Upgrade System

For comparision, I run a whole semi, with two AC/Heaters, fridge (80 watts) and recharge a 620 amp/hr battery pack on one 75 amp alternator. 45 amps is enough for any car.

CB89 is wealth of knowledge on this topic. If I recall correctly, his take was that the wide belt lacked flexibility to run long term around small pulleys on modern accessories. But I could be wrong.

I have a BD-240 with small groove pulleys. The later versions of this engine should have these as well as the 264 engines.

Good point about the water pump house interference; that will have to be accounted for. However, the 264's came with power steering, so should be possible. All it takes is money! lol

John

Ahhh,I hadn't considered the lack of flexibility issue in the v belt.Ive been looking around and have found notched v belts Im thinking they may provide a little more flexibility to make its way around the smaller dia. Pulleys.Speedway has a 5/8 pulley for a GM alternator,the guys that will install the a/c have an adjustable pulley for the compressor,we ll mock everything using bracket made of Masonite then have them plasma cut. If we don't get the mileage out of a v belt that's ok ,this truck will probably see a few thousand miles a year.It may become regular maint. Change oil ,lube chassis,check fluids,rotate tires, change v belt. Thanks

Yes the old wide belts were one step away from flat belt systems, they do not have the same Vee angle as modern narrow V belts and while they have more surface area, they were used with less tension on the belt. If you increase the pulley size you can get more power on them. if you increase the belt tension the waterpump bearings will pay the price in short service. Better bet is to move to the smaller V belt used in the 60's, these can go around smaller pulleys delivering more power with less tension.

I just got finished talking to the shop that is going to install my A/C they said that they recently installed a system in a I.H. (not sure what model)and drove the compressor off the water pump pulley,I'm not sure if they added a second pulley or if there was one already there. They say they have sources for this kind of thing or can have something made up. Thanks

IHC used that method on some engine to drive the power steering pump. Unless the orignal belt drive to the waterpump can handle the addional load of the A/C pump, you risk the belt slipping and not turning the waterpump as well as the compressor. In a worse case it will load then slip until the head pressure drops, the load up and slip again. In short order the belt will fail.
Many A/C compressors can pull as much as 5-8 hp, some of the newer pumps are better but it depends on the size and load.
In most cases a dedicated belt is use (sometimes a double belt) for A/C. Tacking on to the one belt that will already be driveing the chargeing system and the waterpump is not a good design for long life.

Much Appreciated! If only My Son would settle for it being 12 volt with tunes, My 68 Gm truck blew Cold air in the Winter and Hot air in the Summer, Never was a problem for me. Thanks