I'll let the pictures speak for themselves..............





Questions? Comments?

 

Nice!!!
What all did you keep as far as belt routing? How hard was it to install and to keep this carb related what did you do to prep the carb for the blower??
Also what about hood clearnace? Could you measure from the deck up to the top of carb for me? I would Appreciate it.
SSC

 

What are you running for jets and rods in the qjet?

 

Belt routing is dead-nuts stock except for a 2-point upper alternator bracket in place of the stock 3-point one (there is no place to bolt it to the intake manifold). I didn't even need to space the fan further forward- the standard "long nose" 142 blower snout/belt/pulley cleared the fan by 3/16" after I VERY SLIGHTLY bent a few of the stock fan blades forward by hand. They cleared without the bending but I wanted a bit more clearance to make me "feel better."

Carb prep was nil. I went to some slightly richer secondary rods but that is it. Since it's a draw-through type application the carb just thinks it's sitting on a bigger engine. The fuel bowl expereinces no positive boost which makes it a breeze to tune. I have 76 primary jets, 45 primary rods and a set of slightly richer DA secondary rods replacing my N/A setup DRs. I have the 800CFM version of the Qjet. I only went richer to give me a little "safety margin" against detonation, not because it is absolutely required.

Hood clearance is not good. I have a 2 1/2" Cowl hood on my Malibu and it's tight even with a very low profile air cleaner. On a Camaro it would be even tighter. 4" cowl hood minimum for a Camaro application.

The only part I had to fabricate was the throttle cable bracket (which I cut the original one and wleded in a 4 1/2" extension) and the original TH350 kickdown cable is just a smidge to short to reattach. I will be purchasing a longer cable from Lokar. The original thermostat housing with it's bungs for screw-in sensors wouldn't clear the blower snout so I bought a "smooth top" one from the local parts store. There is, however, an extra screw-in fitting on the intake manifold if you have a sensor on your thermostat housing that you wish to retain the use of.

Yes, you can even run A/C with this blower if you want!

This isntallation was not much more complicated than replacing an intake manifold. 7 hours total work time, being slow and methodical. They even have emissions-legal versions of this kit for carbureted engines that retain the EGR, computer controlled carb, all the vacuum fittings/switches, etc. You can (and I have in the past) installed a similar kit onto a Qjet carbureted 3rd gen. It will take a bit more time/effort/money to isntall an emissions legal version of this kit but the basic process is the same.

 

Thanks for the info.
I was going to get the same one for my truck but I found the firebird and just had to get it instead.
Ahh if only money grew on trees, but at least I can still dream.
SSC

 

Good Stuff... I would have started with an even richer sec
rod like AX or CC.. Let us know how it works and your final
tune up. Should be a screamer... Good Luck

 

Simply awesome. I am VERY seriously investigating non-natural aspiration for my daily driven 'Bu. I missed getting a weiand 142 blower for $900 because I was short on funds and I'm regretting it more and more every day. How far does the carb rise above the fenders? My calculations have it being about even with zero (literally) room for an air cleaner with the stock hood. How is low rpm boost? More pics please.

My site (I'm updating the pics ASAP)
http://personal.atl.bellsouth.net/at...dh/webpage.htm

Chris
'78 'Bu
'68 Chevelle SS396

 

You lost me there. A draw-through system would have high vacuum under the carb even under WOT, so the primaries would never richen.

Or is there something else I don't understand.

 

You will not get this blower under a stock flat hood. The top of the carb would be about 1/2" above the stock hoodline. If you sight across from fender to fender you will see there's no way. Fortunately, with a Malibu you CAN get it to clear with only a 2 1/2" cowl hood. It's real tight but I'm going to be running a regular old 14" open element with a 2" filter and a K&N X-Stream filter lid on it. An F-Body starts with much less hood clearance than a G-body so a 4" hood would be mandatory.

The great thing about a draw-through system like this blower is that the carb just thinks it's sitting on a larger engine, nothing more. And even then it's only at WOT that you notice the difference. Idle and cruise vacuum under the carb are almost identical to before the blower. The blower makes no boost until very close to WOT- and the carb never sees the boost anyway- just an increaded demand for airflow. At idle and light throttle there is really no additional airflow through the carb. It would be almost identical to the changes you would make to a carb if you were to take it off a small block and put it onto a big block. I'm not sure I'm explaining it well, but take my word for it, if when don't have to deal with the complication of pressurized fuel bowls (a blow-though type instllation) a carb will almost always meter the correct amount of fuel into the air with only minor tuning changes. Venturis are an amazing piece of low-tech genius.

 

Have you driven your 'Bu with the blower yet? If so do you have a boost guage so you can watch your boost levels at different rpms? The reason I was leaning towards a mini-blower like yours is due to the reports I've read that indicate low rpm boost levels. I read that this was due to the fact that the blower is spun very fast compared to other blower setups. Holleys site (http://www.holley.com/HiOctn/ProdLin.../SCK/6500.html) has this to say:

"The Weiand Pro-Street Supercharger is particularly strong in the lower rpm ranges with substantial torque increases in the speeds where you drive your vehicle the most."

Having read this I'd like to know YOUR experiences firsthand. If the power increase is only at WOT I'm not sure its what I want for my daily friver 'Bu.

Thanks!,
Chris
'78 'Bu
'68 Chevelle SS396