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Installing Vintage Air’s Front Runner Drive System On Project Orange Krate’s 416 LS Engine - Functional FormFrom the July, 2011 issue of Camaro Performers By Steven Rupp Photography by The Author
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Here’s the 416 LS3 stroker... Here’s the 416 LS3 stroker destined for project Orange Krate. One of the great things about the engine is that it shares the same mounting bosses with almost every other LS-type engine in GM’s inventory (although there is a separate part number for LS7 applications that employ the factory dry sump system). Vintage Air also offers an optional spacer kit if your engine is equipped with variable valve timing. The saying we often use around the shop is, “It comes out nice, ‘cause we do it twice.” Sometimes that’s because we screw it up the first time, but mostly because it’s often a good idea to take a dry run at putting together a pile of parts. Such was the case with the Vintage Air Front Runner drive system for Project Orange Krate, our ’71 Camaro. Right now the car is in paint jail, but once sprung, it will be stuffed full of LS3 stroker goodness and fitted with a Vintage Air pulley serpentine drive system. But before shipping the engine off to Competition Specialties in Walpole, Massachusetts, we wanted to see how the system fit together outside the car where fenders, radiators, and engine bay clutter makes it hard to see how everything gels. And while the provided instruction sheet is pretty thorough, nothing beats hands-on experience. The two major benefits to the Front Runner system are strength and its compact design. Their truss-type mounting system won’t flex out of shape during “spirited” driving and manages to arrange a water pump, power steering pump, alternator, and A/C compressor into the tightest package possible. This really helps when trying to fit an LS engine into a car it wasn’t designed for. There’s also a third benefit: the system looks killer. The kit is offered in three configurations: power steering with pump, power steering without pump, and non–power steering. They also offer the kit in a bright finish ($2,695) and in black hard coat ($2,595). To see how this stack of parts fits together into a rock solid drive system, we grabbed our Front Runner kit and headed over to JR Competition Engines in Escondido, California, for some quality wrench time. Stuff You Will Need to Get the Job Done: Power Steering Pulley Installation Tool Balancer Installation Tool  While we installed this ATI...  While we installed this ATI Super Damper in the engine build story, it was included with the Vintage Air Front Runner kit.  First up, we installed the...  First up, we installed the six stainless studs (8mm x 1.25 x 130mm) into the six holes as shown. We made sure to dab a little anti-seize onto all of the stainless fasteners. This is especially critical when working with aluminum blocks and heads like our LS3. With the studs in place we could then slide on the included GM water pump gaskets.  Our Front Runner system came...  Our Front Runner system came with a new LS-style water pump with 3/4-inch bearing assembly and pulley flange designed to work with the kit. According to Vintage Air, some newer LS engines require that the lower bolt, or bolts, be shortened to clear the timing cover. We removed the bolts, took some off their tops and reinstalled, torquing them to 11 ft-lbs. The water pump requires a ’97-03 LS1-style thermostat (not included), and the little ear on the housing needs to be ground off. Vintage Air also offers a thermostat housing that can be rotated to accommodate different radiator outlet configurations.  With the shortened bolts back...  With the shortened bolts back in place, we could then slide the Vintage Air high-performance aluminum pump onto the six studs we installed earlier.  We then installed the driver...  We then installed the driver side Front Runner support bracket. It’s important to loosely install the fasteners to allow for some movement until all the brackets are on and adjusted. Again, we made sure to use anti-seize on all the 12-point stainless ARP fasteners supplied in the kit.  Then it was time to slide...  Then it was time to slide on the T-6061 aluminum main support bracket with the appropriate spacers per the instructions from Vintage Air. Again, we only hand-tightened all the various nuts and bolts.  If you already own a GM Type...  If you already own a GM Type II power steering pump (with a shaft OD of .664-inch), then Vintage Air does offer a kit with it deleted (PN 174017, $2,450). We already owned a pump from Detroit Speed Inc., so we just installed the Vintage Air pulley and mounted it using the two supplied 5/16-18 x 2.75-inch stainless bolts. Note: You must use the proper tool to install the power steering pulley as per the instructions. If you attempt to press the pulley on the shaft with a standard hydraulic press, you will ruin both components!  We secured the GM 140-amp...  We secured the GM 140-amp alternator in place using an M8 x 1.25 x 40 mm from the rear and a 3/8-16 x 3.25-inch bolt from the front. Once the alternator was in place, we could go back and torque all the Front Runner fasteners (22 ft-lbs for 5/16 and 8mm bolts/studs and 37 ft-lbs for the 3/8 and M10 bolts).  Next, we installed the Sanden...  Next, we installed the Sanden SD7 compressor using two 5/16-inch bolts and nylocks. We also used two 0.297-inch thick aluminum spacers. The two bolts were then torqued to 25 ft-lbs. Since we’re not hooking up the A/C system yet, we’ll install the A/C fittings supplied by Vintage Air when the engine is installed and we are ready to run the refrigerant lines.  The A/C compressor clutch...  The A/C compressor clutch cover was bolted in place using three allen-head fasteners. On these we used a small dab of blue thread locker. This cover not only looks great, it also keeps dirt and debris out of the clutch assembly.  We secured the crank pulley...  We secured the crank pulley to the ATI damper using three 3/8 x 1.25-inch ARP bolts (with washers) then torqued them to 25 ft-lbs.  The water pump pulley was...  The water pump pulley was secured by four 5/16 x 3/4-inch stainless bolts then torqued to 22 ft-lbs.  We then lined up the spring-loaded...  We then lined up the spring-loaded Dayco OEM tensioner and spacer using the locating dowels, and secured it with a 3/8 x 3.25-inch stainless bolt. Do not use a washer here as it will interfere with the tensioner cover. To install the belt, a 1/2-inch drive ratchet or breaker bar is inserted in the hole and used to rotate the tensioner clockwise until it stops.  Here you can see the Dayco...  Here you can see the Dayco drive belt properly installed and the tensioner cover in place. Besides looking great, the biggest benefit of the Front Runner drive system is how compact it is. It protrudes from the face of the block less than 7 inches and is under 21 inches wide.
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