Magnum serpentine setup on LA engine?

Has anyone used a serpentine setup from a magnum on a LA engine. I know March sells them, but I was wondering if anyone has used the pulleys from a donor car/truck.

You could do it but you would have to remove the mechanical fuel pump and cam ecentric. You would need the magnum AC compressor if you wanted air, you would have to use the magnum PS pump if you wanted PS, you will need the magnum altenator, you will need the bracket, water pump, and timing cover from the magnum motor. You may need shims between the brackets and the heads because the magnum head is a hair longer and the big bracket is not flexible enough to take any slack up for you. Obviously the bolts are all different but it could all be done.

Can it be done? Yes.

Should it be done? Maybe, maybe not.

I did it, and it was a lot more work than I anticipated. The LA block does not have the bosses on the front that the Magnum block has, so the power steering pump bracket and the belt tensioner bracket don't have a place to mount. You'll have to fabricate those two items to make the whole package work. Even if you're planning on working around the PS, I don't think that was an option for any OEM Magnum vehicles, so you're on your own for finding a belt that will fit. No matter what you do, you'll have to sort out the tensioner.

After sorting out the PS/Tensioner issue, finding a belt for my resulting system became an issue. The 7-rib belt that Mopar uses is much less common than the 6-rib belts used by GM - and apparently lots of other folks. You COULD use a 6-rib belt and just leave one rib open, but I was stubborn and figured Mopar had some good reason for using the extra rib.

There's also an issue with the upper radiator hose and T-stat location from LA to Magnum. The Magnum AC bracket covers part of the LA t-stat housing, so you'll get interference between the AC compresor and the hose. I ended up hacking off a corner of the bracket AND a part of the compressor to make it fit. I'll end up tweaking that aspect some time, but it's not a clean setup. A 79-up style intake MIGHT move the t-stat housing in the right direction, but I haven't tested that.

I made it work, but I don't know if I'd use an LA block if I had to do it all over again.

Clair

Quote:

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Can it be done? Yes.

Should it be done? Maybe, maybe not.

I did it, and it was a lot more work than I anticipated. The LA block does not have the bosses on the front that the Magnum block has, so the power steering pump bracket and the belt tensioner bracket don't have a place to mount. You'll have to fabricate those two items to make the whole package work. Even if you're planning on working around the PS, I don't think that was an option for any OEM Magnum vehicles, so you're on your own for finding a belt that will fit. No matter what you do, you'll have to sort out the tensioner.

After sorting out the PS/Tensioner issue, finding a belt for my resulting system became an issue. The 7-rib belt that Mopar uses is much less common than the 6-rib belts used by GM - and apparently lots of other folks. You COULD use a 6-rib belt and just leave one rib open, but I was stubborn and figured Mopar had some good reason for using the extra rib.

There's also an issue with the upper radiator hose and T-stat location from LA to Magnum. The Magnum AC bracket covers part of the LA t-stat housing, so you'll get interference between the AC compresor and the hose. I ended up hacking off a corner of the bracket AND a part of the compressor to make it fit. I'll end up tweaking that aspect some time, but it's not a clean setup. A 79-up style intake MIGHT move the t-stat housing in the right direction, but I haven't tested that.

I made it work, but I don't know if I'd use an LA block if I had to do it all over again.

Clair

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Clair- 79-up tstat housing is actually going in the wrong direction, it'll move it towards the drivers side, further under the a/c compressor.