SBC Serpentine Accessory Belt Upgrade (Page 6/7)
fieroguru SEP 13, 11:33 PM

quote
Originally posted by V8Steve:
I haven't yet figured out how to cut the relief in the Archie alternator bracket for the tensioner.



Hole saw does the trick. It needs to be about 1/4" larger than the flange on the tensioner body because the tensioner arm has a tab (limits travel) that will need to pass through the opening in the bracket.
Formula350 SEP 21, 12:15 AM

quote
Originally posted by fieroguru:


Hole saw does the trick. It needs to be about 1/4" larger than the flange on the tensioner body because the tensioner arm has a tab (limits travel) that will need to pass through the opening in the bracket.



Will the hole saw trick work on a steel alt bracket? I finally found mine. Want to start mocking this up over the next few weeks. How far up the bracket should the center of the hole be?
fieroguru SEP 21, 08:11 AM

quote
Originally posted by Formula350:
Will the hole saw trick work on a steel alt bracket? I finally found mine. Want to start mocking this up over the next few weeks. How far up the bracket should the center of the hole be?



Yes, I have used a hole saw to cut through 3/8" steel plate before and I have done this modification on a steel alternator bracket before, just make sure you keep the teeth lubricated. I normally use the grey anti-seize compound as a lubricant.

Placement isn't super critical, but you do want to make sure the mounting bolts will clear the head and the body of the tensioner clears the exhaust primary tube. These two pictures should help you get the placement pretty close to where it is needed.



Here is another example, but this one was with the steel bracket.

[This message has been edited by fieroguru (edited 09-21-2016).]

V8Steve SEP 22, 02:35 AM
Guru, these pictures are helpful. I'll have my 355 CI motor back in a few days and will start soon. BTW, it dyno'd on Monday at 400 ft lb @ 3200 RPM and 409 HP at 6200 with strong vacuum at 850 idle.

I noticed what appears to be a notch in the arc shaped slot. Is that to prevent the bracket from rotating?
fieroguru SEP 22, 08:10 AM

quote
Originally posted by V8Steve:
I noticed what appears to be a notch in the arc shaped slot. Is that to prevent the bracket from rotating?



This particular bracket had the adjustment slot misplaced by about 1/8". Not sure if the cause was the bracket, AFR heads, or a combination between the two. Whatever the cause, the serpentine modification locks the alternator into a specific location (no longer need the adjusting slot), so I notched the bracket for proper bolt clearance in the position it was needed.
Formula350 SEP 22, 10:33 AM

quote
Originally posted by fieroguru:


This particular bracket had the adjustment slot misplaced by about 1/8". Not sure if the cause was the bracket, AFR heads, or a combination between the two.



The plate steel alt bracket I have did not line up with the accessory bolt holes in my AFR heads either. I enlarged the pivot hole instead of the slot.

V8Steve OCT 08, 08:05 PM
I'm well on the way to restoring my 1999 V8Archie (88 GT - ZZ4) build and the serpentine is just one small part of this, so I'm planning on a new thread so as to not detract from this one. The original ZZ4 failed prematurely at 22K trouble free miles and the 355 was delivered yesterday after waiting a very long time from a reputable engine builder here in Massachusetts. I am the original builder of this car dating back to 1999 when I first met Archie. I'm also doing a V8Archie 6- speed swap at the same time.

With a 4 BBL the final dyno test was 427 HP at 6K RPM. I expect higher numbers because I have BigStuff3 Pro sequential injection.

Since I'm removing and replacing a lot of '88 vintage parts, this has been a long road and still is............. I'm also selling old ZZ4 heads privately.

The new thread will pick up on another Pennock thread about the Canton Racing remote filter. The photo below shows the Canton setup and now I have to refit the starter.

I plan to stay on this thread because I need a lot of help with the serpentine drive. My alternator and AC compressor are nearly '88 vintage and I need to replace them now.


[This message has been edited by V8Steve (edited 10-08-2016).]

V8Steve JUN 04, 04:55 PM
I'm ready to cut the Archie bracket but I made cardboard model first, just to be safe. Space behind the tensioner is limited because of the Tru-Ram manifolds so I have to mount the tensioner much higher than any I've seen on this thread. It's also moved closer to the firewall and away from the head. Since the alternator is closer to the firewall than the tensioner I don't see any problems that way.

Does anyone see any issue with it being set so high?







V8Steve JUN 05, 07:14 PM
So far so good. I borrowed a 2-3/4" hole saw and positioned the pilot bit one drill diameter from the outside edge. A thick Never Seez lube was used together with the drill press on the lowest speed. This diameter exactly fits the tensioner body. Then I drilled a hole near the raised lug and connected the hole to the main bore with a band saw. I have one of those portable band saws and mounted it on a Swag table. It's a great setup and is helping with the exhaust fabrication.

Here are some pictures of the installed tensioner. There is more work to do with pulley alignment, idler, etc.








------------------
88GT 355 CI Sequential EFI Bigstuff3 , AFR milled 180, Dyno'd at 427 HP
anderson@gdsconsulting.com

V8Steve DEC 04, 12:03 PM
Well, we finally got this car running after countless hours trying to get the (14 year old) BigStuff3 working again. We switched to a Holley multiport ECU with harness and it started right up.

During the last chassis dyno pull the serpentine failed, tensioner failed, belt broke/flew off etc. The car is coming back to me next week and I'll have to trouble shoot the tensioner. Any help on this would be really appreciated!

Dyno test showed 332 Torque and 320 HP