= Supercharger =

The fuel system.  Nothing too exotic.  Electrc fuel pump mounted at the tank, boost referenced fuel regulator.  Boost referencing is the process of maintaining the same positive fuel pressure to the fuel bowls.  Why is this important?  Well, I run my fuel pressure at 5 PSI.  I run my boost 5-6 PSI.  If I didnt boost reference (that is, increase fuel pressure by the amount of boost), by the time I got to peak boost, the pressure from the boost would overcome the pressure from the fuel pump and block fuel from entering the bowls.  The boost reference line ports boost pressure to the fuel regulator, so that the pressure increases with boost.  It takes the pressure from ABOVE the throttle blades. Even though there might be vacuum under the blades, there might be pressure above the blades, and that is what you need to be concerned with when it comes to fuel delivery.

Boost referenced fuel pressure regulator.  Notice the line from the rgulator to the hat.	Pulling vacuum signal from beneath the blades for the boost gauge to show actual boost in the engine
Dash was toast, so I got a dash cover and cut holes in it for fuel pressure, oil pressure, water temperature, and boost/vacuum

So that is how I ran it for 2 years or so, but the inlet setup I had rigged (that cobra head connector with a 90* mandrel bend chopped to reduce the radius and a K&N comical filter) just didnt work for me. I think at higher boost it was collapsing, and it looked terrible. It was just... ucky.  Ideally, I would be able to get a 4" pipe back there, but I only have 2-7/8" from the lip of the inlet on the supercharger to the front of the cylinder head.  That isnt much to work with.  Okay, so I want a hard pipe, but it cannot be round.  Oval?  Sure, but nobody makes an oval 90* turn that turns on the short side.  I made my own from a 2-1/2" mandrel bend.  I split it in half, and then welded in 2" strips of metal on both sides.

Strip tacked in and ground down. Looks good	Fully welded and smoothed out
Inside of the tube... fully welded and smoothed.  This is the best welding I have ever done.	4" hole cut into one end for the mounting flange for the supercharger inlet
Flange cut form 4" pipe test fit onto the inlet tube.  Looks good!	I was a little concerned about getting a true fit, so I cut it in half to allow some fit tweaking
Flange fully welded and smoothed.  Used a carbide on the inside to smooth out a small ridge.	Another shot showing the end plate welded on, and the other end cut down to size.
Relief slots were cut into the flange to allow the clamp to "squish" it around the supercharger inlet	Final shot of it installed and the engien as it sits today.

Wow that was a heck of a project.  It took all winter and all spring.  I started it in December, and I had a trip to Iowa planned for late June.  I was having the ir fuel ratio tuned the day we left.  So far it puts out about 375HP at the rear wheels. Given that the AOD was performance built by Art Carr, it probably has a 15-20% parasitic effect... so between 440HP and 470HP at the crank.  Torque numbers were not that good, but that is from a lean spot around 3500RPM.   I think it is a power valve that is opening too late.  Funny thing about hte torque curve though... it just keeps going and going.  We ended the run between 5500 and 5700 RPM, but that torque curve was still climbing.