[Speargun]

Here's what I've done so far:

I ordered pulleys & brackets from CVF for my 455.

Problem #1 - Power steering pump was nowhere near lining up properly & took hours & hours to get it right.

Problem #2 - Alternator doesn't line up properly & belt rubs on PS pulley.




Problem #3 - I ordered an AC bracket for tall valve covers and received a bracket for short valve covers. An email got a new bracket on the way with return postage. Bracket install delayed a week.

Problem #4 - New bracket comes in, but it's not a Pontiac bracket. Another couple emails and the correct bracket is on the way. Bracket install delayed an additional two weeks.



Problem #5 - Wrong length bolt is sent with AC bracket. ....again!



Problem #6 - "Correct" AC bracket doesn't line correctly and belt rubs on the bracket. The ONLY way I see to correct the alignment is to modify all of the spacers and grind/drill a relief hole on the back side of the AC bracket to clear a water pump bolt so that the belt might line up correctly and not rub on the bracket.




So in summary:
NOT ONE SINGLE F*CKING PULLEY LINES UP CORRECTLY WITHOUT MODIFICATION!
Let me say that again:
NOT ONE SINGLE F*CKING PULLEY LINES UP CORRECTLY WITHOUT MODIFICATION!

Customer service has been pretty good so far, but the quality of the engineering on the alignment of these brackets absolutely sucks. They look like they just threw in some spacers they had laying around and said "that's good enough."

Here's a perfect example:
The instructions call for a 0.44" spacer in the top position and a 1.52" spacer in the lower position.


With the 1.52" spacer installed in the bottom the top has a 0.625" gap.??? Of course the spacer they send you is 0.44" so you have to add some washers.


Here the instructions call for a 4.25" long bolt in the bottom position and a 3.5" long bolt in the top position.


Here's a picture of the 3.5" bolt with the bottom (4.25") bolt & spacer installed.

As you can see in the picture, the 3.5" bolt isn't even long enough to reach the block, much less hold anything in place. This is simple math; if the bottom bolt needs to be 4.25" long and the bracket is the same distance away from the block at the top as it is at the bottom, then the top bolt should be the same length as the bottom bolt.

In this picture you can see the bolt head near the bottom has very little clearance from the AC bracket. In order to get the alignment correct, I'll have to drill a hole so the bracket doesn't rest on the head of the bolt. Of course if this doesn't work, the bracket will now have a hole in it & be non-returnable.


After all of the work I had to put into the PS bracket and all the work still to be done to the alternator & AC brackets, these brackets are not a good deal.
Had they bolted right up, like they should, they would be fine, but I don't want to spend money on a setup that I have to re-engineer because the manufacturer is to lazy to do it right the first time, or even correct it after they have been told about the issues.

STAY AWAY FROM CVFRACING.COM BRACKETS

...unless you enjoy having to modify the crap out of them to get them to fit.

[AG]

Send it back back and tell them to stick it up their ass.

[Chicagogoat]

I've never heard of CVF's products until maybe a year ago. I'm not sure how long they've been making these kits. I went with March like 8 years ago. The fit was perfect and their customer support made for a hassle free install. I wanted a kit for elec water pump with power steering and alt which they don't make but were very helpful and provided me with bolts and spacers after a lot of trail and error making it fit the CSR water pump. If CVF keeps giving you the run around and you're gonna give March a call, talk to Casey Barnett. He's the resident Pontiac guy there.

[68WarDog]

Speargun I have that exact system minus the AC setup and everything aligns perfectly. Is your alternator mounted in front or behind the upper bracket. Should be in front. Do you still have your instructions? If not I will try to locate mine.

[66bonne]

Hmm...I went with CVF pulleys to cure a belt flip problem, works perfect. But I don't have A/C as the original poster does. Good luck to you.

Jim

[Singleton]

I also don't have the a/c setup, so no help there. My alt and ps pulleys line up fine. On the PS, it seems like it is maybe missing a spacer between the engine and the pump bracket?

[tooski]

Only two minor problems with my CVF pulleys. The 4 1/2 bolt measured at 4 1/4. Hardware store for longer length. NBD. Had to switch positions of 2 of the spacers.
Water pump pulleys did not line up. Had pre 69 pump. Swapped in post 69 pump and all is well.

[Black67bird]

I ordered CDC brackets and pulleys last year and they all fit perfect. I'm very happy with mine. March is way to expensive.

[62cat]

Same problem with a/c. short bolt also turnbuckle is not long enough. Had to walk belt on and still cant tighten without turnbuckle coming apart.

