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Serpentine Belt System - Vintage Air's Serpentine SystemInstall A Front Runner Engine Drive System From the February, 2009 issue of Custom Classic Trucks By Rich Boyd Photography by Rich Boyd
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When modern engines are transplanted into vintage vehicles, the task often presents difficulties, especially in the cramped engine compartments of pre-WWII Fords and Chevrolets. The most common installation problems often concern the length and height of the engine and transmission at the firewall and the precious little space left between the engine and radiator for pulleys, fans and belts. A combination of belts is needed to operate the water pump, alternator and A/C compressor and turn the cooling fan, which draws air through the radiator. New serpentine belt systems are now found on a number of modern engines. Serpentine belt systems offer several advantages over two-belt systems, but the greatest is space savings in front of the engine. With the obvious advantages of a serpentine system in mind, Vintage Air has designed and produced a compact and attractive aftermarket system for Ford and Chevrolet engines that looks good and performs well. The most important element of the Vintage Air Front Runner System is the CNC-machined aluminum front plate, which is the foundation for mounting all the accessory components found on the front of a modern V-8 engine. All the hardware, including the nuts, bolts, seals and gaskets, is included in the kit. Important assembly tips include using antiseize on all the stainless steel bolts.  The Vintage Air Front Runner...  The Vintage Air Front Runner System comes complete, including gaskets and mounting hardware. Pay close attention to the length of the nine stainless steel bolts used to mount the Stewart water pump.  The cast-aluminum engine cover...  The cast-aluminum engine cover for the Ford 351W must be removed to install the Vintage Air serpentine system, and we'll remove the oil filter as well. But before we remove the harmonic balancer and front cover, the Vintage Air installation instructions require a preliminary measurement.  The Front Runner System is...  The Front Runner System is designed to use the stock harmonic balancer. Even though our Ford 351W engine has a Rattler harmonic balancer, we did as instructed and measured from the front of the engine block to the harmonic balancer's mounting surface. It's critical that this dimension be 4.813 inches (4131/416 inches). If you're using a Ford Motorsports balancer, you may have to purchase a Ford Motorsports balancer spacer kit (199002-HFA) from Vintage Air.  After checking the dimension...  After checking the dimension of the harmonic balancer mounting surface to the front of the engine block, we removed it with the proper tools. Installing or removing the harmonic balancer with a sledgehammer is begging for trouble and will often damage the crankshaft bearings.  As mentioned earlier, it's...  As mentioned earlier, it's necessary to remove the oil pan, water pump and front engine cover. To remove the oil pan you must raise the engine with a hoist. Be sure to first remove the engine-mount bolts. Also, remove the transmission-mount bolts to prevent damage to them when raising the engine. After removing the front engine cover, scrape any remaining gasket material from the engine block. Don't forget to remove the oil filter.  After all the parts are removed,...  After all the parts are removed, the first step to installing the Vintage Air front plate is to install the crankshaft seal (supplied in the kit). Again, it's critical that this round metal and rubber seal be installed properly and that it is not dented or bent when hammered on. Vintage Air instructions advise: "If you don't have a gasket installation tool, take the crankshaft seal and front runner plate to your local automotive parts store to have the seal installed."  Once the crankshaft seal is...  Once the crankshaft seal is properly in place, the front plate can be prepared to be bolted to the front of the engine block.  We completely cleaned the...  We completely cleaned the mating surface on the machined front runner main bracket.  Once we inspected the main...  Once we inspected the main bracket gasket, we applied a bead liquid gasket seal to the gasket's backside. You might notice a bit of extra material near the water passage (on the right). Do not trim this material, as it helps strengthen the gasket.  With the engine still on the...  With the engine still on the hoist, we noticed the round metal cam bolted to the front of the engine. After a preliminary examination of the front main plate, we remembered that the Vintage Air Front Runner System requires an electric fuel pump.  We removed the fuel pump cam...  We removed the fuel pump cam from the front of the Ford engine block. (You will discover that the front main bracket will not clear the fuel pump cam if it's bolted to the engine block.)  Remember to clean off any...  Remember to clean off any old gasket material from the front of the engine block before installing the front main bracket.  Four (51/416x211/42) stainless...  Four (51/416x211/42) stainless steel bolts secure the front main bracket to the engine block. All are located below the water pump mounting area. You may replace the oil pan at this time. Make sure it is properly aligned and install the plastic gasket that fits under the round portion of the front main bracket. We chose to wait until later in order to obtain a new gasket.  The Front Runner System's...  The Front Runner System's water pump is a special item from Stewart Water Pumps. It is mounted with nine stainless steel bolts. Several longer bolts pass through the front main bracket into the engine block.  The Ford 351W's water pump...  