air pump eliminator, build one yourself, (BELT ROUTING)

[grumpyvette]

put in a pulley that replaces the air pump. less drag against the engines output,gain a few usable hp

http://www.zip-corvette.com/Zip/dept.asp?dept_id=526

http://www.tpis.com/index.php?module=2_23_08

looks like this:

They're $150

http://www.mamotorworks.com/corvette?frame=3.842

you can buy one and thats a valid option,
but you can purchase the idler pulley that's used to replace the air pump in the belt routing for about $20,
or get one from a salvage yard for UNDER $10 , take a few careful measurements and use the WELDER YOU SHOULD HAVE IN YOUR SHOP to fabricate a very effective clone for well under $30
I MEAN ,COME ON GUYS!!! LOW TECH! easy project you can build with a welder and hand tools in under a couple hours , the secret to fabricating one is mocking up the, measurements , belt tension and belt alignment BEFORE you start welding, USE THE STANDARD BELT WHILE MOCKING IT UP TO INSURE YOU'LL HAVE ZERO PROBLEMS FINDING THE CORRECT LENGTH BELT, I used several different components, in building several of these over the years, the only tools you really need are a drill press,and a decent welder and a pipe cutter while not mandatory is handy , some careful planing and measuring helps and yes it helps to have an adjustable length brace to the alternator, to vary the belt tension as a secondary tension device

WELDERS AND THINKING things thru carefully ARE ALMOST MANDATORY in a shop
it does not take long for a DECENT welder too MORE than recover its up front costs in savings in a shop!
you'll save $100 plus on this one project, I can,t tell you how handy a decent welder in the shop is! :mrgreen:

GOOD for most jobs in the shop

http://www.welders-direct.com/merchant2 ... ode=907312

SLIGHTLY BETTER

http://www.welders-direct.com/merchant2 ... ode=907324

PROBABLY OVERKILL, BUT I LOVE MINE
http://www.welders-direct.com/merchant2 ... ode=907321

just as a point of interest, its not all that difficult to fabricate an adjustable belt tension arm on the air pump eliminator and a coaster wheel bracket for serpentine belt drives, or to get one from a salvage yard

that can be modified to fit and work correctly, keep in mind you can work in steel cheaper and easier than aluminum, but either will work and once its built and tested you can powder coat the brackets to give that custom look

BTW obviously having a lathe and milling machine would make this a total no brainer but I built several with only a drill press and oxy-acetolene torch, and a hack saw, and a belt sander so its not a high tech deal...............don,t forget powder coating it does give it that custom look, if the brackets all match the car colors

viewtopic.php?f=62&t=1519&p=3482&hilit=+powder#p3482

these can come in handy at times
http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/HR/Kit214

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p...VnLjACh0SZwr3EAQYAiABEgLuaPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...MI2NXypK-54gIVGrjACh3BUAwiEAYYAyABEgI3gvD_BwE

 

[grumpyvette]

Re: air pump eliminator, build one yourself

or with a longer belt you can just remove the whole assembly

Part Number: GTR-4060550
Belt Style: Serpentine
Number of Belt Ribs: 6
Belt Length (in): 55.00 in.

http://vintageair.com/DownloadsSection/ ... net%29.pdf

When I measured for the belt it looked like a 53" to 56" would fit and Summit had the 55" for $15. I used the A/C compressor brace for the top alt brace and got BUT, depending on how you route the belt thru the pulleys , and what accessory's are on the belt,you may need a standard rotation, or reverse rotation water pump for this, if you fail to install the correct pump with the correct direction of rotation for the application youll over heat, because it won,t pump coolant well spinning in reverse be aware that chevy makes water pumps designed for rotation in either direction but not both, directions interchangeably .

HERES THE STANDARD ROUTE, notice the difference

HERES SOME USEFUL INFO

http://www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=1026

these guys sell cog belt drives
http://www.millerspeed.com/

http://www.fidnet.com/~harleyms/serpentine%20page.htm

 

[vetteoz]

Re: air pump eliminator, build one yourself

This arrangement is for deleting the A/c compressor as well as the air pump
without using an idler pulley like the one avaliable from TPiS .
Requires a std rotation SBC water pump to suit 71-82 vette (Edelbrock #8812 ,NAPA# 58-139 or similar ), and shorter than stock belt (NAPA 56 7/8" pn# 25-060563)
Belt length may vary dependent apon how much adjustment you have on the alternator.
Belt tension is adjusted by the brace on the alternator.
The brace shown in pic is off a '88+ A/c compressor but anything could be custom made to suit.March and others make heim jointed adjustable ones.

http://www.corvettemagazine.com/2001/ap ... entpg1.asp

 

[jimson]

What did you do for the pulley on the water pump?

 

[grumpyvette]

What did you do for the pulley on the water pump?

could you be a bit more specific on what your looking to find out with that question?
the stock pulley works regardless of the direction it rotates and MOST aftermarket pumps are drilled for both water pump pulley bolt patterns, and if you buy the correct rotation for the application in most cases its a functional set-up
now obviously youll require a different length serpentine belt in some configurations but theres a wide selection, and if you carefully measure the length most auto parts stores can fine something that will work if you have a couple inches of adjustability

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...n-t-understand-the-attitude.13134/#post-68514

 

[jimson]

I should have asked if you reused the original water pump pulley. I’m doing the same conversion you outline- remove air pump and AC compressor on 1987 C4. My concern is that the pulley has no grooves since it was intended to drive off the back side of the belt. This conversion will drive the water pump off the grooved side of the belt. I couldn’t quite tell from the picture if you used a different pulley. Apparently you didn’t change pulleys, must work ok?

 

[grumpyvette]

yes, the water pump drive pulley works fine on either side of the belt but if you run the grooves on the belt on a smooth pulley its got a bit less traction, and if you run a grooved pulley on the back or smooth side of the belt it tends to wear significantly faster, so you try to always run the non-grooved pulley designs in most cases, on non-driven locations and use the grooved side of the belt on groove pulleys that drive accessories only, if you can
keep in mind its not hard to design and build that idler pulley that replaces the air pump
careful measurements, a drill press and vise and a pipe cutter and a welder, and common hand tools, are the only tools required to build a functional idler pulley bracket

If you want to fabricate an air pump eliminator kit on a c4 corvette...
related threads / links
fabricating a custom air pump elimination kit is rather easily done,

https://www.chevydiy.com/comparing-cylinder-heads-and-fasteners-for-chevy-small-block-engines/

and certainly a drill press and a decent welder would be helpful

http://www.grizzly.com/products/5-Speed ... ress/G7946

Belt Tensioner Pulley Dayco 89003
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Belt-Tensioner-Pulley-Dayco-89003/333528715536?epid=76179713&hash=item4da7dc5110:g:G-oAAOSwwjhcps5x&fits=Year:1985|Model:Corvette|Make:Chevrolet
http://mercuryspinning.blogspot.com/2015/09/c4-l98-engine-corvette-air-pump-delete.html

https://www.ebay.com/i/183507926663...MI-vOtzN3A6gIViYbACh0iWAKBEAQYASABEgLr0fD_BwE


http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...g-serpentine-hoses-and-belts.3060/#post-25111

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...uild-one-yourself-belt-routing.258/#post-7066