[gbarrier]

Much waited for Supercharger kit arrived last Wednesday afternoon. Of course as luck would had it I was scheduled to go visit the grandchildren Thursday morning so didn't even get a chance to open the box until late Monday morning. By then workload from being out of town dictated I only had a few hours a day to play but all went smooth. By Wednesday afternoon she was purring like a kitten.



The hardest part of the whole ordeal was driving like I had some sense for those first 65 miles. But then this afternoon as I turned onto a country road on the way home the odo tripped over and I let the cat out of the sack. Wow, I like this thing. It's so darn smooth that it makes you think that this is the way the car should have been all along.



So here are my thoughts:



how was the packaging? Everything was packed securely, well labeled and well grouped. Perfect.



how did the installation go? Very smoothly. Everything actually fit very well. No surprises. I seldom follow instructions but I found myself following along with the well laid out manual.



how were the instructions? Even an old man like me with a severe case of tunnel vision was able to follow along without a hitch.



how was the customer service? Well, that's a problem. If Flash gives everyone the attenbtion he gave me don't think he is going to get much else done. The few questions I emailed were answered within minutes and a followup call just to see how it all was going topped it off.



how is the performance? Quick, smooth, solid.



are you now driving differently? Haven't been there long enough to tell yet but pretty sure I'm going to have to stay on my toes to avoid talking to the local officials much more than I care to.



how has the experience been? It was all good.



was it everything you hoped for? Yes it is. Am guessing this is just about all the torque (i.e. horsepower) you can get out of this little engine without getting somewhat radical. It was a good investment. I would do it again.

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[Ab54666]

I want one!! .... but I don't have aircon...... <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/mad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[flash]

gbarrier - very happy you like it - also very happy that things went smoothly and easily - that was the entire goal - enjoy and be careful



ab54666 - as soon as i have an AC delete car in front of me, or time to fiddle around, i'll work that out - it's just not something that is very common around here - could you take a pic that shows that area clearly and send it to me? i might be able to start working on it

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[Ab54666]

[quote name='flash' timestamp='1308346014' post='111353']



ab54666 - as soon as i have an AC delete car in front of me, or time to fiddle around, i'll work that out - it's just not something that is very common around here - could you take a pic that shows that area clearly and send it to me? i might be able to start working on it

[/quote]



Will do flash, give me a couple of days as it's been as black as a black thing and pouring with rain for a few days over here in London.



Do you have a similar pic of an aircon car? I assume they were all built to accept Aircon bits so it could just be a case of making up (or getting) the relevant Aircon bracket/parts that are need for the charger. I'll ring around the breakers here in the UK and see what they have.

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[flash]

i can take a shot and send it - let's take this conversation off line though, and keep the thread about gbarrier's installation - drop me an email (click on my screen name and then the email address)

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[gbarrier]

Just when I was about to say "if the brackets are the same just hang a compressor on it". It doesn't have to be plumbed, just has to be there for the idler pulley.



The fact that the SC comes bolted onto the mounting bracket with the two top idlers in place and the belt already wrapped around it sure takes out some headaches. There was a fair amount of engineering that went into just that part and it poped right on there and hooked up easily.



Even subtle things like dropping the radiator a little for just a tad more clearance worked very well. I think the thing that really made me say wow was the simple little ring mount for the oil cooler. Had to be a real pain to get up in there and get that angle just perfect and then assure that all the mounts were bent at just the right angle. Clearance is perfect.



Yep, I'm sold.

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[gbarrier]

If you can live with the colors and the fact that the needles moves CCW this little gauge goes to 10 inches (er 5psi) so it looks right for our installation. It's the usual Stewart Warner quality and lighting is not especially bright but I'm pretty happy with it.



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Turbo-Boo...ccessories

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[tamathumper]

I don't think I could live with the colors. I'm too picky about my interior.

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[gbarrier]

Sometimes it's better to feel good than to look good. It's hard to find a gauge with much needle movement for our applications. Almost all gauges go at least 15# and most much more. This one goes almost full sweep from one extreme to the other and that part of it does look good. Of course it's down on the console so can't really stare when you're turning it on.

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[DaveN]

The tach pegs so fast now there is no time to look at anything <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> It's all I can do just to listen to the rev limiter <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[gbarrier]

Just did the "check the belts" thing at 600 miles. Didn't have to touch a thing.

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[flash]

what? no knurled pulley required? no bigger crank pulley? how can that be?



sorry - couldn't pass it up



very happy for you and it's really cool to see so many people enjoying these kits

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[gbarrier]

Just sitting here thinking and were I to do it again I would have pulled the alternator and sent it out for bearings before the install. I know that OEM alternator bearings seem to go a couple of hundered thousands and the regulator (i.e. brushes) is certanly accesible but it will take a little effort when it's time to pull the alternator.

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[flash]

it is one of those situations of "while you are in there" - very tough to determine where to stop



but, it isn't that hard to get to things, and i am doing a write up on how to access things after installation

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[gbarrier]

Ah, wonderful service after the sell as always. I'm sure it's not that bad as there weren't that many bolts. I'm just sitting here a week away from home running things thru my pointed little head.

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[gbarrier]

Cannot stress enough to follow the well detailed instruction book and look your work over well.



After 1,000 miles an oil return line which I aparently failed to tie up properly found its way into the track of the fan which rubbed a hole. You guessed it. Dumped the SC oil and the unit siezed. I think a little grenade effort also as I have just started to open things up and have already found pieces in the throttle body.



This is no reflection on the kit, Just a dumb mistake by an old man who installed it. I would have crawled in this car any morning and headed out cross country without a second thought.



The good news is that within the hour after I emailed Flash about the posibilities of getting a new head unit he had called me and is working on it. You can't find better product support than that.

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[DaveN]

That's sad. I know Bob and I toasted one too but at least it didn't grenade. That was a faulty unit not pumping oil so at least the factory went good on a replacement. Hopefully you can get a head unit for a reaonable $ and there is nothing else to replace, no bits in the intake mani <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/sad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[flash]

it was not pretty - i am very bummed that this happened - note to everyone, check and double check your hoses and make sure they are secure and out of harm's way



the one thing that is critical about these units is oil supply - lose that, and it goes bang - initial leaks are a sign to STOP! - this includes any leaks at the oil cooler - do not run the engine - do not "take it for a quick spin" - that is also why it is so important to get those fittings installed properly, and not over-tighten them - this was not gbarrier's problem, but it is one we have seen and had to deal with



i will be on the phone today working something out with the distributor for gbarrier - i am already in contact with them, though they are in bonneville testing right now, and won't be back until thursday - in the end though, it will be a straight pass through, and i will not be charging a dime of markup on it, even though i will have to run around and get it, refit it to work with the kit, and all of that - it all comes free with the price of admission, and just part of the customer support

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[gbarrier]

Thanks guys. It is what it is. As much as I have preached attention to detail over the years I totally neglected this one. Looks like the shaft wobbled a little before the bearings froze and rubbed the impeller pretty good. There may be bits of aluminum in the intake so I'll go look. There is one unidentified piece which stuck in the throttle body probably when I attempted to restart.



The unit actually comes out pretty easy and could have been removed with much less stuff had I not needed to get to the two lower idlers which are also trashed.

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[banditsc]

Yes, everyone please go out and check your oil line....

   

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