Technical Where is a reliable place to buy a roots blower?

Delete if this type of question is not allowed.

I have a big block chevy (specifically a 454) that I am looking to buy a supercharger, specifically a roots blower.
My main use of it is for street performance and occassional drag strip use (once a month) so the supercharger will mainly be underdriven at around 2-8PSI.

I am overwhelmed by a large amount of vendors/marketplaces and some to most are out of stock.

So my question is... where is the best place to buy a brand new or refurbished root blower?

P.S, if you have a root blower size suggestion that fits my need, do let me know, thanks.

 

@flamedabone

 

http://www.dyersblowers.com/

 

Sadly a lot of the out of stock parts may become permanent. With the high cost of building the blowers and components and decreased demand that will unfortunately become more common.

 

I wouldn't go any less than a 6-71 built by Dyer's Blower's. JMO
Mine is 32 year's old and still road worthy... Gary built mine,(since retired)but Billy (his son) is just as good, or better. After all, he was trained by the BEST!!! IMO...

 

Dyer's

 

Well I like your first post, don't know where you're from but I just seen a 6-71 for sale in Canada, that was built by a reputable builder, for sale at a fair price.

 

Dyer's. I bought a 6-71 from them last winter. Great service.

 

Another happy Dyers customer here. 6x71 is 426 cubic inches. Your 454 may be better off with an 8-71 blower underdriven.

 

I got my last one from Supercharger Supply, dude named Jeff Gaynor 951-207-7038. He has the rights to do new Mooneyham cases.



-Abone.

 

got my 4-71 directly from Gary a couple years ago, he was still coming in on the early shift, 1am to 6 or 7am.
said he was able to get more work done at that time, less interruptions. the store front was locked, had to walk around to the side entrance off the alley. traveling at that time, I was able to get there in a little over half an hour.
got to discuss things over several visits, he showed me the options available to me, grabbing parts from several bins and shelves, hand fitting them to give me ideas, as cast, polished or powder coated, different length snouts, 2 inch or 3 inch gilmer or 3 V belt, driveshafts, couplers and more.
there were stacks of cases, most gmc cores but some he was having cast himself, rotors, 4-71's, 6-71's, 8-71's, machining capabilities.
even had a 2x4 intake there at the time being milled to accept a 6-71 plate, just one of the services he provides, just like the old days.
he told me the pros all went to the big blower outfits, the street racers came to him and he's been very happy with that segment of the market, what a wealth of experience and knowledge, left me wishing someone would do a documentary on gary and the shop, where's piero or Brian Darwas

 

The only one I have any experience with is from BDS and is an 8-71. Have had it on a BBC since 2000.

 

Not knocking any of the other companies because I don't know anything good or bad about most of them. First, I think you will find with a 454 that its better to use an 8-71 simply because the air passing thru the blower gets hotter the faster the lobes turn. Like you I am not after high boost but getting whatever boost you choose, lower rpms are a benefit.
I bought a pretty nice used GMC 6-71. After looking at the costs of refurbishing and upgrading it, I decided to buy a new 8-71 from Blower Drive Service. They have several options. I chose the curved rotors with anodize because of the corrosiveness of some fuels today. They also have an upgrade to an 8mm pulley if you want to race. They also have a couple styles of blower cases.
There are some blowers advertised on Ebay that either don't have a name brand or its one you never heard of. Don't know of anyone who ever bought one or if they are reliable. I'd think twice before considering them just because I don't know if they are any good.
Its my understanding that the straight lobe rotors produce more buffeting and are not as desirable. Its a pretty expensive choice no matter which one you choose, but I'd think about "long term" when choosing one.

 

The Speedmaster parts are cheap and you get what you pay for, I've seen a lot of complaints that things don't fit just right and machining has to be done.
I had a couple bad buying experiences when buying from private sellers. One was not the sellers fault but the shipping company that damaged the blower and the other was a blower advertised as an 8-71 but when it arrived it was a 6-71.
So do your due diligence when asking for photos and inquiries about how they intend to ship it.

 

I have two Mooneyham 6-71s both purchased before Gene passed away. I haven’t dealt with them since Jeff took over but I bought stuff from Jeff before and he was a good guy.
There’s also Littlefield Blowers and Hampton Blowers. I don’t know their status right now but their worth a look.

 

R&P Blowers in Iowa.

 

There's no way in Hell that I can like this post enough!!! That is called "Getting what you pay for!"

 

Be more careful than this guy

 

^^^^^
More Likely it was Nitro !!!!
Not Gas or Alky
Op only looking for 5 psi
That No problem for 6:71 on 454 ,, even a straight 2 lobe Rotor ,,, a Stock case 71 is good for 800 Hp with out needing fancy case ,end plates or rotors ,
Pay attention to the Snout though.
The prices for new set up thats A Non competition I think is ridiculous

 

I got mine at the local scrap yard. Pulled it off of the engine myself.