The Ford 351W's water pump has a stepped face plate with a stepped water pump pulley to match.  The polished aluminum A/C...  The polished aluminum A/C compressor mounts to the driver's side engine block with two 51/416x411/44-inch stainless steel bolts that pass through triangular wing brackets. We remind you again to use antiseize on the bolt threads to prevent galling-that can lead to the parts seizing together (we speak from experience).  This close-up shot shows the...  This close-up shot shows the A/C compressor in place and its clearance to the engine block and valve cover. A major advantage of this system is the compact nature of the alternator and A/C compressor, which are narrower in width than the valve covers.  One very nice part of the...  One very nice part of the Front Runner System is the A/C hard lines that connect to the A/C compressor. To install these lines, first remove the compressor cover. Be careful to keep the O-rings in place and do not allow (clear) compressor oil to run out of the compressor.  After removing the A/C compressor...  After removing the A/C compressor cover, the A/C hard lines are mounted to the compressor with two Allen-head or socket-head cap bolts.  The lower ends of the hard...  The lower ends of the hard lines are secured with a rectangular bracket that bolts to the front main bracket with a small (flat) Allen-head screw. This is a nicely designed item that will integrate well with any Vintage Air A/C installation.  Before mounting the chrome-plated...  Before mounting the chrome-plated alternator, check to see if there is a threaded nutsert mounted in the Front Runner main bracket. The nutsert is essential to mounting the alternator. Mount the alternator using two stainless steel bolts with AN washers as per the instructions.  The Front Runner instructions...  The Front Runner instructions advise examining the separate belt-tensioner instructions, which show how to prepare the belt-tensioner to mount a polished aluminum front cover. First, you'll need to remove the tensioner roller. Then a tapered block nut must be pressed into the backside of the belt-tensioner before it's mounted to the aluminum main bracket. We tapped the rectangular block nut into place with a hammer. It may be necessary to remove excess metal flashing around the square opening for the tapered block nut to fit properly.  We replaced the belt-tensioner...  We replaced the belt-tensioner roller and secured the unit to the front main bracket with the supplied (31/48x16x211/42) stainless steel bolt and AN washer.  We started to install the...  We started to install the belt-tensioner cover, then decided to wait until the serpentine belt was properly located to avoid possibly damaging the belt-tensioner cover.  Next we prepared the crankshaft...  Next we prepared the crankshaft to mount the crankshaft pulley. Again, the proper tool should be used to mount and position the harmonic balancer, and, if necessary, any spacer necessary to align the crankshaft pulley with the water pump pulley.  Our Rattler harmonic balancer...  Our Rattler harmonic balancer came from Speed-O-Motive with an aluminum spacer mounted in front. We returned it to the front of the harmonic balancer before mounting the crankshaft pulley.  The chrome-plated crankshaft...  The chrome-plated crankshaft pulley is about the same diameter as the harmonic balancer. It mounts with four supplied (31/48x16x111/44) stainless steel 12-point bolts and AN washers.  The chrome-plated water pump...  The chrome-plated water pump pulley mounts to the water pump with four (51/416x24x31/44) stainless steel 12-point bolts with four AN washers.  After the water pump pulley...  After the water pump pulley was secured, we checked the serpentine belt for length. We decided the belt-tensioner had to be rotated so we could install it.  Rotating the belt tensioner...  Rotating the belt tensioner required a separate pair of hands, but the belt slipped into place without any problem. Then we noticed we had removed the A/C hard lines and needed to remount them to the front main bracket. No problem, just a minor setback.  We found it helpful to rotate...  We found it helpful to rotate the crankshaft to remove and reinstall the serpentine belt.  Now we have the A/C hard lines...  Now we have the A/C hard lines back in place and the serpentine belt properly installed. It's apparent that this compact system is well designed, and all the pulleys and accessory hardware fit extremely well.  Now we could install the polished...  Now we could install the polished belt-tensioner cover with one small (flat and flush-fitting) Allen-head screw.  Lastly, we installed the polished...  Lastly, we installed the polished A/C compressor cover with four (flat and flush-fitting) Allen-head screws.  Here's how the completed Vintage...  Here's how the completed Vintage Air Front Runner System looks with the serpentine belt and pulley covers in place. You'll notice this application has a polished aluminum main bracket for an outstanding, show-quality appearance.  This higher shot shows how...  This higher shot shows how compact the Front Runner system is lengthwise-from the front of the engine block to the front of the pulley covers. If this was a running vehicle, you'd have to connect the upper/lower water/radiator and heater hoses and hook up the A/C lines to the vehicle's interior. Lastly, the instructions suggest rechecking all fittings, brackets and belts for tightness, and maintaining the proper level of antifreeze and distilled water in the cooling system to prevent damage and corrosion to the individual heating/cooling system components.
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The Thinker??? - Haul Monitor
Ryan talks about the friendly badgering that goes on around the shop and overcoming obstacles that seemly pop up out of nowhere during a project....
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