Hey everyone, I was considering building a small block with one of the "bigger" mini-blowers that holly offers. Does anyone out there currently run one of these and how do they like it?
Would a 406 be a good choice or is it better to stick with a 350. this will be going inot a strip/street car.
thanks

If you already have the 400 block, I can't see any reason why you'd want a 350...once you try a 400, 350s seem tame!

Hello,

I have a mini 174 B&M / Holley blower on a 454, with a 5spd Doug Nash. TONS of torque and power from idle to 6000. I drove the car for 10+ years before installing the blower. Solid cams, high compression, open plenum & dual plane intakes, etc etc. Car with blower, 9.5:1 compression, and mild hyd cam is a total riot. Runs like a Cadillac around town. No problems at all.

Friends had a 144 B&M on a 327, automatic (in a '57 Chevy), and a 144 B&M on a 350, 4spd (79 Camaro) and both cars were animals. Lots of fun to beat on. LOL

Good luck with your project, Happy Holidays, Joe

How much do these small blowers affect daily drivability and fuel economy?

Hello again,

I cannot offer guidance on everyday fuel economy. I do drive my hotrod often, and have not really noticed a change in fuel consumption since I added the blower.

Big block + 850 double pumper + getting on it often = pretty bad mileage with or without blower.

I can say the car does NOT run hot (stock LS-6 style GM thermo-clutch fan, and 4 core radiator, 160 thermostat). The mini-blower and pulleys are a bolt on / zero modification installation.

All the best, Joe

thanks for the reply

SS454JC,

Hope you check back here. So did you have to modify the shroud or anything for clearance? And no problems with having to space the fan out to clear the blower drive? That's cool, I honestly thought you had to run an electric fan with one the those. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

I had (I have since sold the car) the smaller 144 on a mild 383 for a couple seasons and absolutely loved it. It took the car from the high 12's to consistent high 11's on a mild cam, pump gas and drag radials with full exhaust. I feel it had much more to go since I was still only cutting 1.7's 60' times. Plus it makes a killer whine when it is producing boost...if you like that sort of thing. Not too many of these things on the street either, so it was nice to be a bit different. I would think it would be a real nice compliment to a stout 9.0 to 1 406.

Good luck.

Hello,

My car is a 1970 with a cowl induction hood. B&M 174 on 454 with solid moroso motor mounts (same dimensions as stock rubber mounts). Holley 850 with 3/8 inch spacer underneath for 50cc accelerator pump clearance. Carb airhorn is about 3/4 inch from bottom of the hood. I have since trimmed the airhorn off the carb just to help get some more air into the engine. The car / engine ran fine with the carb horn in place.

My car has stock Alternator and Power Steering only. No A/C.

Everything bolted right up including blower intake manifold, 6 rib pulleys and belt, and stock fan shroud. I also have a stock thermo clutch fan. Modification to fit blower idler with stock thermo fan below.

This modification is for the OLD style B&M with lower idler pulley. The NEW style Holley / Weiend blowers have the idler mounted to the blower snout housing. I am not familiar with the installation / clearance of the new style but would think it is better than the old for fan clearance and for belt tensioning.

Modification for fan clearance:
My 174 is the old style. It has the idler pulley as a separate piece that bolts to the same 2 bolt positions that the lower alternator bracket bolts to the water pump. Since the idler is in that spot, it did touch the stock clutch fan blades because the idler pulley axle mount was facing the front of the engine and touching the fan. I took the idler apart and spun the mount around so it faced the rear of the engine. This required a file. The mounting "male tube" is keyed with a D shape so it slides and aligns properly into the "female piece" that is bolted to the water pump. To spin it around so it would face the rear of the engine, I had to file flat a section on the mount tube so it would slide into the piece and align, keeping the pulley in the correct relation of the belt and other pulleys. Keep in mind that inside the mounting peice there is a heavy duty spring that is pressing the pulley tube into the belt to maintain the pressure. The tube must ride freely in and out of the mounting peice during tensioning. This little bit of filing did the trick. The belt lines up fine and stays on. I did not have to shim the fan due to this trick since it gave the clearance that was needed.

I think I can get a 10 rib pulley setup to work with a shim or two in the fan. 10 rib may be close to shroud. Don't know. Have not tried it.

My car runs fine with 4 core GM radiator and thermo clutch fan, 160 thermostat. Stays below 190 around town. Maybe 200+ on scorching days above 90 degrees with high humidity and sitting in traffic.

I will take digital photos and email them if you like. Drop me a line.

Sorry post got long. Good luck.

....Joe.

I own a 144 mini b&m-ran it for many years low boost on cast pistons-never hurt anything-very streetable too-One bad thing about them-there addicting-no bottles to fill either!

I have a similar setup to Joe, SS454JC.

470BB but with the newer Holley 174 PowerCharger.
JE 8.5 to 1; CompCams dual pattern cam , .590 in / .610 out; 850 vacuum secondary carb modified by the Carb Shop; Merlin iron oval port heads.

I am running a Mark VIII electric fan with a GM 4 core radiator. You will have to offset this fan to the driver's side as well as trim the shroud to get it to fit.

The whine, while present, is pleasantly muted on my unit (I am more happy to have less noise than more). I have enough engine and exhaust noise coming out the cowl and from the hookers headers.

You will need to run at least a 3 inch cowl hood to clear on a BB; not sure on a SB. I went with a 4 inch just to be sure...GlassTech unit...so that I could run a full size air cleaner. Make sure to run a full size cleaner, not a small econo size fit cleaner.

Lots of low to midrange torque to 6K, as Joe mentioned. Unlike Joe, I have an automatic. I like putting my right arm over the bench seat and stomping on it without having to shift....that's my style...a walk in the park, non event experience.

I really don't track mileage on this vehicle, so I can't provide a real good sense of MPG. Doesn't seem any worse than before unless I am sticking my foot in it on the on ramps smile.gif


Very streetable. Very pump gas friendly...in fact I am trying one tankful of medium 89 grade to see the impact.

-stu