RevNL

Has anyone ever swapped a V8 and saved the air conditioning?

The Chevy V8 is sitting on the mounts and is stuffed as far back as it will fit. The engine has a long pump and serpentine belt accessories, which I'd also like to keep. There's enough room for a radiator but an electric fan will have to sit behind the grill in place of the AC condenser.

I really want to keep the air conditioning.

If I reform the firewall around the distributor enough that the cylinder heads become the limiting factor (or go with an LT1), it still doesn't look like it will buy enough space to put the fan behind the radiator or fit a belt fan.

Has anyone successfully done this before?

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1993 Toyota Xtra-Cab - Mods In Process: 5.7L TPI V8, 4L60, NP208, Dana 44 F, Ford 9" R, Lift

RevNL

I ask some fun questions, don't I...

I will figure this out, and I'll post the outcome with photos when it's done.

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1993 Toyota Xtra-Cab - Mods In Process: 5.7L TPI V8, 4L60, NP208, Dana 44 F, Ford 9" R, Lift

one2high

If you go with the LT1, you can put the fan where it belongs and keep the AC. You need a slim 16" electric fan and I bought the brackets from Street & Performance.

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94 X-cab, SAS, LT1, T350, 205TC, 33" swampers, molded bushwackers
94 Springer Softail, 7 gal stretched tanks, 16" ape hangers, kick/electric start, dakota digital dash

RevNL

Nice. Does it stay cool? Would that have worked with the factory engine brackets?

I formed a pocket into the firewall last night for the distributor so the block now sits as far back as an LT1 would fit. Still has that water pump pulley in the front, though. At the very least, there is now a lot more room to work with than before.

The plan at the moment is to use a Summit aluminum 22"x19" radiator, trim the sheet metal so the AC condensor can move in a little closer to the engine, and then mount a fan or two in front. Need to make sure the grill will still fit.

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1993 Toyota Xtra-Cab - Mods In Process: 5.7L TPI V8, 4L60, NP208, Dana 44 F, Ford 9" R, Lift

one2high

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94 X-cab, SAS, LT1, T350, 205TC, 33" swampers, molded bushwackers
94 Springer Softail, 7 gal stretched tanks, 16" ape hangers, kick/electric start, dakota digital dash

RevNL

The long pump is required for the GM serpentine belt setup. I like the reliability of the stock belt drive, and the more OEM parts the local smog police see under the hood, the less trouble they'll give me.

Wonder if I can use a belt fan? All this work to carve out 3 or 4 inches for a high dollar electric fan. Why wouldn't a low profile belt driven fan fit in the same space? That would solve a lot of problems.

Hmm...

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1993 Toyota Xtra-Cab - Mods In Process: 5.7L TPI V8, 4L60, NP208, Dana 44 F, Ford 9" R, Lift