Projects Austin Somerset Gasser Build (DragNasty)

So with a potentially huge temper fit and driveway meltdown averted, we went back to the job at hand. After all the lifters, rocker seats, push rods and shaft rockers were installed, we popped the supercharger intake back in place.




Then we dropped the valve covers on and discovered I had jumped the gun earlier when I claimed we would no longer need the spacers with this new valve train. My mistake was dropping them on with all the rockers just sitting there relaxed (plenty of room for that scenario).

But now with the rockers actually in action, we discovered they hit the covers at the top of their travel AND... that is not all! After dropping the spacer back in place we found the back of the intake rockers were going to hit them as well.


So we marked the spacers and ground notches in them for rocker clearance.


After finally getting them to fit and comfortable they would clear the valve train, we had to do something with their color. Remember the old cast 840 heads were black and these things blended right in. But now they are just an inch or so black outline between the aluminum head and the vintage aluminum M/T covers. Not the best look. So we shot some aircraft stripper on them and with a bit of time and some elbow grease, exposed the natural aluminum.




Then we called it a night and chased down that steak!

 

Good to hear.

 

Glad you got it figured out man I kinda had the same day yesterday where nothing seemed to work out so don't think you were alone in your trials and tribulations lol


Chrome don't get ya home

 

GREAT! All just parts of an excellent build and the attention to the details will pay off many times over! Gary

 

Very happy you got it together!
Ever sell your 750 DPs? I know a dude who needs 'em now...

 

I always seem to get my timing right with this thread.
When I check in, there's usually a page or two, to read, with problems and fixes.
Glad to read of your latest solution.

 

Good to see you sorted that problem out, this engine building can be so much fun sometimes.

 

Yep...a fellow HAMBER - @Hombre snagged them for his Supercharged Hemi powered Model "A" Build. ...Sorry. About all I have left from round one is a killer set of Comp Cam Magnum Roller Rockers and new set of ARP Studs.

 

So this afternoon, after lounging around most of the day, I finally got motivated about 2:30 and headed out to the shop and we opened the drawer of knowledge.


It is the bottom drawer of my tool box, where Dad has filed away instruction sheets for every part we have purchased for the Austin. This afternoon we dug through for the McCleod Clutch just to make sure we put it back together correctly.

We installed the flywheel and dual clutch pack and were lining up the transmission for the first stab attempt when I happened to look up and see the scatter plate for the bell housing hanging on the wall. It has to be in place before the flywheel. The true idiocy of this step was we did the exact same thing the first time around. It all sort of came back to me as I was taking the clutch and flywheel back off again!


Second time around and believe it or not that stupid thing slid right in place like butter. Holy cow!


A few minutes later and she was back home. And then just to burn all the luck we had in the bag this afternoon, as we are slowing sliding it in place, I am in the car keep the transmission up. I start to move the drive shaft out of the way (that it still connected to the rear end) but instead I just pointed it at the rear of the trans and it slid right back in place as the trans slid back and sat on it's mount!


So with our goal for this weekend (the engine assembled and back in the car) complete we decided to set the fun stuff back on her for a quick sneak peek.

 

Hubba Hubba!!
Man them 4 ports are seXy!!

 

Gotta love it , when a plan comes together.

 

I agree AND I am pretty sure their trimmer build is going to improve my vision. But that may be a two edged sword. While I can see better around them, I can't stop looking at them! Could be a bit of a distraction when we finally hit the road.

 

So here is my next dilemma (what blower pulley this time around)? I really want to make the upcoming trip to the dyno one and done. But I have no idea what pulley we need. For the first go around we upgraded the pulley and finally got to a combo that was 19% over-driven and we made around 10 pounds or so of boost at WOT.

But some important things have changed. Our combustion chamber size is up 50% or so from 108cc to 219cc. Our cam is now tuned for the supercharger with 115 degrees of lobe separation where before it was only 110. Same pistons but the valves are larger as are the runners in the head. We are no longer driving the water pump and of course we are now injected. We are also going to turn it 1500 plus RPM harder than before etc. etc. etc.

