naturally aspirated or blown?

[OldSkool]

So I have one of these.



And just picked up one of these.



To be or not to be that is the question.

I have worked with many blowers and engines but this would be the first for me on a boat.
What say the masses about such a winter undertaking?
Any and all comments welcome.

 

[scoflaw]

You'll have the visual wow factor going on, a nice set of upside down long tubes would look good. How are you going to keep it cool?

 

[OldSkool]

The charger is a stand alone unit much like a belt driven supercharger. It will produce about 7 PSI at 12,000 rpm. I will most likely overdrive it 2 to 1 that way I will not overdrive it at WOT (4800 rpm)

With the low PSI I shouldn't need a waste gate, inner cooler or PSI regulator. From previous experience I've only needed a cooler above 10 PSI. If this is incorrect please let me know.

The plan is to build a pressure box for the carb to set in instead of bolting a hat on top the carb.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

[Saverio]

can an alpha handle that extra hp?

 

[CliffA]

can an alpha handle that extra hp?

not only that, but your hull may not be designed to handle the speed that could be reached with a super charged engine....could be a very dangerous situation....

cliff

 

[SloBurn]

I would worry about the longevity of such a set up. Remember boats are under constant (almost) load which places a lot of strain on engine and components. And the Alpha won't handle the torque, either.

 

[Woody]

If he isn't whippin' the horses the alpha should be ok....but then what's the point.

 

[geo737]

Nice score! Nothing like a big 6-71 blower poking thru a hood or in our case an engine cover. The whine coming from a blower belt is music to the ears! Couple of things that come to mind- static compression ratio and fuel octane would be items to consider when bolting one of those beasts on, as well as advance curve and static timing. If I recall from playing around with them on wheeled vehicles, 7.5 to 8.0 to one CR is the max with a for the most part stock engine,so a low boost PSI may be prudent. Distibutor clearance at the back of the blower case can be tight. It would interesting to see how the front thermostat housing would work- don't most small block thermostat housings bolt vertically to the blower manifold? Adapting the blower drive to the engine shouldn't pose too much issue I would think- a 2" or 3" gilmore belt and pulleys should work with enough room on the front of the engine. Carb options are wide open- single or dual 4 barrels with associated linkage. A current Summit Racing Catalog wil be your best friend for most of the installation. LOL My vote would be go for it- a great winter project and would be a lot of fun to run next spring. Speeding up and down the river with the blower whining and throwing up a large rooster tail........