 

There was a thread or two on here, on rebuilding blowers. Would be quite a while back. Might give you some info.

 

If I remember correctly, the 6 or 8 stands for the number of cylinders and the 71 is the cu in of each cylinder.
So 6x71= 426 and 8x71=568 . In my case I was asking about a blower for a 500 cu in engine with about 5 lbs of boost for the street. BDS recommended the 8:71. To me, the concern is the air temperature rise within the blower. Either size blower should work with a 454 but the 8:71 will do it at a lower speed and probably less heat. The OP might want to do some reading about air temperature increase when using a roots blower before deciding which way to proceed. Its definitely harder to find a used 8:71 but the cost difference for a new one wasn't that much.

 

Only if you're building a two-stroke diesel maxing @1800 RPM. For 4-stroke gas engines turning 5,000 RPM, it depends upon the heads and cam as to how much air flow is needed. For the HAMB, some is good; more is better. The reality is a street engine spends such a miniscule time at high RPM, the 6-71 is OK for that application, but an 8-71 is bragging rights and max power.

jack vines

 

Just a few points of clarification as far as purpose and terms. Yes, the Detroit Diesel identification for engine configuration was cylinders X CI per cylinder. So a 6-71 was an inline 6 with 71 CI per cylinder. A 6V-71 was a vee configuration engine with the same 6 cylinders at 71 CI per. The DD engines were two-cycle and all the blower did was purge exhaust - it did not make boost. That came later with the TT engines that added a turbo for boost. The 6-71 was the first blower salvaged by racers after WW two. Due to the blower drive ratio and max RPM when used on the diesel, the purpose (not making boost) on the diesel, and the ratios and RPM used on gas engine applications (making boost) , I don't see any useful translation saying well if it fed 426 CI on a diesel that is the limit on gas. The 6-71 was used in top fuel racing for a long time. Eventually, they needed bigger blowers and the aftermarket started making them, and to express relative size in terms folks were use to, used terms like 8, 10, and 14-71. Those configurations are aftermarket only and were never in the DD engine family. DD never made a 8, 10, or 14 cylinder inline engine. In the 71 series it was 2,3,4,and 6 cylinder inlines and 6, 8, 12, and 16 vees. So you won't find a used DD 8-71 blower. 8V-71, yes. Vee style blowers have been less popular due to the mounting configuration. All this aside, a 6-71 will be all the blower you will ever need on the street and mild racing. Especially in the low drive ratios mentioned by the OP. That is****uming that you have a collection of engine parts that will work for your intended purpose.

 

When you was asking BDS did you committed to use / build , DD ,Strip Street
or a Full Competition with 20 psi plus?

There are factors for air temp,
To Big of size will heat up air temps if not spun fast enough ( idle to 3,000ish RPMs )
Lobs Rotor design ,
Case designed,
Non Stripped or multi stripped.
Inlet & Outlet , ext .
I would say 98% of Blower / Superchargers here If thinking or using
Would Not need any Bigger then 6-71 with a Loose clearance

 

These guys have the facts laid out for you, but I'll add, there were DD 6-71's that had reduced rotor diameter. Detroit Diesel was after fuel efficiency I think in the late 70's. These blowers have nearly an inch of meat between the top (inlet) surface and the interior cavity surface. The older, big rotor ones had a good deal less material, like 5/8". Some guys avoid them because they flow less air. I didn't know any of this when I bought my first blower in the 1980's at a diesel yard, but on top of a 468 at 7 lbs. boost, (at 20 % overdrive) making about 640 HP it was a handful on the street (Bias-Belted L60-15's). When I started racing the thing seriously, I realized it probably was about maxed out on my engine.

 

Jeff's actually a racer also, so he's got some up front and personal insight to what they require.

Mike

 

https://www.issuewire.com/drag-raci...mpleted-on-his-85th-birthday-1655663358800889

One of the nicest stories about Don Hampton’s career in drag racing from the early days to the current times. The display case at the Lion’s Dragstrip museum is flowing with items from the vast history in his career. His knowledge and company have been with drag racing since the early days. The history is solid.

Lion’s Dragstrip Museum display case for Don Hampton.

Hello,

We have seen and filmed almost all of the race cars that Don Hampton has driven over the years. He is one of the early racers from the 50s and the varied cars he built/drove would be a nice car museum. My brother and I saw the different cars****ociated with Don Hampton at Lion’s Dragstrip from the time we started going there to race the 58 Chevy Impala.
https://www.hamptonblowers.com/superchargers
Here's coming at you! Don Hampton

As far as a used blower, the big questions are, how much has been done to it and how long has it been in that condition. For something as important that pushes the limits of any motor, why would you want to take the chance of a used blower? The stress of any motor racing is always high. Add in a supercharger to a blower-spec motor and the power and strain has increased 10 fold. So, a used blower is always in question.

