Hi, I found a guy that has two model #39M superchargers for the Ford flathead. One is chain drive and the other has the belt pullys. This guy want's $3,000. for the pair so he knows the value. My question is... Besides the fact that they look cool, do they really increase the horsepower at all and what other changes would I have to make to my flathead to run this set-up? (Kiwi Kev) I know you are running one, any feedback? Thanks.
according to a chart in roger huntington's book, it raised peak hp about to about 130 on a stock prewar merc, also mentions the bevel gears are weak.
I have one. Was told that it will give 4 to 5 lbs. boost. Hope to get mine put on this spring but haven't done anything yet. He may know the value but ebay doesn't. One just sold on there for $2500. and it was not complete. Neal
Here is my old one. They were not made for racing. They were made to boost the output of the Ford trucks of the 30s to carry more freight. That is why they have provisions for heating the manifold for winter time operation. They are cool looking but not really high performance items.
I have a boost guage on mine and it gets 3 pounds when it's wound up. My engine is a stock 8BA with a stage 2 H&H cam. I noticed a slight increase in power after I put the blower on, nothing noticable down low but it does pull a little stronger when you wind it up and it's quite a bit louder. I have also heard they are a little fragile but I have a few thousand trouble free miles on mine. I had to build my own drive setup as they only made them from 37-40 and I have the later flathead.
^^^^^^^^^^Coolest fuckin pic ever!! ^^^^^^^^^ That's a wicked lookin little beast. Kinda looks like a toilet seat though.
I want to thank Jetmek, Neal, Tommy, Kevin and Muttley for the pictures and information! The H.A.M.B. is awesome! I am going to try and make the deal for both units. Kenny.
kev,that power boost is entirely down to the Almquist adaptor and nothing else...believe me , I've had one of those adaptors and I could blow the doors off anything in ....1969
one of my customers drives a deuce roadster in bare metal that has one on his flattie it has never broken down or had a problem one out of it at all. i used to be able to tell you the radiator hose number for the top hose in a V8 deuce and it looked factory (not a flex hose) from NAPA.
Here is a picture of the 1936 McCulloch blower (1st year ) on my wife's '40 convertible. The McCulloch supercharger has helped this become the FASTEST flathead powered car in my block ( it is the only one ). Actually this setup puts out about 2 1/2 lbs. of boost. It runs fine and is quiet. We have probably put 5000 to 7000 miles on it with no blower problems. Although the car is not a bullet in performance the blower is a great conversation piece - Don
Walt Dupont over on Fordbarn has one on a '40. I think this is a judgement call--probably not the best use of the money in raw performance, huge cool value, and you may have noticed that flathead speed stuff that isn't reproduced just keeps going up and up in value. From that point of view, the pair is grossly underpriced now and seems likely to increase in value rapidly. There is a bit of info on the big McCulloch blower website.
I picked them up today. The red and white one is very complete with generator and bracket & both 3 groove pully's for the water pumps, but the chrome and polished one is missing the water pump pully's and the offset generator brackets. I know these items will be hard to find, but hey, you gotta start somewhere! Does anybody know where I can find a re-print of a manual or any information on original complete units? Oh, by the way..... I paid a little more than he told me the first time. I was going to try a grind him a little on the price, but I think he talked to someone that told him the value. I hate when people tell you one price and then when you show interest, they raise it, but it was only slightly more so I took a deep breath and stepped up.
Casper, There is a lot of information on this website: http://www.vs57.com You have done well to fine a unit that has all the parts. Normally the water pump pulleys and the idler bracket are gone. The units that you have are the later versions. These were supposedly improved over the earlier models. They look to be Model 39F or 39M units. The Model 38F units were quite different and used a standard Ford intake manifold.
You did well.. you're not at a loss at all. I have seen these sell to gold chainers for $5000 - 8000.... You can always sell one to pay for the other. Nice work!
Nice score. Yes, took some bucks but you won't regret it. Like said, if you need some cash, sell off the incomplete one and you will get back most of what you paid. Neal
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