Supercharger for my Apache

[diceman50]

After 4 years as my daily driver I have decided that it is time for some more power. The truck has the original 235 in it with a custom built one off fuel injection system built by a good friend named Greg and myself. Greg is an EE and did all of the wiring and computer programing and tuning. He has hacked several of the most popular GM OBD1 computers and is a genius at manipulating and tuning them. I am a mechanic and fabricator from the school of hard knocks and I handle those items.

My neighbor Kris, Greg, and myself recently installed a ZZ4 crate engine with a First Fuel Injection system (not FAST) on Kris's 1972 step side. There is a build thread here at:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=603726

My Apache runs well for a 50+ year old engine and the fuel injection makes the drivability of the truck great compared to the carb., but does little to increase the horsepower. Around town it is great but at freeway speeds it struggles when there is a hill and/or a stiff head wind. Since I live in the land of 75 and 80 MPH (posted) speed limits I want a few more horses to work with.

The fuel injection system consists of a vintage Edmunds dual carb manifold with 3 bolt flanges, 2 Retrotek Stromberg lookalike throttle bodies, a Frankenstein Chevy/Ford distributor and ignition system, and various GM and Ford sensors. I did a build thread on the fuel injection system on the Stovebolt Forum. If you are interested it is here:

http://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthreads/...=678192&page=1

The engine also has Fenton cast iron manifolds with a custom built stainless steel 2 inch x 1 3/4 exhaust system out the back.

The rest of the drivetrain consists of a 1967 Saginaw 3 speed on the column, a Gear Vendors overdrive, the original rear end with 3.90 gears and 31 inch tires.

The plan is for a .040 over 261 and a McCullough supercharger. Other engine mods include a 235 cylinder head with some bowl work and clean up of the ports and a mild blower friendly cam. I'm not looking for maximum power. Just enough to get over the next hill.

Some might question the decision to use an old McCullough supercharger since there are more efficient units available. It is to stay with the style of the build which is vintage 60's.

While I am waiting for the machine shop to finish with my engine I decided to work on the supercharger. It is a VS 57 that needs a total rebuild and conversion to a SN (short nose) unit. Following are some pictures of the process.

More to come.