oldschool supercharger/ blower questions

[Wild Card]

is anyone on here running a oldschool roots blower? ive always wanted to drop a blower into a g body cutlass but i dont know anything about them. can i run one on a bone stock olds 307? would i have to instal a intercooler? is there anything i would have to change to make it worth wile and be able to do it and not go broke? please help teach this 24 year old gearhead about blowers. thank you in advance.

 

[DoubleV]

I'll let others give you the details. I'm just going to give the really short version; there's alot more to it than just dropping a blower on top of an engine. If you know nothing about blowers/superchargers, then you have 2 choices; do alot of research and learn about them or stay away from them. Either way you're not going to find a drop in blower for an Olds and putting one on a 307 would just be silly anyway. Custom supercharger setups ( and even direct bolt-on ones ) are expensive as hell and most likely out of your price range.

 

[clean8485]

Kind of have to agree with what DoubleV has said. If you want the look of a blower, I have seen "fake" blower setups, that will give you that look. As far as actually putting one on a bone stock Olds 307, probably not worth it. If you're looking for more power, you could try the traditional mods (intake, carb, headers, cam, exhaust system), or you might want to look at upgrading to a 350 or 403 Olds engine. Good luck

 

[565bbchevy]

Well I agree also and while I understand the lure of wanting a big blower sticking out of the hood I would say reconsider this idea.
Even if they made a simple bolt on kit for an Olds 307 it would cost a fortune and would still require custom fabrication on your part on top of needing the knowledge to set it up properly and tune it.
The only blower kits I have ever seen for an Oldsmobile were for 6-71 and up blowers (dyers, Hampton etc.) that are not designed for a stock engine.
For an engine to actually make use of the power one of these blowers can provide it has to be built accordingly and have a durable bottom end (forged rotating assembly,4 bolt mains,dual keyway crankshaft etc.) and then you need some good heads that will flow well, from there you will need nice headers and a good flowing exhaust system.
And once you start making really good power you will need a trans and rearend upgrade that will handle it.
I think the best thing you could do on a budget would be look for a 350 or 455 to swap in and spend some money upgrading that engine, it won't be cheap but they can make good power and it would be far less expensive than any blower set up.
I would say knowledge is key here, spend as much time as you can learning and researching and build something nice for your car.

 

[454cutlass]

The first thing is how much compression is your engine. Second is the condition it is in. You could just put it on and start saveing for a new built block cause the stock block won't last long.

A 144/142 go for around $800-1200 used. Need a boost reference Carb $500 gaskets vacuum. Lines boost gauge. Most likely a new Hood. For clearance.

My buddies 383 with a 144 in a 86 regal
[*]

 

[online170]

EDIT:
I missed the part where this was about an Oldsmobile. So some of what I say is irrelevant, although the other info is generic and still applies.


They're not that bad or scary. Just pick the right one, and don't get carried away with dialing in more boost.



Be Realistic! Just like DoubleV says, there is more to it than just slapping it on and going. Tried to explain this to my friend who installed one on his bone stock 305, and it got very expensive quick.

You need to address fuel, and timing. As you dial in boost, you need to pull timing. There are many ways to do it. Just do a google search.


The 305 that this was installed on, is bone stock, but was rebuilt by the previous owner, so its brand new. Its in a trans am with a 700R4 and 8psi of boost. The distributor in the car is electronic, so he was unable to lock it out. He is running a Holley 650 4150 series carb, stock fuel pump, and MSD6AL2 programmable for timing with boost referencing capability.

Because of the distributor issue, I timed the car as retarded as possible (just enough the keep it running), so we could start it up and test for leaks. Unfortunately, he has been lazy about fixing the distributor issue so he has been driving it like that for 2 seasons now, and the MSD box is dialed in at 0* so it is the same as if it wasn't there.

The car runs like crap, because its more retarded than the factory setting even, and has probably less HP than it did before. However, it probably has 50% more torque, and will burn the tires at will. If he tuned it, I would bet it would be close to 260 to 300hp.

We also had a few other challenges along the way, like brackets, thermostat housing clearance, and pulley alignment for which we had to machine a spacer for.

You may run into other challenges with clearance too, like fans, brake booster, Valve covers, AC, etc etc... Its not a walk in the park. But its not that bad either.



Im not worried about this engine living for a long time if he just tunes it correctly. Although he is probably doing some decent damage to it right now running it the way he is. The 700R4 is not doing so well. It was also brand new, and now it feels like its on its last legs.

 

[GT_80]

B&M 144 or 142 blowers are made for stock to mildy modified engines. I do notknow if they make one for an olds 307 because I usually only work with Chevy Small Blocks. They are expensive, and while they require a careful eye and ear and some tuning, these mini blowers are great for street cars. My buddy has a 1963 Nova SS running a 305 from a mid eighties Monte SS with a 142 blower on it, and while it did require some extra tuning, he has 8.5:1 compression, stock heads (ported and polished), mild cam, and it added 50-70 HP to the motor.

Things you need to consider:
Needs low compression (under 9:1-8.0-8.5 is best) to be effective on the street- any more you will have detonations issues
You need a very tame cam (114 LSA, probably .450 lift max in stock headed motor)
the max rpm range will be around idle- 5000 rpm
you don't want to put a blower on a high mileage motor- it will be asking for trouble!!
You may need a bigger radiator because blowers give off a LOT of heat!

My advice, go to a machine shop near you and pick their brain. If you want a 350-400 HP motor, you can build one cheaper with knowledge than just by merely bolting a blower on. And if the motor is not built properly you may be disappointed with the outcome of the install and for the pricetag of a couple grand...

 

[Wild Card]

thanks for the info. im gonna do some reading and askin a few of the oldtimmer drag racers around here. theres a verry wicked camaro that comes by every so often with a chromed out fully blown V8. he likes to rev it up when he sees me under the hood of my cutlass. im gonna have to try to flag him down sometime and get a pic of his car.

 

[Wild Card]

do you have to run a intercooler with a blower or can i get away without one?

 

[shanghaismith]

do you have to run a intercooler with a blower or can i get away without one?

You don't need an intercooler. "can i get away without one?" this type of thinking will cause you problems if you go forward with this project. When you build a performance engine, cutting corners will cause your engine to fail sooner or later. It seems that you are determined to go through with this project even though you have seen that several experienced people have advised against it. If you haven't given up on this idea yet than I have to ask, why ask for advice, and then ignore the many opinions that this is a bad idea?