Tried And Tru Trac

If you hang around a bunch of street rodders and shoot the breeze long enough, sooner or later one of them will lament the passing of time and wax nostalgic about the good old days when our cars were simple. Of course memories and reality are often at odds with one another. Granted, keeping things simple is usually a good idea. But to paraphrase Forrest Gump, simple is as simple does. If you've ever had a hot rod with a six-volt generator that would occasionally start, made your biceps sore thanks to the "Armstrong" steering, and offered creature comforts on par with a park bench in the Sahara, a modern charging system, power steering, and air conditioning are welcome additions, even if they do add a certain degree of complication.

With all the accessories that are now common on the front of contemporary engines, virtually all manufacturers have gone to serpentine belt drive systems. There are a number of reasons for this: A single, flat belt is more efficient than several of the V-type; a single, spring-loaded tensioner can be used so the accessories don't have to pivot to tighten the belts, and as a result can be mounted solidly for less vibration; and finally, it's a compact design. And all those attributes make serpentine drive systems ideal for street rods, too.While factory original equipment serpentine systems are efficient and certainly well engineered, they are seldom appropriate for street rods. That's a politically correct way of saying they're bulky and butt ugly. What street rodders need is a serpentine system that provides the same solid foundation present in OEM designs that looks good while its at it, and that's just what Billet Specialties has come up with. Called Tru Trac, complete kits are available for small-block Chevys and Fords, big-block Chevys and Fords, and recently kits were made for '66-and-up 426 Hemis (including 472 and 528 crate motors), as well as B/RB 383/440 Mopars.

We were flattered that STREET RODDER was given the opportunity to follow one of Billet Specialties' first Street Hemi installations and we jumped at the chance to document the process. As with their other kits, there are several configurations available--with neither, either, or both air conditioning and power steering. Standard components include a polished Sanden SD-7 air conditioning compressor with cover, Powermaster 105-amp one-wire alternator, new water pump and housing, custom aluminum tensioner, Unisteer power steering pump, bracketry, polished pulleys, 12-point ARP fasteners ... in other words, everything you need (of course kit contents will vary with the application).

Although all the Billet Specialties kits are full of trick parts, one of the most unique is the billet aluminum air conditioning compressor manifold. That little patent-pending piece is what allows the A/C pump to mount so close to the head, which is the key to making the drive package so compact.

The following series of photos deals with the installation of a Tru Trac Hemi system, and while the other kits from Billet Specialties may look different, they all share the same solid engineering and quality construction. And the best part is they provide all the advantages of a serpentine drive and look cool doing it.