TR2/3/3A Judson supercharger

[BillyB62]

I have a line on a vintage Judson Supercharger. How much is too much before I should walk away?

I assume it will need to be rebuilt. It doesn't have the pulleys or oiler.

 

[Marvin Gruber]

They are a high dollar item. Whats the asking price?
marv

 

[glemon]

I have long been interested in the Judson Supercharger, and thought they were one of those cool, but out of reach, period accessories that would be great to have. I have learned a few things about them over the years but am by no means an expert. I remember reading an article in a contemporary magazine a few years back, and they did not add 50%, as was often claimed, to the power output, I don't remember exactly what, but maybe something like half that or a little less. Second, I had a car buddy who had a Sprite that had one, the vanes are some sort of treated fiberboard or plastic, they are held against the outer surface of the supercharger by centrifugal force, that is why the had an oiler to constantly feed Marvel Mystery Oil into it, the guy was an ex British Leyland mechanic from back in the day, he felt it wouldn't last long in the best of circumstances.

I still think it is a cool period go fast piece, but maybe better for the show field and occasional pleasure drives than something you would want to put in a car you drive on a regular basis. I don't know what a good price is, but they are not very easy to come by.

 

[BillyB62]

I offered $800 - he told me I was "close"....the owner isn't quite ready to sell yet but he said he'd make a decision in a few days. I've been searching the web for about a month and it looks like a complete rebuild will cost about $1200 and the accessories will easily push the refurbishing over $1500....I saw an old post (from a couple of years ago) that a guy was trying to sell his for $3500. - but it hadn't sold.

 

[TR3driver]

I'd say $3000 is about top price for a working, complete unit. So subtract from that what it will cost to restore yours.

Note that internal damage can be severe if the vanes (which are a kind of phenolic) have failed, or the bearings.

Also, Judson made blowers for many different applications, so be sure that the one you get fits the car you want. The high port TR3 version was sized for 83mm liners, so you'll get less boost if you have larger liners installed. Be sure to get the TR3 installation instructions as well; they include notes on how to modify the advance mechanism and, as I recall, add a brace. I have a poor scan of them (along with a lot of other Judson material), but can't get to it just now.

Judson trivia: Although the oiler was made by Marvel, Judson specified to use engine oil in it, not Marvel Mystery Oil. There was a hokey sticker (which looked handmade) that they slapped over the Marvel sticker (and which usually fell off later).

I agree, probably not best for an engine you drive every day. If you want a blower to drive, I'd suggest looking into the Moss kit instead. It uses a much more rugged (and efficient) blower than the Judson.

A very useful accessory IMO would be a boost retard module from MSD or similar. The engine needs significantly less timing while under boost, but Judson's approach was to just limit timing altogether (meaning it was effectively retarded while not under boost). But that's just guesswork on my part, I've not actually installed one.

More info here https://www.judsoncompany.com/_content/reproductions.htm including contact info for George Folchi.

 

[mxp01]

I purchased a restored Judson for a BE Sprite from George Folchi (considered the Judson expert) earlier this year. It ran me about $2500.

Mike Pennell