Can't edit my post to fix the photo links, so a quote will have to do... Thanks for nothing, EV1. It's up and running, so far so good. Hope to get a little road time on it soon.
Clair
Quote:
6 MONTHS LATER... an update.
It's all installed now, just need to sort out final wiring, fix the hose situation, and test run. The run part can't happen until I get the EFI tied down, but I'm at 95% now. Whew... On to the pics...
Here's half of what I was hoping to obtain, more space in front of the engine (the other half was the tiny Mag Van A/C compressor). The Mag serp system is easily an inch shorter than the old LA system. Here's all the new space in front of the water pump. My old LA pump pulley bolts were a fat 1/8" from this same electric fan motor:
Of course having all that space means a bigger fan/radiator combo can fit, and the new Volvo fan is a tad thicker than the old Daytona fan, sooooo... I'm back at about 1/2" clear now. Oh, well... it's all an upgrade, right?
Hose routing is kind of a mess, though. I've got an EFI intake that has the t-stat location the same as the old LA engines, but all my accessories are in the Magnum location. This means the left rear bolt on the A/C compressor is where the t-stat housing wants to be, and you have to do surgery on the accessory bracket AND the A/C compressor to make it fit as-is. I'm going to see how that all works out, and maybe keep my eyes out for another EFI manifold with a relocated t-stat. What a PITA. This MAY not be a problem on late LA manifolds, and is almost definitely not a problem on the Mag manifolds. This is what I get for jacking around with wierd stuff... ANYWAY, the upper hose is a composite of TWO LA/A-body upper hoses, and it's sort of tidy. Just needs a splice in the middle. I'm going to se what a Phord Exploder upper hose looks like, since they're kind of funky.
The lower hose is a stock LA/A-body lower, with a splice to make up some length. Part of this is because I went to a wider radiator. If you get a new lower from the parts store, it probably has enough material prior to trimming to work OK.
So, that's where I'm at now. All in all, I'd say it's a giant PITA to adapt the Mag serpentine system to an LA engine, but it CAN be done. So far, the hardest part has been finding a 7-rib belt that was the right length to work with what I came up with. Next time, I'll start with a belt and work backwards. If you can tolerate a 6-rib belt and an open groove on your accessories, there are LOTS of those out there.
Clair
