SSI vs Littlefield blowers, plus a few other questions
 

I'm going to buy a blower for my new motor, a blown alcohol injected 572 Ford based on a 4.5 bore and 4.5 stroke. Anyway, I found a 12-71 polished Littlefield fresh for $1,400 which is a good deal and am considering buying it. I've been told that I really need a 14-71 for my cubic inch due to the boost it will make. This is my first blower motor so I have no experience with this. I've found some SSI blowers for decent prices and also found Littlefield blowers. Is one better than the other? Should I stick with a high helix design or will I be okay with a standard. Don't care about looks so polished or not is not a big deal. Thanks for your input! Chris

Ok, here goes.

Yes, you by all means need a 14-71. A 12-71 is an anomaly and you will play hell trying to sell it (which is why it's so cheap).

Littlefield makes some nice alky blowers, but once again, speed costs.

If you can afford a hi-helix and your class rules allow it, by all means. It takes a LOT LESS power to drive a hi-helix than a standard helix.

Also, if you have the cash to afford it, buy a delta outlet. The deltas are a lot more efficient of a design than the standard large bottom opening.

The SSI blowers are bad ass (we run a B-Rotor), but they, like a Kobelco, use a different front cover bolt pattern. So any blower guards, throttle brackets, idler brackets, etc that you mount to the front must have the SSI/Kobelco bolt pattern, NOT the standard roots (GMC).

Go check out RBS Superchargers... http://www.rbssuperchargers.com/

JR used to work at RCD and started his own company with his wife Robbin. Really good people with a LOT of knowledge. They buy/sell used blowers as well.

Make sure whomever you buy the blower from sends it to RBS (or someone reputable in the industry) to have it freshened. RBS will check it for damage and let you know the repair cost before you buy it.

You can then go back to the owner and make your final deal from that point. If the blower owner doesn't want to do this, then RUN AWAY FAST.

Good luck and welcome to the world of supercharging. You'll never look back.

Almost forgot... The SSI spline adapter for the input shaft also uses a 1.5" register.

Standard for most roots I believe is 1.25" or 1.375". So if you're not buying the blower complete with snout, you will want to keep an eye on the adapter. The SSI also has a deeper cover than most, and as such will require a longer adapter depending on how long of a snout you use.

Basically would like to make 15-20 pounds of boost, maybe not even that much. This is going in a fast bracket car, something to run mid to low 7's. Its a tube chassis 65 Fastback at about 2600 pounds. Appreciate the info!!! Chris

I agree to go with a 14-71 as opposed to the 12-71, for your size motor. The 14 is 1" longer.
You do not need the expense of a high helix for what you are doing, but if you can get a deal on one.....
A regular ol, 14 is fine, and there is not a whole lot of difference from bds, littlefield, etc.
For a used one, you need to make sure everything is ok inside, no damage, none of the strips coming apart or that anything has gone through it. You would be suprised at some of the junk I have seen , where guys try to tell you it is ok...and on the internet it is more difficult. Try to locate one within reasonable driving distance. Buying a bad blower cheap will cost you more to repair it that it is worth.