By Jim Mozart

Photos by Moore Good Ink

GM’s LS-series engine is a potent powerplant, but presents a potential problem for installation in an older vehicle. The air conditioning compressor is normally located on the lower right side, which can create some clearance issues in some cars.

Concept One’s latest pulley system for LS engines relocates  the compressor, so the LS engine can be fitted into a much broader range of chassis configurations, including early street rods.

Not only that, it looks cool and, more important, fits properly. Concept One’s co-founder Kevin Redd notes what sustains his company: “Half of [our] business is generated by people who experienced other pulley systems that didn’t fit well.”

If you ask street rodders about their greatest challenge with aftermarket serpentine belt systems, and you will often point to its fitment. Those shiny, polished pulleys might might require filing, grinding, drilling, and/or shimming to make them fit right.

Concept One claims to be the first manufacturer of aftermarket serpentine pulley systems that relocates the air conditioning compressor. The resulting clearance ends tiresome troubles experienced on early-style chassis where the LS compressor interferes with cross members and other frame components.

Recently the company created an eight-rib progression that facilitates powerful LS engines with Magnuson or Edelbrock superchargers. Factory LS engines are known to use three different belt lines: Corvette, Camaro, and truck. (The belt-line refers to the distance the belt and pulleys are placed in front of the engine.) Concept One resolve the belt-line issue by providing an SFI-approved harmonic balancer and bolting its crankshaft pulley to it. Once this position is established, all the other components are set on the same belt line.

In addition to the harmonic balancer and crank pulley, Concept One provides all other components to complete the kit. These include a compact Sanden SD-7 compressor, water pump, alternator, power steering pump and reservoir, as well as all the pulleys, serpentine belt, tensioner, mounting brackets, and necessary fasteners.

Available with or without an air conditioning compressor, the kits are offered in the following finishes: machined, polished, or anodized clear or black, with the polished or black anodized units being the most popular. The accompanying sequence of photographs and captions shows the order in which the various components are installed. And without any clearance issues on an older chassis.