We would trade it in for a new one from Hampton Superchargers or Littlefield Blowers Those two supercharger places are well known in So Cal and have ties to our drag racing background history. So, for an SBC motor to drive well these days, old stuff is not going to cut it. Just because it is nostalgic, it does not mean it will be reliable. With the power the 671 gives any motor, we would want reliability, not oohs and aahs at car shows. The outside could still be made in the 1960 style versions, but with new parts purchased locally. We all get a good dose of nostalgia when we go to places like the Lion’s Dragstrip museum in So Cal with all of their race cars and museum quality builds on display.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/early-drag-racing-photos.1222399/page-100#post-14933307 Hampton Blowers


The other source in So Cal is Littlefield Blowers.


You are taking the old blower to the right place near you. The cracked case does look shaky, despite the expertise of the machinists/welders at any shop, including Littlefield Blowers this might be a lost cause. We knew back then a new 671 was too much for our budget. There were very few shops that specialized in blowers at the time.

So, we decided to go to a diesel shop near out house and got a great discount on a new 671 supercharger that was on display for quite some time. It was new, but the owner wanted a completely new display for his diesel motors, which included a new one from the factory for his 671 set up. He wanted to get rid of the display 671, so he gave us a deal we could not pass up.

The importance of something so powerful, increasing horsepower by the gobs was ingrained in us so, we decided to get a new/old one without any blems or cracks. At the time, the best rebuilder for drag racing with 671 superchargers was Reath Automotive. So, listen to what the shops have to say about the cracks and dings. It may not be worth it to run anything that has been run through the ringer. Most shops do blowers for racing and also for the street applications, whatever they may be. We certainly would get a new one. YRMV

Mert Littlefield was in my graduating class at Long Beach Poly High School. He was also in 2 years of Metal Shop and Auto Shop during our last two years of school. He was a skilled mechanical person that could lay a bead of oxy/acetylene and when it was time for us to learn “arc” welding, he was the best in the class. I could not see out of the dark flip down face mask, so my beads were wanderers. Ha! The oxy/acetylene glasses were less dark and I could get a great looking bead on my welding. But, his beads in both were top quality machine shop, professional work.

But, after our drag racing era, Mert Littlefield went into drag racing with a flourish. Besides Don Hampton Blowers, (https://www.hamptonblowers.com/superchargers) The other shop has been around after we were teenagers, but originally developed and run by a friend of mine from high school, Mert Littlefield. He developed his skills and became a builder, racer and specialist in the industry. He is now gone, but before he left us, his company, Littlefield Blowers is still going strong with the skill and knowledge from the history in So Cal. (racing and street applications)
https://www.littlefieldblowers.com/
1-714-9929292

Jnaki

This was an old story I wrote about the supercharging from my friend, Mert Littlefield.

Every time I see a Littlefield decal or photo, my mind wanders back to the teenage years at our old high school in Long Beach. The local area had produced a ton of people involved in all sorts of drag racing history. Some had early hot rod/drag racing history already in place. Others got involved and over time, became part of that history themselves. Mert Littlefield was one of those people.

I would see Mert at school almost every day as we had classes together. But, what we learned in those early, practical technology classes helped us develop in different ways. His practical skills were at the top of our technology classes and we all respected that. But, his friendly demeanor was always nice to be around when he was doing his class projects. It was never a secret way to get a better grade. He always helped others do better in all forms of auto mechanics and in the metal shop classes.

His machining skills were top notch and we usually watched how he did his projects. After high school, we drifted apart until our drag racing adventures were over and his was just beginning to get some notoriety. Those articles about his skills and builds were always impressive as the years rolled on for all of us. He is gone now, but his work skills, designs, and supercharger business is still going strong in So Cal.

Mert Littlefield was in several of my high school classes. We were in the Autoshop, Metal Shop and others that don’t stand out as well as the mechanical tech classes. We both like hot rods and drag racing. He was someone with a lot of hot rod skills, but, was for me, a quiet person that was a friend to everyone. His welding skills made mine look like a beginner, until I kept at it so I could get a good bead for strength. But, welding was not for me in the future, as I could not see what I was doing, using the standard dark protection shield glasses.

As all sorts of friends come and go during the years of high school. We were all impressed that many years later, he became well known in the field of drag racing and supercharging. His history in hot rods and funny cars started it for him. We did not see him during our foray into stock car racing with the Impala or the 1940 671 SBC Willys, B/Gas & C/Gas racing days. But, when looking at editions of Drag News, the OC papers, or the various magazines later on in life, his name popped up frequently.

Maybe had he started his drag racing career a bit earlier, or in our next phase, if there was going to be a next phase back then, a cool Littlefield Supercharger would have played a big part in our future build.

Thanks, M...

 

J,
Every post of yours I read gives me goose bumps.
Makes me feel good we are members of the same forum.
Regards.