[lfdsteve]

I had to do barnyard engendering to get mine to line up. Someday I will replace the steel spacer tubes with something that dosnt rust. Also no adjustability in AC tension. It just pivots the whole unit but never "elongates" the run to pull belt tighter.
Sometimes cheap is cheap. My fault.
Steve

[Speargun]

I finally got all of the bracket & pulleys lined up.
I had to machine one relief on the back side of the AC bracket so it wouldn't bottom out on a water pump bolt head and another spot to clear part of the water pump casting.
All of the spacers (for everything!) were the wrong length so some got shortened and others required an extra spacer or washer to fill the gap.
I had to grind the front lip of the drivers side valve cover a little to clear the back of the alternator and took a little material off of one of the unused AC compressor mounting ears that was hitting the passenger valve cover when the turn buckle was shortened.

All in all the pulleys & brackets look good and should do a good job, but CVF should have done a little more engineering on them and should supply an assortment of spacers for the various applications.
========================================

lfdsteve

I have the AC bracket for TALL valve covers and it has plenty of adjustment and will tighten up like it's supposed to.

[TedRamAirII]

Originally Posted by Speargun

I finally got all of the bracket & pulleys lined up.
I had to machine one relief on the back side of the AC bracket so it wouldn't bottom out on a water pump bolt head and another spot to clear part of the water pump casting.
All of the spacers (for everything!) were the wrong length so some got shortened and others required an extra spacer or washer to fill the gap.
I had to grind the front lip of the drivers side valve cover a little to clear the back of the alternator and took a little material off of one of the unused AC compressor mounting ears that was hitting the passenger valve cover when the turn buckle was shortened.

All in all the pulleys & brackets look good and should do a good job, but CVF should have done a little more engineering on them and should supply an assortment of spacers for the various applications.
========================================

lfdsteve

I have the AC bracket for TALL valve covers and it has plenty of adjustment and will tighten up like it's supposed to.

For $300 you could tell them how to make them fit correctly. If it was me, I would have sent them back and told them when they figure it all out, send it to me. I'm sure you have too many hours into it. Just to make brackets fit that were supposed to fit in the first place.

[62cat]

I e-mailed them on late friday they called monday and are sending me parts to fix problem. Real nice no problems.

[gto406]

I have ordered three kits from them. First for my GTO, then two times after that for my Firebird (1st was a no p/s setup, 2nd added p/s). GTO bolts were all wrong length (kit was a non-serpentine A/C setup). I talked to Nate told him which bolts were fubar’d he didn’t seem interested. The stuff he sent me to add P/S to the Bird didn’t work, so we pilfered parts from my (not yet running GTO project) to make it work! Going through the Bird again now and dumped the CVF stuff for stock pulley and brackets. Will combine all my two Frankenstein kits into the GTO and never use CVF again! CVF = can’t verify fitment!

[mklinger]

I purchased a CVF serpentine set up along with their A/C, Alternator and PS Pump. Installed flawlessly.

[HWYSTR455]

That's good news, on the CVF serp setup. I was shopping not long ago for a serp setup, and couldn't find any decent info other than this thread, and didn't want to take a chance. I ended up with the Billet Specialties one, which slowed down my build (cost).

I understand that water pumps vary in some areas and that can cause misalignment issues. The OE setup references off the side of the head, so it wouldn't have the same problems as 'kits' that reference off the pump. Think about it, if the timing cover varies in thickness too, it too can throw off alignment as well.

The Billet Specialties setup makes it mandatory to use the pump they send/include, as well as the gaskets and divider plate. Pretty sure the pump is a flowcooler, not looking at it at the moment. It comes with a stainless divider plate which is .048" thick, which is the same thickness as the SS divider plates Ames sells (I measured).

Just adding brain-dump info, may help others somehow....

.

[Ozzmann]

I've got the CVF serpentine with a/c as well, and it installed without any problems what soever.

[torqhead]

I wasn't able to answer the poll, but I had to modify spacers and cut out material on the back of the A/C bracket to get everything aligned properly on my 69.

[Murf]

I installed the CVS, V belt setup without air. Minor fiddling but hey, that's what the hobby is about.

I was happy with the quality/cost aspect.

Murf

Sent from my Z936L using Tapatalk

[64speed]

Now you guys got me worried cause I got the full v belt kit with AC as a gift and it’s well past the point of return plus I can’t use them for another year or so until my engine is done. God I pray they work cause I can’t pay for a March or billet specialties kit and keep my timeline intact. If I have to jump thru all these hoops I will just pay the machine shop who is doing the breaking to set it all up LOL