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© 2001 Brian F. Schreurs
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Fortunately, Vortech provides adequate instructions to guide you through this process. Their Steps 5 through 8 in the installation guide cover relocating the fan relay box, the upper radiator hose and an air conditioning line, some smog pump hoses, and the ignition module; and Step 9 addresses the new pulley arrangement.

None of these steps involve much in the way of parts, and what little you need are included in the kit. This step also does not call for any special tools, unless you don't have a Dremel; but if you don't have one by now, you need one anyway. You might also want some cobalt drill bits; standard ones will probably be destroyed in this step.

Vortech's Step 5 provides instructions for relocating the fan relay box, and overall they're pretty good. The basic idea is that the box lies in the future path of the supercharger belt; this mod will move it just enough out of the way to clear.

Overflow tank bracket, chopped and redrilled.

Take the big metal bracket that holds the fan relay box and the overflow tank. Look at where the two 8mm bolts hold it to the car. Measure 5/8" inward (toward the engine) from each hole and drill two new 1/4" holes. This effectively will move the entire assembly 5/8" closer to the radiator, a seemingly minor difference until you try to install the supercharger itself. To compensate for the change, cut half an inch off the front of the bracket. This will prevent clearance issues up front.

The plastic radiator cover won't fit without clearancing, so mount it, mock up the bracket, and mark the outer edges of the area where the bracket meets the cover. Cut a gap in the cover, about 2" wide (should be about the same width as the bracket) and about 1/2" deep.

Go ahead and leave it mounted. Won't get in the way, much. Make sure to route all wiring below the relay processor bracket, rather than behind it -- which would defeat the purpose of gaining that extra clearance.

Vortech's Step 6 briefly mentions the upper radiator hose, then spends a good bit of space describing how to modify one of the air conditioning lines. As well it should; screw this up, and you'll have a hefty A/C repair bill waiting for you when the car is running again. But first things first.

The radiator bracket is notched for the A/C line.

The A/C line is "slightly" bent to make room for the compressor.

Vortech recommends trimming 1-1/4" from the radiator side of the upper radiator hose in order to buy a little clearance for the soon-to-be-bent A/C lines. Their trick works well enough, but it's not entirely necessary. We took the cooling system to a higher level by installing a Tefba coolant filter in the upper radiator hose; with Vortech's slice missing, the filter was too close to the serpentine belt for comfort. We bought a second hose, didn't shorten it, and had a much better fit. If you're going to protect your megabuck engine with a Tefba filter, you should not make the slice; if you skip the filter, then you could go either way really.

The air conditioner line that needs to be bent is the one that sticks into the engine bay and makes a 180-degree loop. Vortech states that you should "slightly bend" the line... a look at their own diagram suggests that the bend will be more than slight, and it is. Basically, the outside of the loop must be touching the upper radiator hose.

But before you start on that, the radiator bracket needs to be clearanced. The A/C line passes right in front of a bracket on its way across the top of the radiator, and with all the bending you're about to undertake, this bracket will get in the way. Use a Dremel grinder to grind out a circular detent, using an existing hole in the bracket as a marker. It needs to be that deep and as wide as the A/C line. Take your time and it'll go just fine.

Now for the fun: bending the A/C line. Since the last thing you want is to put a hole in this line, it's only natural to be gentle with it. Well, forget it. No, this line is much to sturdy for that; nothing short of a 3-lb hammer will get the job done. And, in case that wasn't enough, striking the blows without supporting the line will put far too much stress on the line fittings. How do you provide support? By putting on thick gloves, holding the line in your hand, and aiming your blows carefully.

There's already a slight bend in the line, so it's an ideal place to keep bending. Watch what you're doing, pound away, and wear safety glasses -- in case the line ruptures anyway. As you beat the line into submission, it will also back up slightly into the notch you cut. When you are satisfied with your handiwork, use zip ties (black ones if you can find 'em) to hold the A/C line in the notch, reducing the chance of it falling out of place and chafing.

This is the original orientation of the ignition module.

And this is the revised orientation.

Vortech's Step 7 is an exercise in mathematics, shortening the length of several hoses in the A.I.R. system. They provide a clear diagram of what needs to be cut. From the smog pump back, this is the list:

• 1-1/4" from the smog pump side of the hose that goes from the smog pump to the air control valve.
• No cuts from the hose that goes from the air control valve to the diverter valve.
• 1-3/4" from the diverter valve side of the hose that exits the diverter valve directly across from the air control valve hose (ain't that a mouthful!).
• 1" from the diverter valve side of the hose that goes from the diverter valve to the check valve (90-degree bend from the air control valve hose).
• 1-3/4" from the check valve side of the hose that goes from the diverter valve to the check valve (yep, two cuts on one hose, doesn't leave much left!).

After you make all these cuts, reassemble using #16 hose clamps. Vortech's instructions claim they provide these clamps, but we couldn't find them. Fortunately, hose clamps are cheap.

Next up, Vortech's Step 8 calls for relocating the ignition module. We're betting you don't even know where the ignition module is -- heaven knows we didn't. It's a little finned box with one big plug on its top, bolted to the passenger-side inner fender just forward of the strut tower. Believe it or not, this little bugger actually manages to get in the way of the supercharger air intake setup, so it must be moved.

Essentially you'll be rotating it 180 degrees. Vortech's photo is actually pretty good at illustrating the final arrangement. The module is held to the fender by two 8mm bolts.

To make the plug reach, disassemble the wire loom until you have length for the module to be facing downward instead of upward, and for the left-side mounting bolt to be threaded into what used to be the right-side hole. Vortech says it'll take about 7" of length, and they provide some nice wire loom to protect the freshly-exposed wires.

Our new crank and water pump pulleys are in place.

The right-side bolt is replaced by a sheet metal screw provided by Vortech, but it's not self-tapping and the instructions don't warn you about drilling. You'll need to, though, so break out the cobalt drill set. Use the module as a guide to mark the hole, use a center punch to dimple it, and start with a small bit to make the first cut. From there, step up the drill bits until you get a size that the screw will take, and mount the ignition module.

Finally Vortech's Step 9 is an easy step for mounting the new pulleys on the engine. It's really quite simple: attach the Vortech crank pulley with the grade 8 bolts and washers that they provide; then attach the new water pump pulley with the stock fasteners. Tighten the bolts as best you can in a lugnut-style pattern, though it won't be long before the pulleys spin rather than tighten. Don't forget to do a final tightening when you put the serpentine belt back on in a later step.

It's all coming together! At last, the process of moving, shoving, and bending is mostly over. In Vortech's Step 10, you'll actually get to install new parts!