supercharger for austin healey ?

[mudd]

has anybody seen or done a supercharger of a bj8?

 

[HealeyRick]

Not that anyone knew last time we discussed this: https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcforum/u...eale#Post791769

That Moss kit for the TR6 sure takes up a lot of underhood room that I'm not sure is available in a Healey;

 

[mudd]

wow that does take up a lot of space

 

[Frameman]

Supercharging an Austin Healey 6 cylinder is not a problem.
It would be my recommendation that it should only be done if a fuel injection manifold is used and an engine management system to ensure longevity of this application. Engine compartment area is not an issue. Crankshaft whip would be a greater concern. We have supercharged a 100-4 with a V12 Jag engine. Also our 6 cylinder has fuel injection could easily have a supercharger installed on it but would require special pistons to handle the boost. Because of the small market it is currently something as a company we would not bother to pursue but it is certainly doable.
Martin Jansen

 

[bertrand]

Mudd, I am currently busy making plans for my own setup for a supercharger on my BJ8.
I shall use (and orderd) an eaton MP62 blower (same as moss is using in the TR6). The space under the hood is indeed narrow, but I hope to succeed. The carb will be 1 HD8 with other needle.
A larger pulley on the SC will be used to limit the boost to 5 lbs. as the healey has a higher compression ratio than the TR6. I hope to finish that project in 3 months or so.
Some 10 years ago I bought the supercharger kit for my TR6 from Sal Vespertino. It worked really very good. Meantime I sold the car but already regret it.

 

[Randy Forbes]

Yes, I'd love to hang something like either of these two (2) on it...

One is an Active Autowork's and the other is Eurosports' version of the twinscrew supercharger (both are for the BMW S-52 I-6 engine).

I plan to put this one (the better detailed of the two) on my black car; been collecting the pieces for a while, just need to pony up for the software...

In another week or so, I'll be picking up a couple of Healey engines (2.6 & 2.9) that I've stored at my brothers house for the last decade. It will be tough to keep seeing the assembled one sitting there, without dreaming up something to do with it... :devillook

 

[GregW]

Not that anyone knew last time we discussed this: https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcforum/u...eale#Post791769

A direct link https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf/showthread.php?78199

 

[Cottontop]

While at a local track recently, I saw a supercharged MG-TF.

The supercharger was from a Thunderbird SuperCoupe. I don't know if the output would be enough for a 6 cylinder, but it might blow a 4 cylinder and the blower should be small enough to fit into the engine bay.

The MG logo was taken from a key fob, curved, and simply glued onto the blower snout.

All of the interface brackets were made from 1/4" aluminum plate.

Tim

 

[HealeyRick]

This is a really interesting post of a guy building an M62 set-up on his MGB: https://www.mgexperience.net/phorum/read.php?1,2218134,page=1

 

[bertrand]

Herewith my supzercharger installation on my BJ8. Need to fine tune and make my own airfilter due to limited space available.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]26516._xfImport[/ATTACH]

 

[Randy Forbes]

Let's see if we can make that picture a little more visible__it certainly deserves merit!

The "thing" I see that causes me concern, is the single V-belt you're using to spin the thing; depending on tension vs belt-wrap, I can't help but think you're not going to get enough grip and it will slip (affecting your tune). I recognize that there's precious little room between the crankshaft pulley and that cross-brace, but I'd be looking at a way to engineer a serpentine belt type drive system.

Of course, now that you have the bulk of the heavy lifting done, the little details can be addressed. Overall, I'd say that I'm quite impressed (and honestly, a little jealous )!

 

[Johnny]

Thanks Randy, doesn't look like a lot of room for an airfilter either, perhaps a cold air box etc. Of course I'm a little jealous as well.

 

[GregW]

The "thing" I see that causes me concern, is the single V-belt you're using to spin the thing; depending on tension vs belt-wrap, I can't help but think you're not going to get enough grip and it will slip (affecting your tune). I recognize that there's precious little room between the crankshaft pulley and that cross-brace, but I'd be looking at a way to engineer a serpentine belt type drive system.

What about a chain? Or is that too grippy.

 

[bertrand]

Hi, thanks for your comments regarding my supercharger installation on my BJ8 . Also thank you Randy for having put my picture correctly. Agree that the single belt can be a problem, but having had a single belt on my TR6 supercharger which was working well, I am confident with a good tension that it will work. I could also make a steel pulley on my charger which has more grup than aluminium. The space is very very limited in height. the charger is about half an inch from the steering column and half an inch from my bonnet. You will have noticed that installing an air filter will also be a problem. I started the engine for the first time a few days ago and it seems to run well. Let us see on the road after having tuned the carb. Shall post another picture of the completely finished installation.

 

[HealeyDave]

How much noise does that supercharger make? Just curious. With the outlet facing into the aluminum air inlet box.

 

[Randy Forbes]

What about a chain? Or is that too grippy.

I'm sure there's a better reason than I can think of, but a chain would be pretty heavy, very noisy, and if anything like the chain(s) on my vintage go-kart, very messy (slinging tacky__as in sticky/clingy__oil...). I'd think another detriment would be the chains mass, sapping additional crankshaft horsepower.


Strictly speculation, but an absolutely positive drive connection between the supercharger and engine might lead to faults if/when the engine misfires, sending the shockwave back to the engine; maybe that's what plagued both the original and current "streamliner" Healeys...? Me thinks a little slip is okay, but a single V-belt isn't going to cut it__in my opinion__BUT I'm still impressed overall with bertrand's installation! (corrected)

 

[Randy Forbes]

What about a chain? Or is that too grippy.

BTW Greg, I still have a complete Dinan/Vortech (including its own DME w/ NickG software) that I took off my 99 ///M. Supercharger was rebuilt by Vortech and not installed since it was returned... :devillook

Oh, how did this picture get here?

[/highjack]

 

[Randy Forbes]

Hi, thanks for your comments regarding my supercharger installation on my BJ8 . Also thank you Randy for having put my picture correctly. Agree that the single belt can be a problem, but having had a single belt on my TR6 supercharger which was working well, I am confident with a good tension that it will work. I could also make a steel pulley on my charger which has more grup than aluminium. The space is very very limited in height. the charger is about half an inch from the steering column and half an inch from my bonnet. You will have noticed that installing an air filter will also be a problem. I started the engine for the first time a few days ago and it seems to run well. Let us see on the road after having tuned the carb. Shall post another picture of the completely finished installation.

Well, you certainly have more experience with that type of installation than I do! In that case, my suggestion would be to use an idler pulley, located below the supercharger and putting tension on the "outside" of the belt, increasing the "wrap" around the supercharger pulley. I've seen pictures of similar designs that are actually mounted on the SC's snout itself, which seems like a good idea.

Again, I think it's great that you've forged a path into supercharging a Healey, and I'm as excited as anyone to see continued updates (and more pictures of the construction details).

 

[Bob_Spidell]

I'd be tempted to put the brass '100M' badge on that cold air box.

 

[Randy Forbes]

I used a 32/38 DGV Weber on an MGB some years ago, and while there are thicker air filters available, I was using one of the shallow__1-3/4"thick__versions. If there's not enough headroom for the standard base air filter, maybe you could use the base to fabricate a dropped-base fliter, using a larger diameter filter element. That pattern was pretty popular on American cars back in the days of carburetors (carburettors ).