Supercharger/ Blower: Where to start?

[btsave]

I am considering beefing up my 350 sbc ('78) in my '34 Ford Tudor and not really certain where to start. I have a mild cam and an currently running a 4BBL Edelbrock. Any suggestions from more experienced builders as what to start looking at? Where to go for specifics? Which inline blower to use for a street driven rod and which carb to best mate it to. Not looking to run 12 sec quarters, but would like to leave the corvette next to me behind (or at least the Saab).....

[pat mccarthy]

i done some blower sbc and some bbc to get only 12 s out of your sbc you may have to hook a chain up and drag that saab and vette side ways down the track ok maybe just the saab. for street use i like the AFBs carbs they will work very good .if you want to throw alot of money at carbs them BG or holleys with boost referencing .for blower .The blower shop blowers or BDS there many more to. there some things i like to do on a blower engine build up .but i have also seen blower bolted on top of re cam stock 350 but they just do not last very long

[IC2]

One of these along with a newer OD transmission and a better final gear ratio makes a lot more sense then spending a lot of bucks trying to fix up a 30+ year old 350 to to run (possibly unreliably) with a car that already has one of these under the hood - from the factory:

http://www.gmperformanceparts.com/Pa...l.jsp?engine=2

Aftermarket superchargers/blowers are not always the best choice.

[pat mccarthy]

well yes IC2 but he said he wanted a blower i built a 454 15 years ago that seen over 50000 +miles on it

[btsave]

well yes IC2 but he said he wanted a blower i built a 454 15 years ago that seen over 50000 +miles on it

Thanks! The 350 I have is still strong and has many miles more to go before I replace it. Plus, I've always liked the looks and handling of a blower addition.

Any specific part numbers to look at?

Bart

[pat mccarthy]

well there no parts numbers i can give you .there is blower size and ever one has there own kit number .your will have to comeup with what size your going to use like a 250 or a 671 that about as big has you could go on a small block and boost you would not need the 671 to make good power there is smaller blowers go on line look up THE BLOWER SHOP i just had them rebuild a 14 71

[jerry clayton]

a 4:71 would give you the looks and power----the 6:71 is longer and would crowd the dist on a sbc. The 4:71 also is long enough to set over all the intake ports equally) I think) With a 4 71 you can run a 2 inch belt also helping space

you can check out some 6:71 in my gallery

[IC2]

I guess guys (Pat??) that the questions the OP has asked has told me that he wants something he can bolt on, get in the car and drive away simply due to the fact he has never done that mod. The reason that I suggested a later bolt in engine is to take away those unknowns - which you already passed by a long time ago - simply because you went through a major learning curve over the years and now, it's basically flat. For myself, I would never attempt a blower/supercharger installation without a heluva lot of research - books first, then ask aftermarket suppliers about their products and last before I took the $$$$ plunge, talk to others locally and at shows. There's a lot more to these then changing an intake manifold. But then it's his decision and how he wants to spend his dollars

[jerry clayton]

Well Dave --there's only a couple things, however, with the new engines there are hundreds of things to do----first for the old school blower---Manifold, blower, drive, carbs,decent fuel supply and use exhaust and mounts he already has

For the new engines---high pressure, very complicated fuel system, new mounts,exhaust, accessory drives, computer(and 130 wires) sensors plus for a blower upscale map sensor to 2 or 3 bar, new curves for mas, relocate iat, intercooler, bigger injectors, licenses for retuning ecm, etc, etc, etc, etc

[IC2]

Jerry - I guess you didn't read my first post and look at the attached link. First of all, I suggested a newer SB GM crate motor instead of using the existing 32 year old 350. Now, that could be anything from a 350 to a 383. I happened to link to the LS and that's 327 to 427 ci.. Now 130 wires? No problem. See this link: http://www.gmperformanceparts.com/Pa...roller_Kit.jsp. There is your wiring plus your controller (computer). I DID NOT suggest that a supercharger/blower be added to an LS. I also suggested that it was a viable alternative. Now since you bring the subject up, should we then discuss fuel pumps, carbs, fuel return lines, compression ratio/head design, blower drive ratios for the street. Why not discuss crank shafts and the potential for bent snouts, 2 bolt vs 4 bolt, cast vs forged (crank and/or pistons) then of course, camshafts, restrictive exhausts, distributors (and their set up) that may or may not fit under a chosen blower - and from the gist of opening question, the OP is a neophyte with superchargers/blowers. And so am I as noted above.

You and Pat have done this many times - it's no big deal for you, but the new guy.....big investment in $$$, time and effort. If it's done wrong, major disappointment. You've done this to your fun/hobby car and the dam' thing wont run right if at all. Put yourself in the new guys shoes and think his way

[jerry clayton]

Dave sorry to have seemed to p you off-----

OK tho, do you want to discuss these items for a street car or a race car????to me a race car is where you want to as fast and quick as you can, not a dial in or index----

And a higher performance street car that you occasionally take to the track to see how quick/fast it is must still have street handling manners----

I am ready to respond to any item you want to discuss/compare and I believe that my experience with racing, street cars and machining/building engines won't take a back seat to anyone

I am now going to read the gm perfornance link you posted and see if there is any thing relavant to this topic

[IC2]

Dave sorry to have seemed to p you off-----

Jerry - It takes more then a long distance discussion to p!$$ me off. There has only been one here that's been able to do that so far -

[jerry clayton]

Glad he lives closer to you than me!!!

[btsave]

I really didn't want to start a war here, but one VERY important fact has been reinforced here... before I decide to make this type of investment, there is much, much more I need to know!
My purpose was just that, to learn where I should start, what I needed to know before making this change and, for that matter, if it can be easily done or not.
All of the comments I've read so far have been extremely helpful, as well as the suggestion to consider an engine upgrade, with/without blower, as a possibly "easier" choice with better potential.
I guess the bottom line is that, being a "newbie" to this hobby, I want a combination of performance and looks, but I now realize that my skill/experience level is not such that I can possibly look at all of the factors involved and fully understand all my choices at this time.
Any additional comments will be helpful as I explore this topic... though I wish it was as easy as "buy part # xxx from YYY, bolt it on & go"... but it's not.
Bart

[IC2]

Nahhhhh Bart. No war, just some of us folks with strong opinions that sometimes go off on tangents. Done it before, probably gonna do it again. (maybe even later today)