Old school underhood superchargers...anyone remember?

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thsalmon

thsalmon

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Back in the day (early 80's), there was a company that manufactured underhood Roots-type superchargers for several engines, the SBC for sure, but maybe the small block Mopar also. They used two motorcycle superchargers in a cross ram configuration (each blower over the valve cover feeding the opposite bank of cylinders) and a side draft Weber mounted outboards on each one. Anyone know or remember the company and what may have happened to them? Out of left field I know, but I'd love one if they could still be found. Thanks!
 
I remember in 1985 I was working for Mack truck's and a guy I worked with had that setup on a 1970 el camino on a 350. He told me he had a blower on it and I was surprised because it had a flat hood and didn't believe it until he showed me. It was a cool set up, I think maybe it was B&M ?
 
Mopar-Mitch said:
I remember in 1985 I was working for Mack truck's and a guy I worked with had that setup on a 1970 el camino on a 350. He told me he had a blower on it and I was surprised because it had a flat hood and didn't believe it until he showed me. It was a cool set up, I think maybe it was B&M ?
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I'm pretty sure it was a small company, but I could be wrong. I'm glad I'm not the only one that remembers them!
 
I did a search and found one like he had, it's B&M.

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The old MP catalog used to sell them in two different sizes. The larger one for the 360. I think it was a 177 and yes, it was a B&M. They still make those small superchargers but the manifold for them they do not.

If you want to use the little B&M, try contacting Dyers (IIRC) who will make the supercharged intake manifold for you. You’ll need to know what supercharger exactly you intend to use as well as exactly what head your going to use.
 
Are you thinking of the Paxton superchargers? They used a small belt and used a carb hat for the supercharger.
 
Weiand and B&M both made small roots blowers. They were available in 144 and 177. Manifolds were available for SBC, BBC, SBF, and SBM. The cases were the same, but different applications had different snout lengths to accommodate different accessory/water pump setups. Weiand still makes them, just not for Mopar.
 
we put a pair of 4/71s on a 413 cross ram one time- It was in a roadster with no hood- worked great till a backfire blew it all to ...
I never learn so tried a 6/71 on a tunnel ram
looked great- went airborn
 
Soooo what's better, roots or Paxton style?
 
Roots hand out high torque instantly and holds on for the duration.

Centrifugal styles are a rising boost. The faster you spin the engine, the higher the boost level.

If your not used to asphalt crumbling power that could slow down the rotation of the earth, you may want to avoid the roots and back down to the centrifical Super Charger.
 
Paxton style (centrifugal) doesn't make constant boost as rumble mentioned but they are a lot more efficient as far as heating up the intake air and sapping power from the engine (they use a lot less than a Roots). If I was going to the trouble I'd use a Lysholm screw compressor like on newer cars they're constant-boost but still more efficient than Roots (which is a 19th-century design btw), but still a tad under centrifugal blowers. I built my 5.9 Magnum in my Duster with head studs and Cometic head gaskets so I'm tempted to put a Procharger (centrifugal) setup on it eventually. Those you can pretty much install and remove without modifying anything major like manifolds or belts. After I add EFI of course.
 
Whipple did a ton of kits for 80's and 90's cars n trucks and you can find them easily on the net.
I have a whipple tbi unit off a 455 fitted to a heavily modified Keg manifold I'll be running on my magnum 5.9
I would try JB performance (john Bond performance) call John and tell him what your looking for, He's good people and will help you find what your looking for.
Jon Bond Performance, The Worlds Premier Supercharger Rebuilder and Parts Store

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Nothing feels better on the street than a 6-71... instant power at any speed. No lag. Can get good fuel economy if cammed correctly. You don't need that rumpity- rump undriveable cam.
 
and 57 Fords, Thunderbirds
Les Ritchie had a 312 in his 57 Ranchero
he smoked the right rear tire something fierce (no posi) till we told him how to wedge the chassis
I mention this as it's best to get equal traction with no posi then add the posi as you get more push with both tires working the same, the posi just smooths out minor differences. With a posi and no wedge the left tire does all the work-<the point of this rant>
We stuck the dual four barrel manifold (was it the E-4 that was optional but came in the trunk for "dealer" installation?) with two blower bonnets and a stock looking Y and picked up quite a bit of horesepower- and quite a bit of discussion on whether it was legal or not.
With the mods Les could take 57 FI Chevies and our Buick (the Buick could stay with the chevies)
Les had a T85 "3 on the tree" and busted his knuckles trying to power shift it
we tried to "lead" the 1-2 shift slot but ended up with a home brew floor shift similar to one we had seen on a Studebaker
RIP LES
come to think of it E-4 was the "factory" Isky cam
 
The only car that could beat my brother's '55 XK140MC was his buddies supercharged '57 Ford 312... now that story goes back 60 years...geez!
 
Krooser said:
The only car that could beat my brother's '55 XK140MC was his buddies supercharged '57 Ford 312... now that story goes back 60 years...geez!
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I had a T-bird 312 in my '57 Fairlane 500. was always curious about the supercharger that Ford and Studebaker used also. Matter of fact I still got the AFB carb mod page in my bookmarks. Supercharger Carb Modification.

Who could forget the TB-28, a micro turbine from Turbonique that affixed to the rear axle of a drag car for push button HP! Here is a cool vid of their insane products with a very special cameo appearance at 2:48.

They had self powered superchargers that took no engine power to run. I can see this today as a super-capacitor driven electric supercharger for instant power while recharging when not in use.
 
How much for that piece? I always wanted one of those just for the cool factor and a little more go.
Probably impossible to mate one to my 360 magnum.
 
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