One of the things that lots of guys seem to forget about when contemplating a swap, especially of the LS variety is the accessory drive setup on the front of the engine. Yes, you can grab el cheapo LS engines from the wrecking yard for a few hundred bucks but (especially at U-pull it style yards) those pieces are often picked clean off the engine before you find it and yank it free to install into your pile. Your options are then to try an frankenstein something together, which usually ends in a belt shredding, bearing killing Rube Goldberg system, or to grab whatever you can and hope that it works.
The frustrating thing about accessory drive stuff is that different engine compartments require different locations for alternators, AC pumps, etc and the setup from a truck may not work in your old F-Body or what have you. Holley’s answer to all this is to sell you a complete system that is guaranteed to bolt onto your engine and then fit your application. If you think we’re kidding on the number of options Holley offers we’d gladly inform you that there are 15 different part numbers on these setups and all of them are designed to meet your needs and fit your engine bay.
Sure, accessory drives aren’t the sexiest of things but they can be a hellacious nightmare when they’re wrong. Trust us, we have lived through a crapped together setup (not on an LS) before and we’re never doing that junk again. It is worth a look at the link below if you have a swap coming and your LS engine is naked up front. Tell that damned thing to put a towel on or something. There are kids around here for God’s sake!
