blower bracket recommendations

Raymond_B said:
Excellent info, thanks guys! Jeff, so simply machining in a web would add strength?
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Well, no, you'd want to bolt or weld a web to the bracket - either one will work. Welding saves space and would be slightly more rigid than bolting, but I feel certain great results could be had with fasteners. If it was along one edge of the bracket, it could be twice as thick (projecting both in front and behind).

Definitely don't want to take a 3/4" thick bracket and machine off half of it so there's a web left.
 
I know with a 1/2” thick bracket the accessory belt almost rubs as it passes by so I’m not sure how much you’re going to be able to add in thickness.
 
I'd have to see one installed. It doesn't need to be the full length of the bracket or anything. The bending is likely to take place over a fairly small portion of the bracket since the blower will stiffen the upper section and the mounting points will stiffen the lower.
 
Welding would most likely warp the bracket with the focused heat but adding soke bolt on webbing sounds like a reasonable option.

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Jamie V said:
I know with a 1/2” thick bracket the accessory belt almost rubs as it passes by so I’m not sure how much you’re going to be able to add in thickness.
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You are right. I measured mine and there is about 3/16 of an inch left until it hits accessory belt. However this looks like it would be fixed by just using shorter spacers for the 3 mounting bolts to go through. I'm sure some adjusting would be needed but 3/4" could be made to work I'm sure.. also I thought about having one custom made from steel. I could care less about it being aluminum. The weight of it is negligible really. The ultimate bracket to me in a race application would be thicker, be made much stiffer either by webbing or material change, and a very powerful auto tensioner... I would also send my race pulley to griptec as well to get treated. Whenever I go built motor I will very much be struggling whether to stay turbo or go to a big procharger.

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slow94 said:
You are right. I measured mine and there is about 3/16 of an inch left until it hits accessory belt. However this looks like it would be fixed by just using shorter spacers for the 3 mounting bolts to go through. I'm sure some adjusting would be needed but 3/4" could be made to work I'm sure.. also I thought about having one custom made from steel. I could care less about it being aluminum. The weight of it is negligible really. The ultimate bracket to me in a race application would be thicker, be made much stiffer either by webbing or material change, and a very powerful auto tensioner... I would also send my race pulley to griptec as well to get treated. Whenever I go built motor I will very much be struggling whether to stay turbo or go to a big procharger.

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If you shorten the spacers that will move the head unit closer to the firewall because it bolts to the backside of the bracket. That will prevent the head unit from lining up with the lower pulley.
 
Jamie V said:
If you shorten the spacers that will move the head unit closer to the firewall because it bolts to the backside of the bracket. That will prevent the head unit from lining up with the lower pulley.
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That would be a fairly easy fix if I'm picturing it correctly in my head. Pocket the 1/4 from the backside so the blower sit "in" the bracket a bit. You would gain the rigidity from the thicker plate all around like a web but the blower location would still be the same.

I really need to get my hands on a bracket so I can start modeling something up.

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Jamie V said:
If you shorten the spacers that will move the head unit closer to the firewall because it bolts to the backside of the bracket. That will prevent the head unit from lining up with the lower pulley.
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Also true but I had to use little bushings to space my blower back to get it to line up properly. Not every blower will sit exactly the same. Guess it depends on lower pulley type as well. I was using 1/4" bushings as spacers so a 3/4" bracket would have been perfect for my Novi. That's why I think should only use one or two blower patterns for mounting so not so many variables. Maybe a vortech pattern and a procharger pattern.

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FMOS Racing said:
Really? I didn't know anyone ever went back to a belt... :D
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Lol I would do it if I knew I could keep my AC and have an awesome bracket made to eliminate deflection. I like the simplicity of blower. I like the turbo too and right now Im staying turbo. However if a new awesome bracket was made I would probably buy it and store it away in case I want to change. To give you a picture of where I'm at I still have my Novi bracket mounted to the engine even with my turbo set up just in case I didn't like it.

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Travis, I’ll send you my brackets, pulleys, bolts and spacers. Full disclosure I’m thinking seriously about buying the concept one front drive system which includes all pulleys, accessories, and blower bracket. I’ll help with R&D either way. I just got the full schematic from them to see if everything fits without modification. I’ll make a decision from there. Pm or text me your address and I will send all it your way.


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FMOS Racing said:
With these things becoming classics and people spending more money on them, there may be a small market, especially since the same bracket will work on OBS trucks in general.
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I was going to say the same thing. The lightning bracket will work on all 302/351w trucks from 92-96 at least. Possibly 87-91 as well. I plan to put a turbo on my truck but I’m not against a blower if most of the annoying issues are resolved.
 
Step one of the process is complete. I'll probably take my turbo off shortly and mock it up on my truck and see what my options for upgrades are. I can't see why a thicker bracket wouldn't be easily achievable. But maybe just some actual nice bracing. Ideally like to see if I can make a self tensioner work. More to come.
f7e547860548de8be5a4b34194d37ecd.jpg


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You’ll have to make sure the pulley on the head unit lines up with a standard lower 8 rip pulley on the balancer (like a renegade pulley for a Fox body mustang) and the stock accessory belt clears the front side of the bracket (along with all the fasteners that hold the bracket on)
 
I think a 3/4" bracket is definitely achievable with smaller spacers/bushings that the mounting bolts go through. A heavy duty auto tensioner in my opinion may be the most important thing to add. Of course you need a stationary or slide idler down near the bottom to keep the belt away from water pump. An A/C support bracket is easy enough to add as well. Aside from that if you actually bring it to production I would offer it in steel as well for those that want zero deflection. Your run of the mill bracket works decent but if you want max effort it will flex like crazy.

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FlatOut said:
Step one of the process is complete. I'll probably take my turbo off shortly and mock it up on my truck and see what my options for upgrades are. I can't see why a thicker bracket wouldn't be easily achievable. But maybe just some actual nice bracing. Ideally like to see if I can make a self tensioner work. More to come.
f7e547860548de8be5a4b34194d37ecd.jpg


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make the "self tensioner" where the spring force is adjustable via adjustment slots in the tensioner's mounting bracket or by other means. that way you can run just the amount of belt tension needed for the boost that's being run.
 
I like the self tensioner idea.

Travis keep in mind that you will need to place a pulley down low to keep the blower belt from interfering with the water pump. IMO This is one of the mild frustrations of the current design. You have to find perfect belt length to clear the water pump and still get good tension.

I don’t know if you watched the video that bobwhite posted on post #21 but there are some really well thought out ideas there by Procharger. I like the sleek look of the self tensioner too.
 
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This is a 1/2” bracket. It can’t sit any farther back cause it hits a support rib on the AC bracket. 3/4” will be too thick in my opinion and will interfere with the Factory serpentine belt. I’ve had this bracket on/off a few times. There’s not a lot of wiggle room.


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