mounting a blower on a small block 350??

Question

i'm 16 and my dad gave me a engine he used to have in a 71' Chevy Chevelle Malibu. It has a Holley 4 bbl carb, Edlebrock Torquer II intake and Comp cam cam shaft and rockers and etc...I suppose its a pretty high performance motor. But would I be able to just mount on a blower system? or is there somehings i will have to change/buy differently???

Answer 1

Blower setup is totally different than a naturally aspirated (N/A) setup. First, compression must be lowered to work with the boost of the blower. Next, the camshaft must be changed to work with the boost. Extensive head work is needed to be able to handle the extra airflow. For a Roots-type blower, you will need a lower blower manifold, the blower, upper blower manifold, a belt drive kit, oil lines (to lube blower parts), special accy brackets, etc etc.

The paxton-type blowers are a bit cheaper to set up, but you've still got a lot of work to do.

Basically a blower setup costs $2000 or so. Then add the cost of setting the engine up to use the blower, special carbs jetted to work with the blower, accy brackets for alternator and power steering, special fuel system to keep up with fuel demand.... And your power brakes won't work, because blower engines don't have manifold vacuum.

Typical blower engine costs $8000-$12000 done properly, cuz so much is involved. Thats why you don't see many of them. The ones that are cobbled together on the cheap don't live long, as they tend to blow head gaskets and beat out the rod bearings.

Answer 2

Yeah. The engine in it's original state was not intended for forced induction system....If the engine was not a hight performance type, it can be done, but do not expect a large gain....If you want to do this properly, you must purchase the proper internal parts to make it work correctly. If it was a naturally aspiration set-up with cams, you have to change that if you are to bolt on a supercharger. More than likely, when the cam in the engine was selected, it probably was a high lift cam with longer durations...Forced induction and highlift cams, do not mix....you will have to change some parts....Also consider how much compression the engine is running. If it is high already, then bolting on a supercharger will increase the chance of engine blowing detonation......no matter how rich you run the fuel/air mixture....

Answer 3

i have never done it but here is what i think. any time you go with forced induction (super/turbo charging) you will need to lower your compression. also, i beleive cams are designed for either naturally aspirated or for forced induction. they will work in engines they arent intended for...but to maximize performance, you might want to go ahead and get another cam if your going the supercharger route. if the cam he already had in it was pretty big anyway, you might have to ask yourself if the added HP is worth the time/money. good luck

Answer 4

depending on the engine you may find a blower kit for it and if its properly built already nothing else should be needed ,but you do need to know whats been done to make that decision

Answer 5

youll need a different manifold (maybe), but it really depends on how much boost you want to run... i think you could get away with 5-8 psi but im not sure, youll have to change the timing and stuff like that, and lower compression pisons..

Answer 6

yes, you have to run low compression pistons with a blower. you also need a new manifold :(