Technical Period-correct V-/fan belt source?

I'm going nuts. People are asking me where to find fan belts that are not cogged, toothed, grooved or otherwise wouldn't look "right" on a '50s-'60s period restoration. And having just spent the evening and a few lunch hours going to local parts houses, websites and such, and learning the differences between profiles/pitches for automotive, fractional horsepower, industrial, lawn & garden and other types of V-belts, different codes for widths, etc., I'm brain dead. Any suggestions short of getting into Mr. Peabody's WABAC machine?

 

hardware store V belts would probably look close...although they seem to be made in china these days

 

Find an industrial power transmission house. Have your needed belt's top width and outside circumference when you call or visit. Industrial belt lengths will be in whole inch lengths for the most part.

 

I get mine from the hardware store. At least for my old Fords. They seemed to use a pretty standard, farmer-friendly, size.

 

Here in NZ we get any size from local engineering store. A belts, or B belts no problems.
They are used for industrial, farm and domestic use.

 

I source my belts from the local farm store. They look right.
No problems for several years.

 

Thanks, all. I recommended to my friend that he find an industrial power transmission house (he lives in Kansas City/Lee's Summit) and gave him a couple of places near downtown to check out, and go look in a Tractor Supply Co. or similar store, but I never thought of a true, traditional local hardware store. A-(1/2") width belts don't seem to be as much an issue as finding the narrower ones (3/8"), for instance, and very rarely will I have a need for B- or wider. We'll see how resourceful he can be versus me.

How much different are the profiles between industrial, fractional horsepower, lawn & garden, agricultural and automotive belts, and how well (or poorly) do the non-automotive belts seat in automotive-type pulley sheaves?

 

I think you will find the fractional HP belts will cover most needs. A 3L section belt is 3/8" top width. A 4L or A section is 1/2". It is common practice for fractional belts to be notched construction, but this varies by brand. Sheave angles are not a problem.

 

Can we run an 11A belt on a pulley designed for the wider 13A.?
Our Y block ford has the crank and alternator set up for the 11A. Width belt , while the fan is the wider 13A so the belt sits deeper in the V the pitch on both seems to be 38 degrees . I did not realise there was a wider "A" belt I thought it was "A" or "B" width.
The power steering is also 11A . We are using gates belts.

 

Really! My pops and I have built some traditional hotrods And not once have Ive ever heard someone say looks nice but those belts look like shit. I think your over thinking it.