142 blower

[1971olds350]

hey guys, has any one ever heard about making a aluminum plate for a offy dual carb intake milling and welding the plate to the intake. i have access to an aviation machine shop by the way it for a olds 350. thanks

[captjim]

I have been looking at one of these street blowers for years. Karen at Dave Smith Engineering has a few manifolds for the 174 blower left over from when they made kits. Dick Landy also made a kit, but since he has passed I am not sure what they are doing. The other issue is that by the time you are done the single carb blower is about the same price as a 6-71 from Hampton or BDS.

But to answer the question, I'm sure you could modify an Olds intake to work with that blower, just depends on the time you want to put into it. You would still need to fab up the pulleys, but that is no biggie. I know 2 guys with the 144s on SBCs and they like them a lot. The off idle torque is ridiculous.

[Olds64]

Any additional information on this would be welcome. We don't have many posts on supercharging or turbocharging.

[jslabotsky]

It is my understanding that some commercially offered kits have used modified Offy intakes, so it is an established practice.

You didn't really say what your goals are, but keep in mind this is going to be expensive unless you have mad bargain hunting skillz. A new blower - bare without a manifold or anything - is going to run something like $1,000-2,000. That money would go a long way toward a strong naturally aspirated build. And if you're going to run much boost, you'd probably have to sink some money into the motor too.

If you're planning an all-out, big budget engine, this would be the cherry on top for sure.

As far as whether they're good.. well.. My only experience with a positive displacement (roots) blower is an Eaton I had on my 1990 Miata. (Go ahead, make fun. The 5.0 M*stang guys laughed too until they were in my rearview mirror.) My boss at the time had a turbocharged '94 model. The blower car made power at much lower RPM. The power curve felt more like dropping in a bigger engine - the extra power was pretty much there all the time. The turbo made more power, but you had to work harder for it. You had to keep it in the revs to get the power. That's not to say a better designed turbo system might have had a better feel, but my experience was that the blower made power in a more usable way for the street. It did have a slight impact on highway fuel economy (1-2 mpg) but it was worth it.

Unfortunately I have no idea how that compares with putting a blower on a big V8. It could be completely different. I've been intrigued with the idea of a blower for my '76 350. The low compression motors seem ready-made for some boost. I just don't know how much a stock bottom end would take. Anybody got an idea on that one? I'm watching craigslist and the swap meets for a cheap, second hand huffer.

[Olds64]

I bet there is some good information on blowers and turbos on ROP. Hopefully someone will chime in that has some facts about supercharging Oldsmobiles.

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by 1971olds350

hey guys, has any one ever heard about making a aluminum plate for a offy dual carb intake milling and welding the plate to the intake. i have access to an aviation machine shop by the way it for a olds 350. thanks

Yeah, that's about the only thing those singel plane Offy intakes are good for. Of course, you'll also need to custom fabricate a blower drive system.

[captjim]

I've done the math on this a gazillion times, and just can't make it work. Here is the issue, IMO. A 455/468 can be build to make 550 ft/lbs and 425 HP pretty easily for 5 grand. A 350 with a blower will do that for a few thousand dollars more. Once you get much over 450-500 HP, it gets expensive to keep the bottom end together. So, you do a DX stroker like Nick, bolt on an 8-71, you have a $12,000 engine. For waaaaay less, you can get use after market SBC parts, block, rods, heads, and the blower kits are much cheaper. The engine will be stronger and more reliable, IMO.

So, that is why I think you see so few of them. IMO The cool factor of a blower is a consideration, as is being unique, the reason many of us run Oldsmobiles in the first place. Just recognize that it costs more to be different.

Oh and BTW jslabotsky, the off idle torque on a blown V8 is RIDICULOUS!!