ok now, I didn't start the thread so we could debate the difference between turbos and blowers but so I could feedback on things i will need to take into consideration to install it on my car.

Ram: I see where you are going with heads and a cam. Building it up one power adder at a time. The problem with that though is I would purchase completly different heads and cam for na vs. blown. The blower will work ok with and give me a little more power with the stock heads and cam. Then I can save for 195cc AFR's and a proper blower cam instead of spending the money twice or driving a dog of car with mismatched parts until i get the blower.

Regarding whether or not it's just a cosmetic addition that is pretty much meaningless. I wouldn't agree there. It does look and sound badass which is a bonus but i wouldn't buy it just for that. I'm not much of creature comforts/shiney car with big stereo guy. The first thing i said to my wife when we checked it out before buying was "No trunk! It's perfect!." My long term plans include lexan windows, radio delete, power antenna delete, possibly ac delete (it's a toughy, we have 100 degree summers here ), and things of that nature. In other words, a nice looking, fast, street car with the bare minimum in creature comforts. Anyways , any suggestions on other things I may need to consider before embarking on my blower adventure? I can't seem to find anyone that carries a stock replacement hood for the 80 vette. I really don't want to hack holes in the original hood just in case i ever want to convert back.

 

I'm not a turbo guy, sorry they don't impress me, now a roots or procharger style blowers I like. My 41 ****** is going to have a blown 585 bbc in it..

 

I have been very intrigued by STS for quite a while. The plumbing would be a challenge. I have spent some time on the creaper thinking about it. It would be a major project, but it could be done. I like the "stealth" of it.

 

it looks nice, but the price seems high for something that will require alot of fab. you can buy the individual pieces from ebay and atpturbo for alot less then $3000 if thats what you want to do.

 

I put a 142 supercharger on a tired mid 80s 350 I had in a chevelle. It amazed me the power it gave the motor, no cam, no beffed up bottom end, no blower pistons. I ran that motor HARD!! A couple years later I built a "proper" motor for the same supercharger. I tore the old one down to see the dammage I had done, and everything looked good!! I think if you have a CR of 9.5-1 or less you will be fine. I am a fan of superchargers!!

 

Beautiful setup you have. I've been following your project for a while now.

I'm always amazed at the stupidity of people on other forums, like the one where you posted the video.

 

Don't know if you've seen this, but Super Chevy had an article about a blown, smog-legal SBC:

http://www.superchevy.com/technical/...opy/index.html

Mike

 

FREAKIN AWESOME article. Thats what I'm talking about.

 

I'm not trying to be a smart guy here or anything, just curious.

They made 438 hp and 494 tq. Why would you go thru all the pain to get that in a Vette when you can buy a GM crate 383 that makes 425 hp and 460 ft lbs right out of the box?? Without too much effort that could be made better and it'll fit under the hood.

 

Plus look at the length the drive is away from the blower. A serpentine belt driven supercharger is not a very good method to drive one. To me it looks like too much money for too little improvement. Shinny parts dont make the power, but looks good in car shows and pictures.

 

Your absolutely right. I've even considered the costs of an aluminum block 427 in my long term plans versus nickel and diming myself to death. A small block looks like a small block, so thats an easy way to get smog legal power. Heres the thing though. The vette is my main driver (not my only car-so it can be down for few days) and I don't want to to go through an engine swap at this point in the game. If I pull the engine I know I wont stop there. So instead, I'm going to use the engine I have which is a very healthy small block and it's an L-82 which has a much better base to build on the the L-48's. Besides, with the supercharger and heads and some other odds and ends, i should have plenty of power to damage the suspension. Then i can address that, then interior, body and paint, and then swap all the top end goodies onto a huge cubic inch small block.

 

Fine. I'll save the money and prove you wrong.

 

Yes, a 383 crate CAN be bought to produce similar power/torque numbers without a blower...
I guess the emphasis of the build was to produce the power whilst maintaining SMOG legal emissions.

Note though, that they only used 4psi of boost, which is pitiful... really.
With 8 psi there would be a much more significant gain

 

thats what i thought too. It blows 4 in kit form. I figure I can get it and run 4 until i upgrade the heads and carb/fuel system to sustain 6-8psi reliably with a pully swap.

 

OK, good point about the smog legal stuff. But they started out with a Q-Jet because they wanted to satisfy the emissions, then when it wouldn't produce the hp they went to a Holly double pump. Wonder what that did to the emissions? I know nothing about hp gains with added boost so you're probably 100% correct, it just seems like alot of work for a bunch of chrome sticking out of his hood for questionable gains.

Thanks for the comments

 

They still made 410hp 468lbs tq with it on the quadrajet . I've got no problem swapping carbs at smog time. It's the swapping manifolds, plumbing egr back in, etc. that scares me. I think were splitting hairs here though, seeing as how i'm several months away from even purchasing one.

 

la donna e mobile'

 

The key word is CA smog legal. I don't think the GM crates are CA legal - they alway have warnings.

That said, they should be getting a ton more out of that engine. I'm getting 750lb-ft and around 700hp out of my small block now...

 

That's not true at all. I built a strong NA motor with no intention of adding a blower and when I did add a blower, I didn't have to change anything, just the carb jetting. I'm running the AFR 195 heads with a comp roller cam. As long as the LSA is between 110 and 114, the cam is ok for a blower. Preferably the exhaust duration will be several points higher than the intake, which most NA cams are. You could do H&C as long as the combustion chambers stay relatively large, keeping the compression down. I have 9.4:1 compression and I can run 8lbs with a centrifugal blower, add an intercooler and I'm good up to 15lbs with 91 octane.

Just let the head and cam companies know that you'd be considering a blower in the future when you call for a recommendation.

 

awesome vert, Z-man. Did the L88 bonnet do the trick, clearance wise?

tom