Sitting around throwing ideas about my "new" '49 Hudson Super Six project and one guy says "why not put a supercharger on it like the Powerdyne he has on a Mustang. He seems to think it would be pretty easy to adapt to my flathead 262 six, just fab up a aplate and pullies, decide on carburetion and get some split headers made. Is this crazy? Is it possible? I don't have a big budget but I don't want to swap a SBC into it either. I'm not going to race it, I just want something different that has some pep and sounds good through dual exhaust pipes. Anyone try this, what do you think?
For certain technical reasons, a flathead responds very well to a centrifugal supercharger. You could buy supercharged cars in the 30s from Graham, Auburn, Cord, Stutz and Duesenberg. All flatheads except the very expensive Stutz and Duesenberg. The first McCulloch superchargers were for Ford flatheads in the late thirties, then they came out with an improved model in 1953 that was tested on Ford flatheads, offered as a factory option on the flathead Kaiser and Frazer and also on the OHV V8 Studebaker and Ford. That 1953 supercharger, the VS57 model, is the ancestor of the Paxton often used on Mustangs. This is a roundabout way of saying a centrifugal supercharger should work great on your Hudson. It has low compression and this prevents knocking and preignition that is a problem with superchargers. Your engine is built for lots of low speed and mid range punch but runs out of breath at higher RPMs. The supercharger remedies this. I gave similar advice to a guy who was building a roadster with a flathead 4 cylinder Ford tractor engine. He put a 30s Graham supercharger on it, and ran in the Race of Gentlemen on the beach in New Jersey. He said they told him his engine was only good for 3000 RPMs tops, but this did not seem to be the case with the supercharger on it. It just kept revving higher and higher and going faster and faster. He was pleased with the performance and did well, in spite of his engine being 1/3 smaller than the other Model A roadster 4 cylinders. There is an additional advantage over a regular hop up. Speed parts for your car, or any old flathead other than Ford, are very hard to get and expensive. You can spend thousands of $$$$ bucks on rare parts to get a 30% or 40% increase in HP. The supercharger will do this easily, all on its own, with no other parts necessary. And, a supercharger does not louse up your idle and low speed running the way a conventional hop up can. There are 2 things I would caution you about. Hudsons used splash lubrication for years and these engines are not suitable for hopping up, and can easily burn up their bearings if run at over 50 or 60 MPH. I think by the time your car was made, they had gone to full pressure lubrication but if not, I would leave it alone. The other thing is, in view of the age of the car, I would not hop up the engine unless I tore it down first for complete inspection and overhaul. New bearings, rings, gaskets, possibly timing chain, oil pump, and whatever else it needs to be in top shape. An old engine may last for years if you baby it, but blow sky high in a month if you hop it up. I have seen this happen more than once. So, you must be sure the engine is rebuilt or in good shape before you begin.
Would suggest you check your local Kijiji or Craigslist ads for Paxton and McCulloch superchargers. They turn up fairly often, and can be bought reasonable.
The Hudson late model engines have been supercharged and turboed. There was a guy on here that ran a supercharger. His handle was PacaRacer50. Haven't seen his presence lately. Do a search on here , will find a thread where a guy turboed his daily driver. With the turbo tech of today many are going the turbo direction. There is a gentleman over on the Hudson board that has run a turbo on a 262 for many years. His handle is super651. Hope this helps. L Hud
I did a quick search and it seems your 1949 is the first year Hudson went to full pressure lubrication. So you have that going for you. One other thing. The exhaust valve cooling is not the greatest in most flatheads and this can cause problems with valve burning and block cracking with a turbo. For this reason the bolt on, belt driven type may be a safer bet. If I did turbo a flathead I would keep the pressure down to 5 or 6 PSI and make sure I had a large, open exhaust with minimal back pressure. The turbo itself acts as a muffler to a certain extent. You may not have the heat buildup if you don't have too much back pressure.
A fellow was just here for the Hudson nationals and had 52 Pacemker with a Rajay turbocharged 308 with a 232 head. Also had adapted 5-spd trans. Drove it from WV. 18 mpg. No problems passing cars at 80mph with no downshift. 12 psi boost. 190 rear wheel hp.
With a vintage flathead like that, I would suggest using a McCulloch SN 60 with updated bearings (like a late model Paxton) rather than the PowerDyne blower. The SN 60 would look more "period" with your flat 6. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
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