Sanden SD 7 mount option

[Hendo67]

I was struggling with where to mount my A/C compressor. I'm going to use a vintage air system, so I will need to use a Sanden compressor. There are all kinds of mounts out there for this application, but I really don't like the accessories to be high and wide. I prefer everything to be tucked in nice and tight. Spending 2k+ on a drive system was out of the question as well.
Here is what I came up with. I got the water pump for a 2010-13 Camaro. These use the truck spacing, so it lines up with the other accessories with no shims. I was thinking I might be able to utilize the tensioner mount as the base for the compressor mount.
I confirmed that if I used 3/16 aluminum plate to make the brackets, the compressor would line up perfectly using the stock tensioner mount. The only mod I had to do to the water pump was to "machine" the back of the tensioner mount so that my bracket plates would have the correct spacing. I used a router (yes, one for wood) to mill the back of the mount. As long as you lubricate between passes and don't get aggressive, the router works great. I used the aluminum plate to square up with the back of the pump, and as a guide for the router.
Everything lines up perfectly, but I was not able to use this first style of mount. the compressor was actually too low, and I didn't have room to add a tensioner.
See the next post for the updated pix.