Thread: Installing a blower on a flathead

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I have a 52 Ford Flathead V8 that runs great with a Holley 390 cfm 4-barrel carb. It has been bored out .060, Max 1 cam, HD valve springs, milled heads (.030 off), aluminum flywheel, original 3-speed HD floor tranny, MSD 6A and Blaster coil, MSD billet dist, and Sanderson headers into Smitty's. The truck is a 52 with a 9" Ford rear and all the Cragars and new oak bed, etc. I am going to install a blower on it and run the 4 barrel first then try 3x2's I am rebuilding. Got the blower from Magnuson (MP112C) and it is designed for a 4 barrel. I am building this on a slim budget and will let you know what my expenses are and take lots of pictures.
I have seen some high prices for a motor like this and I believe I can do this for a lot less. The intake manifold will be here on Wednesday (off Ebay) and the blower is here, along with the 3x2 rebuild kits and the manifold for them.
I'll send some pix this week of the base motor and the stuff.

Wow sounds cool; whats the compression on a flat head like that?
I never done a flat head engine, and am curious about it. Kurt

The heads have been milled about .030 and stock should be about 7.5:1 (at that overbore)...so I guess probably about 8.00:1 would be in the ball park. I have another set of stock heads I can use if this compression ratio is too high for the blower. Don't want any detonation!

Hey Ford Guy,

What are you going to do with that Holley 390 cfm carb when you're done? I'm either going to run with that or an Edelbrock 500 cfm on a Flathead I'm currently building.

My next (very long term) project is to build a 6-71 supercharged, injected, alcohol/nitromethane flathead, so I'm curious about the manufacturer of the manifold you picked up. What brand is it?

Thanks,

AndrewB

Hi Andrew,

I'll probably run the blower set up with the 390 at first, as I know it's a good carb. I bought it new and have gone through it with a QuickKit. The manifold is from TR Designs. Tom Roberts has worked with Magnuson to design this lower manifold that bolts to the flathead. He also offers upper manifolds for carbs and blowers. He makes one specifically for the Magnuson MP112C. I have that blower which is designed for a 4 barrel. The upper manifold I picked up off ebay is basically a flat aluminum plate that I have to drill and open up for the supercharger. It is designed to be able to accomodate various types of blowers, so it's pretty generic in shape. I'll try to figure out how to load pix on this site later tomorrow and then you can see what I'm talking about. Later!

By the way, the manifold has injector bosses built in....just tap into them and you're in business!

Here are some photos of the blower and carbs...if I can get them to work...first time I've done this..so bear with me! Sorry about the size of those files...I'll have to re-shoot them in a lower resolution. I have company coming in this weekend...I'll shoot them again later. Sorry!

Great looking setup but you might want to look into different carbs for it. What make of blower is that?

That is a Magnuson MP112C blower. The carbs are Holley 94's that I had in my inventory. I am rebuilding the carbs and they'll be good as new. Other new carbs are expensive, and this is a budget project for me. I am locating the crank pulleys and belt tensioner...when I get them, I'll start the project. Still need to get a spark controller for my MSD6a to retard spark at full throttle and a new electric fan, as the old mechanical fan will be removed.

Got the Pulleys for the crank to drive the water pumps/alternator and the serpentine belt pulley to drive the blower. Also got an air/fuel gauge from Summit along with a manifold pressure gauge. The a/f has a bung to be welded onto the exhaust. Since I have a dual exhaust set-up, can I just weld it on the driver's side exhaust and it work ok? I guess just put it nearest the end of the header junction into the exhaust pipe before the muffler?

Are you going to do any porting and relieving of the block? What about the bottom end? Any straping of the mains (especially the center one). I think you will find 8:1 compression ratio a little on the high side for a blown flattie. I don't mean to sound negative about your project, just trying to offer some advice. I have a full race 8-BA flattie (286 CI) in my 50 Ford (not blown). Go slow on your project and ask questions, here and on other flathead sites. Most of all keep us posted on your progress. Good Luck.

I didn't port/relieve the block. Strapped the front and middle mains. Added a remote oil filter for better lube. Installed an ISKY Max 1 cam with adj. lifters. Have an MSD 6A with a blaster coil. Also, purchased the MSD Boost retard module for installation when I do the blower. I used a milled set of heads and approximate the cr to be about 8:1. Have a set of stock, unmilled heads I can use...maybe better to do that upfront, huh? The blower is a very small blower in reality. It is the same one, however, used on the stock Lightning trucks, so it can push enough air. I only have the stock HD Floor shift 3-speed tranny right now. Weber pressure plate and disc, with an aluminum flywheel. But, I'm going to have to really baby this thing, or I will blow the transmission very easily. I am really putting this thing together to just drive it and show it at a local monthly car show here in town, so it should be okay for the occasional "punch" to hear it roar! Thanks for all the advice, though, 'cause we can all learn something new from our new friends.

Update: Went to crank up the truck and found out the fan hub bearing is seized, so I'm going to replace the fan with an electric version. Also installing the offset alternator mount required to install the blower. I'll send some pix to show progress.

Good choice on the electric fan. If you can make a shroud for the radiator to go along with it, consider that option for maximum cooling.

Mounted the alternator bracket...not going to work as received. Having to modify the bracket to slide my alternator back about 3/4" to line up with the crank pulley. Fabbed some steel brackets to do this and running into belt problems. Not enough wrap on the driver's side water pump. Located an idler pulley to try to fab and mount to get some belt wrap for that pump pulley. I'll try to attach some photos.