Let's accessorize...
For my build, I want to stay with an old school look as much as I can for an LS engine. The LS factory front accessories are typically mounted too high up for my taste. Holley has several front mount accessory kits that move things around. I decided on their mid-mount accessory kit. It has the exact look I was going for. I decided on black to stay with my theme, well, sort of.
What drew me to this kit, was the water pump manifold. Every accessory bolts to it which eliminates extra brackets and keeps everything tight and compact. The black kit comes with a black manifold, which is too much black in my opinion. The natural cast finish kit doesn't have enough black for what I wanted. So, I bought the black kit along with an extra natural cast manifold. This should do it.
Let's get started...First was mating the steam kit port that I intend to use with the manifold.
Holley 97-163
Gotta use that thread sealer
Next, was mating the Holley 97-200 water pump drive assembly to the manifold. Torqued to spec.
Time to install the damper and crank pulley. This kit was even more attractive with such a nice balancer.
Have to use the flexplate lock for the next step...
The damper hub assembly is the backbone of this unit. Getting this part installed correctly is imperative. The hub can be pressed on with or without using a key. My crankshaft keyway stops at the oil pump. So, I would need to put some RTV in the hub's empty keyway to keep any oil from getting by. Using a crank pulley install tool, I cranked on it until the hub was seated all the way.
The pressed fit squeezes the excess RTV out the front.
240lb/ft on the original crank bolt for the damper hub assembly, geez!!! Ah, but then you remove that and install a new one at 59lb/ft plus a 120° extra turn.
Next, bolt the damper and torque to spec. Make sure you line up the index mark on the hub and the damper before you bolt it up!
Last, installing the pully. Bolts came with loctite already on them. I just had to torque to spec.
