From V-Belts to Serpentine: Slithering into a Smoother Scout II Ride -

I wasn’t expecting this, but I am not surprised. We will do two things to get a more modern and serviceable engine.

Replace V-Belts with a Serptine belt kit.
Replace the Radiator and hoses to de-risk engine failure.
- New radiator with different ports. This will allow the re-route of the formed hoses.
- New electric fans to pick up excellent cooling efficiency.
- Delete the fuel pump that is no longer utilized due to my Sniper 2 install.
- Move the alternator to the fuel pump area to get it out of the way of the A/C compressor.

I will be taking pictures of before and after, but since a mechanic is doing the work, I may be missing some process steps.

Updates:

Talk to the guys at State Line Auto. Here is the plan.

Serpentine Kit – Link Here
Side note on how to find engine markings if you have a Chevy Small Block 350 – (Link Here)
New Air Compressor—I was on the fence about this one because we had to change the alternator belt pulley on the one we had, and it was $170 to change it on the one we had or $250 for one ready for the serpentine belt system.
Radiator and Fan—There are many to choose from here. I went with a 14-inch fan-cooled 3-core radiator (Link Here).
All this is to set me up with a more reliable running vehicle.

Update:

I stopped by the shop today to talk to Bruce. He still working away and getting everything lined up on the serpentine kit. Should be another week or so before he’s finished. I asked him to snap some photos as he’s going along so he can share them with me.

Update:

I stopped by to see further progress, and it is looking great! They ended up replacing the water pump neck coming out of the top of the engine, and clocking it to the port on the radiator to give it a better placement. The serpentine belt runs everything (Water Pump, AC Compressor, Alternator), except the power steering pump, which now has its own individual belt. I am unsure why they didn’t grab everything. They are also re-running the transmission lines to get them away from the engine block (for heat purposes). Bruce moved the water tank across the engine bay to give it a nicer look and feel.

Update:

I met the guys today and paid them off. It was a little more than I expected to pay, but they did more than I expected as well. I was estimating $3500-$5000, which did include a new radiator, fans (2), new AC compressor, relocating power steering, removing fan, replacing water pump, new 160 AMP Alternator, and all set up.

The part that set me back, mostly, was the wiring aspects that were in between. Also, the pressure gauge was not working correctly on the fuel, which they said they set at 62 PSI, but the Holley gauge was not reading correctly. I will look into that further once Tony gets it back together, which should be by the end of June.