Where did you get the info that the shim is no good? Was that from experience?
Dave Rosewarne from Cylinder Head specialists, here in Christchurch told me that the shim would be sweet as ,and he knows his stuff. These guys are widely respected here for their expertise and workmanship.
Plus would ACL (I think they made it) go to the trouble of making shims if they didnt
work ?

Hey, how u going? Yes, I had big problems with shims and spacers. Main experience was with compression levels fluctuating. The smallest amount of difference in shim width makes a big difference to amount of compression when s/charging. Even extra gasket sealant on the shim can increase/decrease the compression of a cylinder. I had all of my pistons and bores measured for exact compression ratios- the difference between 7.0:1 and 7.5:1 at 6500 rpm and 10psi of boost is the difference between a reliable engine and a big, smoky mess...

Could be more "fun &games" ahead for me yet. What did you use for back fire protection?

no back fire protection at all. if these little buggers are tuned correctly it will never happen. I have done about 5000 kms since the re-build without any backfires at all. If it does backfire and #### itself, I will just have to replace the blower ($300-$500) as I have designed it all to come apart in about 20 minutes. Bolt off...bolt on...

My blower can be dissasseblbed in no time too, but people ask $800 upwards for the
2L soarer blower and theres no way Id start
again with a 4AGZE unit . Mounting the one
that Ive got was a full on mission.

Have you had yours on dyno ?
what carb and jets are you using?

800 bucks bloody hell i got an email off a bloke from some place in victoria the sponsor of toymods forum he said 350 delivered for the 2l supra one it looks like a good one to use as it has four alternator type brackets. also has electromagnetic clutch.

i actually graphed the needle of the SU on the dyno (about 4 hours). it was quite amazing actually, when i first fired it up and put it on the dyno, it just bogged down over 3000 rpm. after modifying the needle, i ambled out of the workshop onto the main road and cruised down the street. gently went for second and it all felt fairly crisp and fresh. went for third and increased speed to about 40kph, i then put my foot flat to the floor. YEEEEEHHHAAAA- instant smoke (from the rears) for about 25 meters, then it hooked up and I was snatching fourth at about 130kph. very fast - very scary -at 6500rpm it is pumping out 10psi of boost and wants to rev it's head off.
since then i have had to learn to be gentle on the throttle, especially in the wet, but great fun none the less.
from memory i think it is putting out about 125hp at the rear wheels- feels like 350!
Carby jets are standard -straight off the jag..

Quote:
I used an ACL head saver shim on a turbo A14 at a max of 12lb and 8000rpm with no problems at all. I cannot remember the CR we ran now, but it was standard A14 bottom end with a .030" (I think) ACL head saver shim.

Like anything, it comes down to preparation. If your block's deck or cyl head wasn't true, or not thoroughly cleaned, or if you didn't use the correct sealant, or didn't apply it correctly, it could certainly account for sealing problems. That's not the shim's fault.

A head saver shim simply cannot make the CR vary in each cylinder. I think you are confusing a compression test with your compression ratio. If there were compression leaks due to the shim installation, you would get a different reading on compression tests, but that's got nothing to do with your compression ratio.

If you install the shim correctly you won't have any problems with them at these kinds of boost levels.

THANK YOU Harry, I was losing sleep at the thought of all my hard work and prep being a failure. I spoak to another guy I know whos right into supercharging big blocks, and he reasured me it would be all good.

BLOWN 1400, what did you end up using for a head gasket? if you used a sealer
would not the comp still be made ununiform?
I dont doubt that you did your homework and know your stuff , but do you conceed it to be at all possible that something else was
amiss?


ps have you run it down the 1/4 yet

I think when i get back form my overseas trip i am going to learn how to weld so that i can make all the custom manifolds. Buy a a14, webber carb, spercharger etc build it up and drop into my sunny. then rebadge it "overcast" with all the moke it aint gonna be sunny.
nothing like a street sleeper and when you tell them its a 1400 its even better.
I used to have a lot of fun woth my 1600 escort with a nice race spec engine. Nothing more enjoyable than destroying a commodore boy with his mates and all you are running is a small 4 cylinder....
GREAT MOTIVATIONAL THREAD GUYS.