Hot Rods Wade Superchargers

Anybody ever heard of Wade superchargers? I did a search on them and found some stuff on them. Here's a couple images I stole off a Aussie strait six Facebook page. Notice the odd diagonal carb layout.

 

That is trippy... And of course, I like it.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commer_TS3

Here you go - the wades were once pretty common in oz

 

Bump for the day shift.

 

I have a bit of info on them.

Straight rotors meant that the blower inlet and outlet was angled in order to prevent the "chopping" of the air/fuel mixture. having a right angled outlet also helped in evening out the flow.

RO34 as pictured was the larger of the two they made - flowed 3400cc of air, giving a 5lbs boost. Cannot rev it much harder than 5000rpm, but that's okay, as they were designed for a diesel motor. Required a drip oil system to keep the bearings oiled. Modern fay users change the bearings to self oiling ones, which require machining out the pockets they sit it - I have heard of sealed boat trailer ones being fitted.

 

That's cool. What were they running them on?

 

The wade supercharger was fitted to the Rootes TS3 Diesel engine. A rather odd engine, 2 stroke three cylinder with six pistons. The sounded great. Google it and youtube it.

 

If you search "Commer knocker", all your info will pop up. I love the trucks, I want to buy one.

 

Here's how it mounts up, hence the angle.

 

So it was a crank driven set up then.

 

This one belongs to a friend, done many years ago in New Zealand where these blowers were pretty common.

 

Nice. 3 cylinders and 6 pistons. Who woulda thunk?

 

Sorry I hope I'm not hijacking this engine is a trip. I just googled and got this:

Ok. Back on topic now. These blowers have a cool almost italmecchanica look to them. Anyone snout mount one like a pot in setup?

 

I have never seen or heard of one but I have to agree with traffic61 here, I like it real well. And with that side dump it would be perfect for an inline motor.

 

Any pics of one on a jimmy?

 

I ran a RO34on a Ford V6 below is a pic of the RO20 on a 2 litre Zetec in my son,s Anglia, makes 10lbs of boost.This car did have the same blower on a 1600 cc Ford before we put it on the Zetec.

 

Now that is some strange looking stuff right there........ but very interesting. Thanks for bringing up the subject speedgems.

 

Also off the subject but interesting to say the least, the governor is critical on the Commer engine because without it they will continue to build revs until something fails from the stress. My brother worked at a truck dealership where someone fired one up with the governor disconnected. When the engine exploded it knocked out windows and punched holes in the roof of the shop while landing parts in the street about 200 feet away.

Roo

 

LOL I was working on a 318 Cummins once and the rack stuck open, we tried shutting the air and fuel off to it and it didn't stop until it went boom. Parts didn't fly out of it but that didn't change the fact that it was bad broken.

Back on topic, if that wade blower is done @ 5K and only makes about 5 pounds of boost ( on a 6) I cannot see a problem with just bolting one on a (yeeeek) 235 or a 250 Chevy or even a 200 inch Ford and going with it.

I have had this goofy idea of taking a six like say a 292 Chevy or a 300 ford and setting up a blower road warrior style. You could keep your compression up to a normal say 9:1 or even 10:1 with an o-ringed block and a separate tank with good fuel in it for when you throw the switch. Babam instant race car.

Maaaan I gotta get me a falcon.

 

That is way cool, and Devin, your diagrams were really interesting. I learned something new today, so my day is not wasted. Thanks

 

Sweet as!

 

Never start any of the two stroke diesels without a clipboard handy. If it runs away you cover the air intake to shut it down. Sometimes turning off the fuel does not work as the engine will suck oil from the crankcase and run on that.

 

Detroits are very efficient at turning diesel into noise.

 

Yep, we used a block to block the air intake. Didn't work well enough soon enough.

 

I wonder if that top plate still exists - I would like to run one of them on my blower, in order to straighten up the carbies. HhhhhMmmmm

 

I don't know if it's a jimmy but here's a couple.

 

Nice! Are they expensive in Oz/ NZ?

 

Not a jimmy,but a 216 Chevrolet dipper motor.

I now have this setup, given to me by the guy who made it. Id give anything to have him back, lost Max about 11 years ago. Great guy.

 

If you are old like me you will remember the sound of a Commer "Knocker" truck coming from a few streets away. The engine design means they rattle very loudly. Try hitting a cast iron block with a very big hammer and you will get an idea.
Sadly there are few left, Australia is not kind to old commercial vehicles.

 

I met this really nice Gent in a great country town on a Sunday morning a few years ago. He was on his way to the local old folks home to show his home built Essex roadster to the local oldies that reside there and maybe even take them for a ride around the block if they so desired. This flathead in this roadster was all engineered by this farmer out in the middle of nowhere on dirt roads. One of the most beautiful flatheads that I have ever seen, it's a real credit to him......cool or what?