Looking for help in regards to drag racing superchargers

[jlucky]

Greetings,

Not sure if this is the place to ask...but here goes. I'm looking for some information that details the various drag racing superchargers (blowers) that have been issued in 1/25 scale model drag racing kits. I've been around drag racers all my life but was wondering if anyone out there in model land can point to a chart or collection of images that detail or describe the various blowers out there. Specifically, what does the usual 6-71 look like in comparison to the Mert Littlefield blower, etc.? How are the front plates and rear plates different? That kind of thing. Not sure if there is a chart out there, but I thought I'd ask. Any help would be appreciated.

All the best!

[Ace-Garageguy]

There's no "chart" that I'm aware of, but a few image searches on google will turn up anything you need to know.

Try search terms like "Mert Littlefield blower" (which are based on GMC designs), "GMC 6-71 blowers", etc.

There are hundreds of combinations of blower housings, front drive setups, rear bearing plates, etc., so it's pretty hard to go wrong on a model if you understand the function of what you're looking at.

Edited January 12, 2024 by Ace-Garageguy

[Force]

I agree with Bill here, most of the superchargers used in drag racing are based on the GMC-Detroit Diesel design from the 2-stroke diesels and the aftermarket haven't changed much from this basic design other than some has more ribs on the case and some has less, slightly different appearence of the front and rear covers but that's it, the construction and function is the same regardless.
The large 14-71 blowers used in nitro racing are modified versions of the original design, the case and rotors are much longer and the case is often machined billet and the original design cases for the Diesels are casted, the rotors are sealed with teflon and urethane strips so they are more efficient than the original design with no strips.
You have two styles of the GM/DD super chargers, one style for the inline engines like the 4-71, 6-71 wish are placed on the side of the diesel engine and this style is most common in drag racing, and one style for the V diesel engines like the 6V-71, 8V-71, 12V-71 (wich has two superchargers) or 8V92, 12V-92 and 16V-92 (both the 12 and 16 has two superchargers) where they are placed inside the V between the heads and these are more rounded.

Edited January 12, 2024 by Force

[CaddyDaddy]

And this doesn’t even get into the McCulloch, Paxton, etc......superchargers.

[Straightliner59]

8 hours ago, CaddyDaddy said:

And this doesn’t even get into the McCulloch, Paxton, etc......superchargers.

Or high-helix superchargers, like PSI's. Those cases are huge!

[jlucky]

I appreciate the response guys...much of that I was familiar with but it's a good summary. I guess what I was hoping to find was something like this page from an article about building AA/Fuel Altered. It gave a great overview of the various model items that was available.  

[jlucky]

Please excuse the poor grammar...I should have reread the post before sending! Sheesh!

[Force]

On 1/13/2024 at 6:37 PM, jlucky said:

I appreciate the response guys...much of that I was familiar with but it's a good summary. I guess what I was hoping to find was something like this page from an article about building AA/Fuel Altered. It gave a great overview of the various model items that was available.  

I have not seen a list of what's available in different kits when it comes to blowers.
I know the Monogram, later Revell Funny car kits from the 80's forward has a Mooneyham blower with a "M" on the front cover, otherwise the blowers are pretty much generic.

[jlucky]

Hi guys,

One of the reasons I got on this kick...partially because I want to be somewhat legit when it comes to the parts...but primarily because in Tom Boyd's book Collecting Drag Racing Model Kits, he points out that the Monogram (Revell?) kits had a 6-71 blower that was too small. The AMT kit's 6-71 was a more accurate size. So that just got me wondering.

[Fat Brian]

Yeah, unfortunately superchargers are a part where the model companies took a lot of liberties with their shape. Modern kits are better but I can't think of many with full race engines though.

[Ace-Garageguy]

13 hours ago, jlucky said:

...in Tom Boyd's book Collecting Drag Racing Model Kits, he points out that the Monogram (Revell?) kits had a 6-71 blower that was too small. The AMT kit's 6-71 was a more accurate size.

I don't know which kits are specifically referenced in Tim's book, but for what it's worth, period Revell kits like the original SWC Willys, the Tony Nancy double dragster kit, and Mickey Thompson's Challenger and Attempt have very accurate renditions of the appropriate GMC blowers and drives.

Researching the particular car or time period / class you're trying to model is pretty easy on the web these days, and if you have any kind of sense of proportion, it's not hard to determine if a kit blower is in the scale ballpark or not.

Measuring and scaling errors are very common among car models for some reason, particularly the greasy bits, but correcting them isn't usually a big deal.

EDIT: Here's some real-world GMC blower info.

https://www.mini-blowers.com/gmc-blower-versions.php

http://www.wallaceracing.com/Basic Blower Measurements.htm

https://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/general-q/172930-help-me-understand-blower-sizes.html

https://www.macsmotorcitygarage.com/a-quick-history-of-the-gmc-6-71-blower/

https://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/threads/identifying-6-71-cases.251272/

Edited January 16, 2024 by Ace-Garageguy