Supercharger kit for the A series engine

[Victorc]

Hi,
I found this kit on E-bay, but Jonspeed sell them.
http://www.jonspeedracing.co.uk

I want one, but I will have to save up.

The second photo shows one in a Mini, I wonder if the Metro heater intake/ fan assembly would get in the way?

Victor

[manifold]

Looks good Victor.

Heres another flavour: http://www.vmaxscart.co.uk/supercharger.html

I think this company has quite a good rep.

Cheers,

David

[wolfie]

These kits have a lot of promise but the distance from the carb to the supercharger is too long and decompression plates with 2 headgaskets though a quick fix to lower compression can be a severe weak point.
Personally I've thought about this kit but would fit it to a metro turbo block and head (no need to mess about with compression) and would fit the carb a few inches from the supercharger.
When I've got the pocket money I might try this or a vauxhall conversion....to many ideas and not enough money!

[Hans Efde]

It looks like the heater motor is in the way. You have to modify the heater or get rid of it. On my car the intake of the heater motor was sawn off to make room for a Montego intercooler by the previous owner. I removed it and installed a new heater motor since I got too much engine fumes inside.
If you are handy with GRP you could build an air intake and find a small heater/motor that would fit inside the dash. Sounds easy, but usually this will result in new problems.
A standard Metro turbo engine is not an option. Compression ratio is still too high (9.4?). My MED turbo block has a lowered compression (I think 1:8) so the turbo pressure can be higher. At the moment I have it at 14psi, but with a better setup it could be about 20psi before detonation. Pretty useless, since I want to keep it in one piece and already it is breathtaking fast. Which introduces a new problem. I have a problem with starting the engine. It won't turn over with the clutch pressed. Then we found out that the crankshaft had too much axial play. The cause seems to be the race clutch. My car has a very strong diapraghm to prevent the clutch from slipping when the throttle is floored. But pressing it means the crankshaft if pushed sideways which has caused considerable wear. The car now starts best when I keep it in neutral and don't touch the clutch pedal. The engine will go out this weekend (via the top!) for a new diff and valvecaps. Hopefully it is still good enough for the trip to Stoneleigh.
Installing such a device will initiate a number of other mods.
- low compression head
- straight cut idler gears
- stronger diff pin
- hydraulic operated race clutch
- extra cooling of the engine bay
- better water and oil pump
- oil cooler
- computer controled ignition (still have to do that)
etc.

I try to keep my engine running as long as I can because it's a big laugh. But there will come a time that it will be swapped because it's also a lot of hassle for just 120-150bhp.

[manifold]

Straight Cut (s/c) idler gears?

Better get your ear defenders on then lol! If you think s/c gears are noisy, transfer gears are a lot noisier! Mine whine like b***ery but they sound great.

I agree about hard clutches. I'd rather have a clutch which slips now and again, rather than crush the crank thrust washers. Noticeble when the engine speed slows down when engaging gear. Crushed thrust washers results in a screwed gearbox when the bits drop off the centre mains cap onto the teeth, sending lots of large swarf to get digested by the pump, scoring ALL the journals in the engine and making the centre oil pickup pipe look like a swarf enrusted Christmas tree. On top of that it will probably damage the machined thrust face edge of the block rendering it useless.

KR

D

[Hans Efde]

You just depressed me. I found large chunks of metal in the drained oil.

[manifold]

Sorry to hear that Hans.

I hope the oil didnt have any kind of grey silver clouding to it when it came out. Thats a sure sign of terminal issues.

Well if its coming out, at least you can strip it down. Its only the cost of a few gaskets and some time to check it over.

If its any consolation it happened to me. Thats why I know.

Cut up your oil filter and have a look whats inside.....I often cut up my oil filters once I have removed them to check whats happening with the engine. A bit like sending your stools off to the doctor (Lovely!) to check your guts are ok.

[johnonthetyne]

thres an article on supercharging in this months mini mag.