My cousin picked these parts up a few days ago, he wasn't sure what they were (nor was I) we are both way past 60 and have never seen anything like these parts. Just need to pick your brains for an ID on what application these were designed for. Value would be nice to know too. Thanks in advance for any and all help you can give.
My guess is that they were used on Offys run at the Indy 500..Thats the reason we are not familar with them..And that Offenhauser was a different Company from the Offenhauser that make manifolds for our Chevys,Fords,Ols,Cad etc...in todays market
Nooo. Not for an Indy motor with a four barrel carburetor. My guess is that it's just what it says it is. An early turbo kit for aftermarket installations. Might be for a dual port mainafold that runs mostly on the carb at low boost and once the turbo gets spooled up that turbo balance thing opens up to allow the boost air into the intake. Or something. PS. By that time it was Myer-Drake. making the race four banger engine that Offenhauser drew up for Miller.
Appears to be an early device to control turbocharger boost pressure. Instead of a waste gate it appears to throttle back the carburetor if boost goes too high. Hard to tell exactly how it works, without seeing it in person.
My guess it's part of a draw through turbocharger setup similar to the Martin units. It's missing a whole lot of pieces however. Most, if not all, turbocharger setups are of the blow through design these days. I think your parts are only "vintage" in that regard. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
As usual, Rich is right in the main, in that it's an early Offenhauser aftermarket turbo balance control and nothing to do with any Indy engine. However, a detail needs clarification for those reading this in the future. Leo Goosen was the draftsman for Harry Miller. Fred Offenhauser was the machinist/shop foreman and after Miller's bankruptcy, bought the patterns and the 4-cyl Miller eventually became known as the Offenhauser and later Meyer and Drake bought the business and it became the Meyer-Drake Offy. jack vines
Thank you Jack for the clarification. I just posted a picture of one of your Packard engines on here. It is one of my favorites.
It maybe a prototype as it does not appear to have been bolted on. A lot of restriction in the air valve portion.
What you have is a production version of the Offenhauser Turbo Balance Control Valve. It was designed by my grandfather, Ollie Morris, to eliminate turbo lag on a draw through turbo-charged engine. It was best suited for use with the Offenhauser dual port manifolds. The valve you have would have been bolted on to the intake manifold in place of the carburetor. The carburetor would need to be remotely located before the turbo charger. The valve would allow the air/fuel mixture to enter the intake via the open ports. Inside the valve is a diaphragm and spring. When the boost pressure overcame the spring tension the secondary door would open allowing the air/fuel mixture into the secondary part of the plenum. The inserts in the primary portion of the valve could be removed and/or sized appropriately for the engine displacement it was being used on. If you need the info sheets I have the Offenhauser paperwork.
Hi I recently picked up a complete kit and could use any info you might have on it . I would like to run this on my project . Any help would be much appreciated . Thank you
The amount of boost allowed was mandated so the waste gate was used to insure that the maximum allowed boost was not exceeded. All sorts of games were played trying to get around the rule.
The Jalopy Journal
