[Maxum96]

I'm not thinking about adding one to my vehicle, but the setting one up on one of these classic cars.

Can someone possibly add a serpentine crankshaft pulley, a serpentine water pump pulley, and a serpentine alternator pulley onto a 289/302 and use the alternator setup to tighten the belt? Get the pulleys from an 80/90's Mustang. I see the prices for what an aftermarket serpentine system goes for, and it's a lot of cash.

Can it be done in the way I'm thinking of?

Yes it can be done. That's how mine is set up. I used a set of March billet aluminum pulleys ($242 at Summit currently) along with a Summit billet aluminum alternator bracket. Just for the record, I have the under drive crank pulley due to high rpm (7,500) my motor sees occasionally. The standard size pulley comes in March set #1675. I have had zero issues with my set up.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mch-1675

 

[Maxum96]

That's not a serpentine system. That's just a multi-rib, versus a v-belt.

I know it's not a true serpentine setup, but it matches what Lee Fred was asking about.

 

[Maxum96]

I like this look, just have a rookie question. Is that enough wrap on the water pump pulley?

I know it doesn't look like much contact. But that engine turns 7,500 rpm with no belt slip. I do use an under drive crank pulley (smaller diameter) which does slow the water pump down a bit.

 

[Maxum96]

What balancer is that?

Professional Products. I'm not a fan of it, but it's what was on the motor when I bought it.

 

[Maxum96]

Part of the 'big deal' about a serpentine setup is that you get more wrap around the pulleys compared to a normal "v-belt" routing. If you use a multi-rib flat belt with the old routing, you don't gain a thing. In fact, the V-belts 'grab' the pulleys because of the way they bunch up when you bend them sharply, allowing them to hang onto the pulleys better than a serpentine type belt in the same configuration.

I'll disagree with that statement. As you can see from the photo I shared in my first post in this thread, my water pump doesn't have a lot of belt wrap. I spin my motor to 7,500 on occasion. I have absolutely no belt slip. In the old days I sometimes had issues with slipping V belts in performance applications. I seriously doubt if I used a V belt on this motor I wouldn't be be dealing with slippage. As others have pointed out, there is more surface contact area on a 6 rib belt. I believe 6 rib belts might be made of a softer substance than V belts allowing better grip.