I'm in the process of reassembling the front of my engine. I have a short water pump setup. I'm going to have to purchase some brackets for my vintage air compressor. I've been debating if I want to convert to a long water pump or not. I'm under the impression that there is an advantage to mounting the accessories (alternator, compressor, PSP) since they can set farther forward of the valve covers. What are your opinions. Is it worth it to convert to a long water pump setup instead of buying bracketry for my short pump setup?

I wasn't to big on my original 68 swp setup but after some mods I like it alot. There is a cast aluminum lower bracket that you can still get via GM (see the tech article by Wes Vann for PN's) that mounts the alt to the front of the heads (if you have the accesory holes) instead of using the exhaust header bolts. That was the only real disadvantage I saw with the swp. Aftermarket pulleys and brackets are probably easier to get for the lwp setup though.

Just my opinion.

With the long pump, you can run a shorter alternator belt, and it's less likely to throw a belt.

Short water pump would be correct for a 68. Also, remember if you change from short to long, you will need to change your fan shroud, along with all pulleys and brackets. Probably have to move your A/C from right to left, and your alternator from left to right.

Unreal,

Why do you have to change the fan shroud? Which one do you buy? I ask because I have a '67 that has been converted to a long pump and I'm about to order a shroud. The one that's on there now fits fine it just ragged up.

dnult,

If you move the alt to the passenger side then the you'll have to extend the wires to that side. This looks kinda crapy, at least the way it was done on my '67

there might be a few minor headaches involved with switching to a long water pump- but in my opinion, it is well worth it. as already stated, the belts are shorter- so you are less likely to throw belts. also, everything is packaged in tighter to the engine, which just makes it look cleaner- and also makes the mounting stiffer, which has to help with the belt throwing deal, as well. as for AC lines and what not- just get a set for a 69, and that should be taken care of. alternator wiring can be done pretty clean if you take a little time with it and don't just flop the wires over the front of the engine.
i don't see why a different fan shroud would be an absolute necessity- a long pump is only like an inch longer than a short pump- if that- so the fan only goes forward that much.
if you want to avoid the relocation issues with tha alt and AC pump, why not just go grabe a complete reverse rotation setup off an 88 or newer S-10 with a 4.3, or an 88-93 Caprice with TBI? they are all over the boneyards around here for cheap- hell, i've got 2 complete setups from 4.3 S-10's in my garage, except for the alternators that i got given to me. the alt is up top on the drive's side, and the AC is up top on the pass side. the AIR pump can just be bypassed with a different belt. i think brackets are available to put an aftermarket AC compressor into the bracket where the stock radial AC pump was. and how often do you hear of serpentine belts getting thrown unless the tensioner is toast or something?

Anything can be changed, it's just a matter of whether the advantages outweigh the hassles. If you have to buy a new shroud, and all the other stuff anyway, it's no big deal. If on the other hand you already have all the other stuff, and would now have to replace it with LWP stuff, you are looking at significant costs.

As for why change the shroud?... maybe it's not absolutely necessary. I just believe the General did not make money by spending it on unnecessary changes. If the SWP shroud would have worked just fine on the LWP, I doubt they would have changed it in 69....especially since they knew 69 was going to be a bastard year for lots of parts.

Okay, so you're saying the '69 shroud would be the proper choice from a mechanical point of view. Since I have both I'll look at the differences and decide from there.

Thanks

Hey RoJo,
Please report your findings back to the forum. We could all learn from this.

The alternator brackets that Eric mentions are on my website.

Unreal,

All I could do at this point is take a measurement. The '67 shroud is 1.25 (1 and a 1/4") deeper than the '69 which coincides with some of the above post. I have the engine out of the '67 now so I think I'll wait 'til it's back in to decide on the shroud. It will be a few weeks, I'll post back then.

You can use the same shroud. If your concerned about the fan being inside too far leave the fan spacer out. If you're only moving the alternator it's no big deal but if you have AC and PS, you'll have to plan it out.

best of luck!