The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 6 cyl.pullys

Does anyone know how to put a power steering pump and air compressor and alt. on a 56 Chevy 6 cyl. engine? Thanks

I can help with two out of three. Here is a link... Alan Grove

Adding all three will require that you use a 2 groove harmonic balancer. Some of the early engines had them but they are rare and of course, 50 years old.

On my 235, I bought a modified 250 H/B from Buffalo Enterprises in Washington state....it was pricey, needed to be rebalanced but it gives me the option to run all three. The mounts you can buy from Alan Grove and Old air (as well as others) are set up for stock exhaust manifolds and require some modification if you're running Fentons. I've got some pics in my "Webshots" albums of the install....I run the pass. side alternator belt(1) over the waterpump on the inside groove and the a/c compressor directly off the front groove. My Saginaw p/s pump will run off the front groove of the 2 groove A/C compressor when I get around to adding it. Be advised that you'll be hard pressed to buy all the brackets to bolt on without some fabrication.

Dave

Dave, thanks this helps, but you had to have the new 250 H/B rebalanced? How do you that? I just thought you put it on? Help?I also never thought of running the P/S pump off of the second grove of the compressor! Thanks again

Getting the H/B rebalanced was recommended by Steve (of Buffalo Enterprises) so I took it as a "must". The problem I had in finding a shop that could do the balance, was that the center hole was so close to the average performance shop's arbor diameter, that the centering cones wouldn't chuck up. I finally found an old timer in a little performance shop who turned down a couple cones that would center the balancer on his arbor shaft. He took it as a challenge and was more than fair in pricing his work. The end result was down to 3/10ths of a gram and there was noticeable metal removed. Steve wasn't kidding when he said to rebalance!

As for the pulley arrangement...running a single belt over the early waterpump/adaptor plate combo, gives me less stress on the pump bearings and the proper pump speed. The adaptor plate centers the fan in the radiator and overheating, even with the a/c is no longer, part of the equation.

Dave

Dave, so I just take the new 250 H/balancer to a machine shop and have IT balanced, Right? Thanks

Just to make sure we're on the same page....the 250 balancer from Buffalo is machined to fit the 235 engine and you have to get it rebalanced. He shortens the snout, reduces the diameter of the seal area and provides a felpro "quick sleeve" so you've got a good timing cover seal fit, and cuts in the second 3/8" groove.

You have to scout out a machine shop that can balance it. If you can't get it rebalanced you'll wind up with a $200. paper weight.
I'd get a confirmation from a machine shop that they would be able to balance it before I ordered it from Buffalo.

Dave

I also bought the 2 groove pulley from Buffalo. I'm building a 261 and had it balanced w/ the crank, flywheel, and gear as an assembly. Easy to do (or have done) when the engine hasn't been assembled.

AHH, now I get it. OK , I'll check with my guys first about it.My engine has been rebuilt and I want to use it in this 42 1/2 ton,so I have to find a way. I also tried to find Buffalo on the net and it said the site wasn't ready yet? If I call them do they have a catalog? Thanks again for all the info. Larry

Buffalo (Steve) Enterprises has a web page but the only way you can reach him is by calling him at his shop (360) 652-7684. You will probably get his answering machine....he's (by preference) without computer or cell phone, working his magic on a fairly broad spectrum of specialty parts for Inliners. However, he is great about returning calls.

You might ask him about balancing....he had a local guy who did balancing but metioned he was either dead or out of business. If there was any way of getting it balanced up at his end it would be worth the effort. As BigMacdaddy pointed out, the best way would be with the complete assembly....your local performance shops may run into the same "chucking up" problems I had when just doing the stand-alone balancer.

Dave

i just talked to Steve at buffalo and he was kinda wishy washy about if it was absolutely necessary. he said it could be static balanced without being on the engine and some people don't balance if the engine has been redone. i still don't understand the whole thing. i hoping my mechanic will understand the whole process since my engine has been assembled. i have been waiting for 1 1/2 years to get it back together even mentioning the cost. Ron