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Superchargers
I am thinking of putting a supercharged Rover V8 in my Cobra.Will I have to modify the bonnet?Are there any things that I should be particularly aware of with supercharging?
Thanks Steven (based in England) |
You might want to add some strength to the bottom end. In my case I added a 9# boost supercharger - crank driven - and to be sure I held my engine together I added ARP bolts to the head, main and rod bearings. I have 56,000 miles in it with no problems. Of those miles lots of passes on the drag strips and many road course runs. Still have great compression on engine.
I also added in a FMU (fuel management unit) to add extra fuel under boost. The key is not to run lean!!! Lean = melt down! |
Steven,
This is a complex subject and you should begin by reading and reading and reading. I went through this process a couple of years ago and soon realized that there are very few Cobra enthusiasts who even other pertrolheads who understand the difference between turbo and supercharging. You will have to help yourself a great deal. I installed a Vorech SQ-2 blower witha nair/water intercooler to my small block Chevy and and very satisfied with the solution. I'd be happy to answer specific questions that you may have. rbutton, I went for the Vortech S-trim and blow up to 12 psi but I keep the intake charge temp. down to around 5 deg. above ambient with Vortech's fantastic intercooler. The cooling makes a big difference. Did you intercool yours ? |
Dave...
I am a week away from adding a Vortech S-trim to my 302. This also includes a swith to EFI (Accel DFI). Most of the cars I have seen do not have an intercooler. IN fact I thought the intercoolers were designed to be cooled with ice, obviously for track, not road use. What did you notice was the difference with the cooler? Did you run it without before adding it? |
The Vortech intercooler can be used with ice in the water, the battery-sized box has an opening for ice cubes (and whiskey if you like).
It is not true to say that intercoolers are designed to work with ice, they are effective when you are moving because they have their own radiator, as small as an oil cooler, the electric pump circulates the cooled water to the intercooler just before the compressed air enters the throttle body. Here are the numbers for intake charge temperatures that I measured: Ambient temp. = 30 deg. C. At 10 psi boost, no intercooler, 75 deg. C. At 10 psi boost, with intercooler, 35 - 40 deg. C. These numbers are consistent with Vortech's estimates. The free space to install the intercooler hardware is the problem and probably the reason you haven't seen more of them. The Vortech Mustang kit is excellent and I recommend it. If only I could find the extra space to install the ABS modulator. |
There is a ton of information available on this subject in the tarde magazines and the various blower manufactureres web site.
In a nut shell if you are running over 10 lbs of boost, then do yourself a favor and just plan on running an intercooler. It will make a world of difference in performance and peace of mind. |
Steve,
We finally talked Steve Tate (a fellow Brit) out of using his Rover (baby Buick to us Yanks) motor in a Cobra. Put the Rover in an MGB instead. It'll be easier and cheaper to use a normally aspirated Ford or Chevy V8 to power your Cobra with. |
Oh what a shame, I was looking forward to the rest of the story. I gained enormous experience and pleasure in fitting the Vortech supercharger and intercooler to my small block Chevy.
The results are are fantastic too. |
Some years back while into Pontiac HiPo stuff, I had connections with parts folks for specific blocks, cranks, heads, complete motors, etc. Sold them to racers as a little sideline.
One of you entrepreneurial Aussie types could do us Yanks a favor by scrounging around salvage yards for Cleveland engines that are plentyful in Australia, and shipping them East where they went out of production in '74. Guys here building 393, 408, and 427 stroker Windsors could use those Cleveland 4V heads with 2.19/1.73 valves. |
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