69 RQA / converting to serpentine belts

[drat]

I've read the other posts about converting to the GM serpentine on RQB cars. Is it the same kit?

I'd love to lose the ancient power steering pump with crazy brackets and all the rest.

It's the original sbc corvette 350 , The AC is on the passenger. I'm not sure if the block has all the necessary accessory holes in the front.

So kit? 0r make pulleys work with the original power steering and AC? And if kit which is my best bet?

[Gunslinger]

The GM Performance Serpentine kit will work. It comes with an alternator, a/c compressor, p/s pump, reverse flow water pump, pulleys and belt.

You do have to make some modifications...the fan shroud will need to be shaved in a few places for clearance and some metal needs to be ground off the top of the belt tensioner housing for hood clearance. The supplied alternator has a built in voltage regulator so you can remove the original separate regulator which requires some wiring changes.

You'll also need a reverse bladed fan since the water pump is reverse flow. The issue here is the serpentine kit puts the fan too far into the fan shroud to be most effective at cooling. For best efficiency a fan should go no more than about a quarter way into the fan shroud. With the long water pump nose it's completely in the fan shroud. With my car I eventually eliminated the fan and shroud by going with an electric fan.

There are other serpentine kits to use...March, Billet Specialties and others. They offer more bling and may be more compact but cost at least twice as much.

[drat]

I think the electric fan makes more sense regardless of switching pulleys. I have already converted to a modern single wire alt.

What fan set up did you do? Would you do the same one if you had it all over to do?

[Gunslinger]

I used a Flex-a-Lite 180 Black Magic Xtreme electric fan. It works great. There was some concern about clearance with the crank pulley but there is sufficient clearance. It definitely works better than the fan and shroud arrangement.

Here's the installation...

[Avanti83]

Bruce covered it very well. Here's my writeup on the install in my 74. http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?73694-Avanti-Aluminum-Radiator-W-elec-Fan-and-Shroud

Bob

[drat]

Nice. I think I read that. I've read so much over the last couple days. I have been laid up with a broken hand so I just been making a list of things I want to do ASAP to make my avanti better and more efficient as it's gonna be my daily since I can't ride my motocycle.

I am trying to find a March pulley set now that will be like the gm kit but a little lighter with billet pulleys, as they seem to be pretty reasonable and not that much more.

[drat]

So will I have to fabricate much to mount the flex a lite? From the pics it doesn't look like I'd have to.

[Gunslinger]

A speed shop did the install for me as they were doing some other modifications at the time. There wasn't too much they had to do...mostly with some mounting brackets and the wiring.

[Avanti83]

Assuming you will run a shroud, and I certainly would, Bruce's looks like shroud included. Mine had no shroud included and it's deeper than Bruce's so I had to build mine.

Just be sure it covers the radiator core.

[Gunslinger]

The shroud did come with the electric fan...part of the kit.

[drat]

Yeah I'd rather not fab a shroud.