This was probably my final racing event at Bandimere Speedway. I was happy with the results (even though I lost in the first round of each of two classes), having some success with the latest mod, a new throttle body. Winning the races became almost secondary to seeing how fast the car could run, sort of a competitive "test and tune" day.
The car had been kind of a fixture at the track in years past, attracting curious onlookers with the usual questions. After my last race I loaded up the car with all my equipment and prepared to head home. I was reinstalling the intake tubing when John Bandimere, the track owner, cruised by on his way out. He pulled his truck up around the front of the Alero and looked down at the engine compartment.
"What do you have there, a turbo? " he asked (before he got a better look at it).
"No, it's a Magnuson Supercharger," I said, and then I explained the history of the kits, how I modified this one, and the technical issues with the bypass system because of the (probably) unique remote intercooler.
He told me about the supercharger setup he built in the Fifties, a one-off McCulloch unit on a '55 Chevy. It was innovative back then (infamously known as the "black box" on some race tracks, and featured in an article in
Hot Rod magazine). I had read about it before, but the fact that Mr. Bandimere wanted to share that bit of history while asking questions about my somewhat amateur efforts made my day.
Then he said, "I know Jerry Magnuson. Did you know he used to live here in Colorado? You should call him up and tell him what you have and what you're trying to do, and see if he can help you out. You can tell him you talked to me about it."
In a perfect world that would have happened four years ago, I would have come up with a breakthrough system that even Jerry Magnuson would take an interest in, and an expensive hobby would have turned into a small business.
At this late age, however, the real world demands that I now have to take an early retirement, and accept some major responsibilities. I will still hang on to a few of those dreams, though.
Fall Racing Series, 9/12/2010 (Bandimere Speedway, elevation 5,860 ft., 80-85 deg F.)
Mickey Thompson E.T. Street radials, 28 lb injectors, full exhaust, air filter bypassed, Autolite 104's, 75 mm throttle body.
(9:39 AM) 13.929 @ 97.99, 2.038 60 ft. ....
(10:24 AM) 13.938 @ 97.62, 2.048 60 ft. ....
(11:54 AM) 13.958 @ 97.07, 2.041 60 ft. ....
(12:35 PM) 14.046 @ 96.07, 2.055 60 ft.(minimal cool-down)
(2.22 PM) 13.984 @ 97.19, 2.041 60 ft. (let up on throttle, but still broke-out)
(2.59 PM) 13.987 @ 97.19, 2.045 60 ft. ....
launched hard at 1600-2000 RPM, no traction issues.
Ambient temps in the low 80's, but running in the heat of the day like that, ECTs and heat-soaking were harder to deal with, more KR as a result. Nothing in the peak MAF and IDC scans to indicate more airflow, yet the ET's were better [ with new TB ]. The only other change made that week was a new power steering pump. I'm not claiming this throttle body is better than the fine 65 mm units available out there, but I believe it is better than the 65 mm bored out stock one I was using.
John Bandimere's setup:
http://vs57.y-block.info/history.htm
Linear Mode