It would appear to me we are going to need to go a step or two smaller on the blower to get about the same amount of boost etc.

 

What pulleys did you have on it at the 10 lbs of boost


Chrome don't get ya home

 

38 on the bottom 32 on top. I spoke with Weiand this afternoon and they did some figuring and according to their tech guy the real factor is the chamber size change. He said the extra RPM 1500 plus RPM was not really enough to be a factor. After some figuring he said we needed a 29 on top to keep close to the same boost etc.

 

I would step up the lower pulley to a 41 and that way if you need to spin it more you have an easier option to change the upper one


Chrome don't get ya home

 

That was his first option as well but I can't go much bigger on the bottom because of the crank sensor. The flying magnet ring is only about an 1/8 larger than the 38 pulley. I am afraid a larger pulley would be larger than the ring and affect the minimum distance the pick up has to be from the ring to work...He said 29 and I can get two sizes smaller down to a 27 from Good Vibrations.

 

Not sure how much advice I would take from Ol Jackson.......just saying.

 

LOL! ....Oh James I bet you've stepped in it now!

 

I ain't scared....I have been hearing the chatter.
And no one has seen my mess.

 

now would be a good time to go with 8mm.

 

Yep...also looks like a good time to upgrade to an 8-71 as well!

Sent from my SM-G930V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

The saying around here is "If Your Going To Jeff City Don't Get Off At Ashland"

 

I remember that....lol

Sent from my SM-G930V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Doing all the math to keep up with our new heads etc. Looks like we would have to spin our little huffer well beyond its efficiency just to achieve nominal boost....so...

Sent from my SM-G930V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

and the belt would never handle it any way. as far as blowers go they are not all the same. the days of using old diesel gmc cases are over. look up littlefield retro blowers. the rear exhaust opening is pie shaped. this does two things. first it supports the rotors better at the rear of the case. second the smaller opening increases the pressure. they look the same as another blower from the outside. the blower can be run slower due to its superior efficiency. this in turn reduces the incoming temperature. it also requires less hp to run. all good things. the case on a 671 is the same as a 871. the 871 uses a spacer thats 1 inch long and matching rotors. you may need to change the pulley spacing or go with a shorter front drive. littlefield makes a great product. i hope you are ready for the power this thing is going to make. it wouldn't surprise me if the car went into the eights with the right tune up.

 

The belt is how it all started. We were 19% over-driven as it was, which is already a few percent over the recommended max OD for .5" belt drives. I called up Weiand and gave them my old and current head specs just to get an idea of the .5" pulley I would need to duplicate the 10 pounds of boost or so we had been making. I was told 28 or 29 should get me really close. Then my plan was to call the folks at Good Vibrations and have them give the equivalent to those numbers in 8mm. However before I called, I pulled out my generic blower ratio chart and about fell over. That combination 38 bottom and 28 top would push us near 35% OD!

Even with my limited experience with Superchargers, I could tell you that was going to be completely inefficient. Not only the drain on HP to spin it but the heat it would try and shove through that engine would be crazy even running e-85. So...
I have decided to stay with Weiand as I cut a pretty cool deal with them. I snagged the 8-71 Kit which is already set with 8mm etc. However I got them to agree to ship it with a small block Chevy intake (for the same kit price). This will allow me to leave the current intake in place (as it is already installed) and drop the new blower right in place.

Then I can take the small block intake and we can put together a mild blower motor for Dad's 32' or the next rod etc.
with the 6-71. I did opt this time to get it polished. I really liked the old school look of the satin finish but it was really hard to keep clean and easily stained. So...

AND yes, my cam guy already said it was going to run through the 9s like they weren't even there. I said we are just trying to run a low 10. He said no problem, just pull the chute at half track! LOL

 

It is going to be interesting up front, the 8-71 is going to take an extra inch, which is about what I currently have between the belt and radiator...It is like a big game dominoes...

 

You could possibly loose the damper and run a shorter snout to keep it all in check. I know tons of guys not running dampers since the belt acts as one taking out the harmonics.
On another note, how do you plan on starting it now with the 4 port, just giving it a bottle squirt to prime it ?

 

The 4 port is electronic.