Ok guys and gals, for 2000 Jeopardy points , does a '69 big block vette have a short or a long water pump? The order books seem to be a bit confussing. I vote for long but if I knew what I was talking about, I wouldn't be asking the question. And also, does it matter ( short or long ) that the engine I am putting in is from a '73?

|UPDATED|5/28/2002 8:16:16 PM|/UPDATED|

Ok Glenn, now that you have me confused
I would think that if you are putting a 73 engine in your 69, you should use what a 73 calls for. Right? Anyway, there really isn't too much difference between a short/long pump(performance wise). If you are not sure, use the short one just to make sure you have clearance. This is assuming that I understood your question.

Actually, I think it has more to do with the year of the car than the engine. It is ( I believe ) a clearance issue and due to pulley placement it does matter if you use a long or short.

If you are using all of the belt driven accessories that came with the engine, then the water pump specified for that engine should be correct. If you are mixing and matching (for example, using the alternator P/S pump and brackets from your 427)you may have to try various combos of water pump, pulleys and brackets. The key is that all of the grooves line up. Obviously, it's easiest to do this with the engine out of the car.

The short pump will give you more clearance for the fan, but for the air conditioner belt you might need the long pump. A friend of mine remembers his big blocks using a long pump (68 & 71). Joe

This may sound pretty silly ( or not ) but you would think I would just go out and measure the pump that I have in there. If I did that , I would get a measurement. Well I would if I used a ruler. The problem is, I don't have a clue how long or how short a long or short pump is. So, I have nothing to compare my measurement against.

Glenn: There's more to it than the distance from the front of the block to the face where the pulley mounts. You could go most anywhere and measure pumps(I'd probably try Stoudt's). You need to also know the offset of the pulley you plan to use on the water pump and then figure which pump will put the grooves where they need to be in realtion to the crank grooves. I don't remember if you have p/steering and A/C. If you only need to turn the water pump and alternator it's pretty straightforward. If there's more, I suggest you look at what you have now plus the '69 and '73 AIMs to figure out all of your belt requirements and routings as a starting point.

Yes, I do have air and power steering and for sure want them hooked back up. Thanks everyone, for the advice so far.

I looked under my car the other day, and saw some green liquid. Well it is time for something to screw up. i got to looking around, and decided to try tightening some hose clamps, and I turned up lucky. the one holding the top hose to the intake manifold was just a slight bit loose. I tightened it up, no more leak. Did I ever get lucky this time...