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Been a long time since I have posted anything about my seemingly life long Corvette build. I'm always working on something, mostly making it just more complicated to achieve a finish date. I really do want to finish it but its been "maybe next year", for years now. So..... maybe next year...
This is a water pump I have been working on. Lot going on in the engine and I have had concerns about cooling. The stock water pump is way too butt ugly and most all electric pumps are inadequate as far as Im concerned. Some are just to pricey. Sides', I like to make stuff.
Most all of the pieces for the water pump. A lot of design time and machining went into this part. A few prototype mistakes but that's all about learning what does not work. Being able to laser cut some of the parts out of plastic for test and fit saves a great deal of time during the design process. Parts can be very quickly cut and discarded while making adjustments.
Each plate is 1/2" thick 6061 Aluminum and the passage channels are machined 3/8" deep. Assembled they are a total of 3/4" deep and a minimum of one inch wide at any location. The steel pins at either end of the top half keep them perfectly aligned when assembled.
I made the pump as compact as possible and still incorporated heater hose provisions. The design offers clamping points at as many locations possible and will have a paper gasket to seal the halves. I kept the passageways as unobstructed as I could while not compromising on functional design.
Mocked up to test fit and alignment the inlet water chamber is about ready to be assembled for the last time. All of the assembly bolts were countersunk flush both front and back. All hardware is metric and will be using ARP socket head bolts exclusively.
These are inch thick adapters that align with the ports on the block exactly and 3D taper to the pump ports. Captive seals on the pump side and the stock gaskets on the block side.
The impeller was cut from 3/4" thick aluminum and I researched several designs. Decided to go with the "open" style to get maximum flow and volume. There is a waterproof stainless bearing on both ends so I can shim the gap tolerance down to the thousand's. The counter bore is where the electric motor shaft will connect.
This is the bearing plate for the inlet. There is actually a formula I read about to figure the size of the openings to minimize cavitation inside the inlet chamber.
These are the parts to make the inlet chamber. It is a press fit and I will epoxy it together. I have been using more epoxy assemblies lately where it would normally be welded together. If you have seen the TV series "How its made, Dream Cars", More and more exotic car chassis are glued together with locating rivets to maintain tolerance. Aluminum will move around quite a lot when Tig welded. If the design is sound, The epoxy should work just fine.
The pump with the impeller test fitted. The 8 blades of the impeller have exactly .008" clearance where the blade meets the wall and .005" clearance top and bottom.
Last edited by Lasershop; May 10, 2017 at 01:07 PM.
I have no doubt that it will out perform any electric pump out there but its just a one off like so many other parts I have made. Thanks.
I know how ya feel. I've made a bunch of one off or very low production parts over the years. But in combo with a tensioner delete this could be a very nice piece.
Originally Posted by Pantera EFI
Hi, I would like to help, I manufacture PM DC Motors
I would like your contact information ?
I have NERAC pump design software.
Lance 949-250-1797 (in CA Also)
There we go! Hopefully you guys can get together on this.
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Custom LS1 Electric Water Pump 
