but i wound up just tearing a hole in it with the vise grips. When you use the rubber line, make sure and route it AWAY from the belt. I routed mine behind the passenger side bracket. If you look, there is a gap between the bracket and the head, which is the perfect size for the fuel line to come up through.

I also got the electric fan and aluminum radiator from the same car, which was a huge improvement alone. I have a standalone fan controller which has a little sensor that pushes into the fins on the radiator and turns the fan on at 160 degrees. You shouldnt have any problem running a belt driven fan with serpentine, as long as you use a spacer. Before I did this I ran a hayden flex fan with a solid spacer (no clutch), and the stock copper/brass radiator. It didnt cool anywhere near as well as it does now.

Also note that my belt is not routed the way it would be stock. I don't like the stock belt routing due to the fact that the belt doesnt grab the power steering pump very much, yet it makes a 180 around the amog pump. I simply reversed this, the belt now makes a 180 around the power steering pump, and barely grabs the smog pump. If you want to do this, you'll need a 98 or 98.5 inch belt, which is a little longer than stock.

Ward

iTrader: (1)

Another

85TPI400

Does anyone know why the 88 belt is routed differently than the 89 & up models?

Ward

iTrader: (1)

I thought they were routed the same from 88-92. This pic illustrates the way the belt is routed stock.

Ward

iTrader: (1)

And this is how I routed mine

87transam5.7tpi

I don't think routing will really matter as long as you aren't spinning something backwards. I'd do like what ward has done because if you have more surface you will have less slippage

Josh

85TPI400

Actually Ward,
This question was more directed to IROCZZ3, in his post above with this link http://sethirdgen.org/serpentine.htm
It shows 88s are were different and also the same way you routed yours!
I wonder if the 89 & up shown in that link was supposed to be an improvement GM came up with?
Tony

IROCZZ3

I'm not exactly sure why they changed belt routings in 89 and later cars, but 87transam5.7tpi mentioned about more belt surface having less slippage. I think the 89-92 routing puts more belt area on the power steering pulley, so maybe you are right that it's an improvement. If you ever do the smog pump bypass, you end up routing the belt like the 88 cars.