Has anyone else done this? I found a thread about it awhile back.

I am picking up one I had modded from the machine shop tomorrow. About $60 to mod it to fit the 12a. Steeper than I thought, but still not too bad. Included welding up the holes and tapping for my 3/8 NPT sensor and machining down the weld and washer holes.
I'll take some pics tomorrow. My crude scale showed a 6lbs improvement. I can also use the FC pump, though I dunno if that is an improvement or not.. It'll look better than rusted iron at least.

 

i do think the FC water pump looks a helluva lot slicker than the FB's.

http://cptgloval.shackspace.com/cars/DSC01140.JPG

i don't know if your alternator strap/bolt location is going to be affected by it. granted, i have a 2nd gen engine, so it might be different, but i had to mod my alt strap because the clearance between where it bolts to on the 2nd gen pump housing and the distributor is too tight to fit right. i'll try to remember to get pics next time i'm at the car.

 

I plan to drill and tap/helicoil the alt. bracket bolthole for a normal bolt, but you can for the larger bracket bolt, I bet. I got one of Pineapple racing's alt. relocator brackets on the way, so it's not a problem.

Actually, I was just looking at electric water pump conversions. Very slick stuff.... This is a bit cheaper, though.

 

I'm going to try an FC waterpump on an early 4 port 13B at a cost of $0. Well, maybe the cost of a gasket and a thermostat.

 

whats the advantage of the FC pump?

 

I dunno if there is an advantage to the FC pump or not. The ones I seen are iron cast like the FB. The advantage to me is the housing itself. It is aluminum and muchmuch lighter.

Jeff, does the FC housing bolt up to the older 13bs as well? That's cool...

The thermostat and top rad hose adapter bolt right up to the FC housing, for those curious.

 

FC houseing 3.3 lbs.
FB houseing 8.5 lbs.
FC pump ? I think its similar to th FB.
FB pump 4.6 lbs.
Aluminum FB pump from PEP Boys 2.5 lbs.

I used the the FC houseing and the aluminum pump, the impeller is stamped steel, and is not as good as the cast one on the stockers. No overheating though, and its hot here.
Had to put the alt. adj. bracket in the next hole towards the right, and grind some off it to clear the alt.
Also the bolt holes the on the left side of the pump/houseing(right side in the pics) don't line up when you mix the two, so I didn't use that hole. Its kind of a rig, but no leaks so far.
I'll get some pics later if you want.

FC on left, FB on right.

 

I got a reman FC pump today. It has the cast impellor like the FB, and it is cast iron.. So, maybe 5-6lbs of weight savings total, though when I ordered it I was thinking it was aluminum.. Ah, well.
Thanks for the numbers. My scale doesnt work too well with low weight.

 

What's to be modified to mount FC pumps to 12A's??? On my T2 engine I was able to mount FC NA/12A/TII pumps without problems. For the TII pump a litlle grinding was needed to clear the 12A front cover I used, but that's all. Or are you talking about the actual pump without the "housing"?

 

I am talking about modding a 13b FC housing for use on a 12a.

 

All I need to do is cut some threads in the FC waterpump alt bracket hole and drill a slightly larger hole in an FC alt bracket. I plan on filling the backside of the hole with sealant.

Since it's aluminum, I think 10mm x 1.5 should do the trick.

 

I used a FC housing and water pump for the Turbo I added to my 12a a while ago. You definitely need to sand a little off the back of it that faces the front cover. Then as mentioned above also, the distrubuter bracket needs a slight tweeting. I use a 12a engine to housing gasket.

The purpose to do this for me was to have water lines to the turbo. But the fact its lighter, is good too ofcourse.

 

This is the thread I used to make my mod. Works like a charm
Looky Here!