1950's So. Cal aftermarket speed equipment. This belongs to an elder friend of mine who's been hot rodding his whole life and has not came across another one since! As far as he knows, it's one of a kind. It's designed to fit a 49-50 Cadillac or Olds engine. The casting is "WGW". Any feedback is appreciated, and I'll pass it along to him. Note: it's not a Judson or Marshman
Hmmm, I'd like to see the inside of that one. It appears that the "rotor" or whatever is inside to pump air is centered in the housing, so I'm not sure how it works.
Suspect concentric sliding vane, like some air tools. Can’t quite read the details cast into the NDE - any closeup photos please? cheers, Harv
Hey Harv, Unfortunately that's the only picture that was sent to me. He also told me that it's brand new. Quite the unicorn! Thanks for the response!
That's awesome! I looked up his post about the Marshman supercharger. That's probably it! Thanks for the reply!
The Marshman appears to be an integral supercharger/manifold casting (https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...arshman-supercharger-flathead-intake.1183421/) Yours looks more like a standalone unit (separate inlet/exhaust manifolds) similar to a Judson, Wray or Norman. Those sliding vane superchargers are eccentric though (like the Marshman), whilst yours appears to be concentric. More info on the Aussie Norman and Wray machines here: http://www.fbekholden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=18810 Cheers, Harv
Yeah, that's what makes me want to see the inside of it. I suppose the rotor could be centered and the center of the casting be offset but that would mean there's a lot of extra metal/weight. And I doubt it's an axial flow with those large pulleys on it.
Being centered it seems to indicate an axial flow type design. Agree that more pics and close-ups of any casting numbers or ID would help a lot.
Thanks for all the replies! I spoke with my friend and got a lil more info. He said the casting marks say "WGW". Not sure if that's the brand or initials of the designer or casting manufacturer? It was purchased in 1958 from a speed shop in So. Cal that was closing its doors. My friend bought it at a swap meet in the early 90's from that person who was in his 80's at the time of that purchase. Surprisingly, it's not a vane style rotor. He told me it has a "T" style shaft from end to end with a 6 inch reinforced rubber hose in place of what should be the rotor. Very interesting, and possibly a one off prototype?
Sounds like a peristaltic pump... haven't seen one of them used as a blower before. Curious minds need to see the internals of this thing. Cheers, Harv
WGW was the Whatsit Gear Works. They made lots of speed equipment, but none of it was successful. Their slogan was "Whatsit Fit?".
Yep, WGW's subsidiary company Whatsa made the world famous Henway . Ciscokid, if you draw a total blank here then one option may be to contact Karl Ludvigsen (www.karlludvigsen.com). Karl is currently writing a book on the history of supercharging, and has collected info from all over the place. It's a long shot, but he may have heard of your blower. Cheers, Harv
If it isn’t an axial flow and it is a peristaltic pump, it would really be interesting to see the insides.
I knew I'd get some great feedback by posting it on here! I passed the info on to my friend this evening, and it made his day! He's 78 years old and has been hot rodding his whole life. He's going to attempt to get in touch with Karl Ludvigsen with the help of his daughter. I will continue to post with any new info or pictures. My friend has waited a long time for this kind of information! Thanks again to the HAMB community!
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