Stutz Supercharger & Clutch activated Blowers

Wow, interesting stuff! I had the experience of working for a Stutz collector years ago, and the blowers were part of the mythology. I'd never run across that literature before.

What they DON'T explain is what happens when the driver lifts off the throttle at high speed with the blower engaged... I could see that getting very exciting!

 

That's a well designed system. I'm not so sure about the un-noticeable time lapes when the blower is disengaged, but the clutching idea makes sense for the time period. Very low octane fuel combined with the lubes of the day made the extra power a luxury even in luxury cars.

 

a lot of people have tuned SU carbs to run on boost, since they respond to airflow through the carb, they are much eaisier to tune boosted then a fixed venturi carb

 

If you really wanted to clutch a supercharger I would start with a motorcycle clutch rather than an A/C clutch. You might even get the cogged drive belt pulley for free if you picked the right one, and it should be able to handle a lot more abuse than an A/C clutch.

 

You'd need an "over-center" type clutch. Wouldn't think you'd want the thing riding against the springs and throwout pin the whole time it was dis-engaged... The multi-disc bike type clutch would definitely be better for handling the load, however.

 

A little late to the party, but here's my T bucket:


I'm reworking the car now: http://www.tbucketeers.com/threads/big-redo-of-the-old-bucket.13677/ and thinking about an on/off function for the blower, maybe an electric clutch or a planetary, like from a tranny, that would also allow for drive ratio change. I've driven the car with the blower disengaged and it runs fine. Air leaking around the rotors and/or the rotors freewheeling.