BBC serp conversion kit

[toomany]

For those that have used the sbc conversion kit - What about the small strut rods and brackets on the back side of the comp/alt/ps? Did you fab something or go without?

I went to the local u-pull-it Sunday and found the bare brackets for ~$15. Btw, mine came from a 4.3 - all the 350 stuff I saw had the smog pump style but the 4.3's were w/o like those pictured with the Quikperf kit.

When I pulled my setup off of the motor (a 94 4.3 in an S10 Blazer), there weren't any strut rods supporting the backs of the brackets. I'm fairly possitive I was the first to ever remove them too. It may have something to do with it being a non-AC vehicle though. I went without for a few years on my SBC. Samething with the BBC. Never had an issue with belts comming off or noise.

 

[fmstruck]

I just went without on mine. I never had a problem. I was going to fab something, but everything was real solid, so I didn't feel the need.

 

[76zimmer]

I just ordered the conversion kit from Kwik perf. and got a serp setup coming from Dennis (90K5Blaze). He's got more parts for sale too, check out his for sale thread.

 

[nvrenuf]

[hijack]
Can you weld on the OE serpentine brackets? They look to be cast aluminum so I wasn't sure if that mattered.
[/hijack]

 

[76zimmer]

Aluminum can be welded, but needs to have Alternating Current power to do it. I haven't done it but if you PM Rene, he could school you on it, as well as other welding guru's here.

 

[crawdaddy]

Have you looked into the COG setup that RYOKEN is going to run it looked cool?

 

[76zimmer]

Yes, I have. the run lots of that setup on racecars....really cool schtuff.

 

[tRustyK5]

[hijack]
Can you weld on the OE serpentine brackets? They look to be cast aluminum so I wasn't sure if that mattered.
[/hijack]

You can weld cast aluminum, but it can be a crapshoot as to whether or not you have problems with cracking. Cast aluminum is very rigid, and it takes a lot of heat to weld aluminum due to it's ability to soak and disperse heat. The rapid, high heat causes a lot of thermal expansion...which can be some bad juju for a rigid cast part.

If I were to try it, I would pre-heat the whole part to about 300F, then weld.

I have successfully welded many many cast oil pans in the past, but there were some models that were a lot more prone to cracking than others.

On something as thick as the cast on serp brackets you'll need an industial sized machine...it'll likely take over 250 amps to weld anything to it properly. The good thing with the serp assembly is they're usually not too porous or oil soaked.

Rene

 

[nvrenuf]

Thanks Rene that exactly what I was wondering about. I was thinking about putting a tab just below the alternator to mount a p/s resevoir. I don't know anyone locally that I'd trust to "do it right" so I may try to do something using the lower, long mounting bolt.