So you want to be blown? :brows:
Wait, do NOT answer that!!!! :yikes:
Here shall abide the (mostly) true tale of 03FXDL and his used MagnaCharger odyssey.
Boost is 5psi.
The engine is 95" with flat-top pistons. Lawlor Scotsmans heads. Stock cams.
The carb is stock reworked by Wally Kerstetter http://harleydavcvcarbrebuild.com/ and polished.
Pipe is a V&H ProPipe HS.
Ignition is Crane Hi4TC.
Well, for 20-some years I've wanted a blown hotrod. I wanted to supercharge my first car (a mustang) but couldn't afford it. But over the years I've never lost the itch for that roots-style blower. So when I first saw the MagnaCharger I wanted one. I finally got to a financial position I felt I could afford it and I started talking to the folks at MC. I had them send me a price list and I decided I wanted the black powdercoat Hot Street version.
(prices valid as of 9-19-05)
Finned $3395.00 Standard Polish or Black Powdercoat
Hot Street $3395.00 Sandard Polish or Black Powdercoat
Hot-Billet $4395.00 Full Polish
Show Billet $5500.00 Full Polish with chrome hardware
So I'm ready to plunk down the plastic when I discover that the quoted lead time was 8 weeks, and the info I found from other buyers was that the wait was really much longer. I'm pretty bummed but I'm still about to make my order when I found a used polished unit for $2900, which included the blower, a polished carb, a Crane Hi4TC ignition, and braided steel throttle cables. The unit was set up for 7 pounds of boost with a stock 88". I figured it would make a bit less with my 95", which was perfect considering my 9.1cr. So I took the bird in the hand and bought the unit sight-unseen from a guy in another state. In my later conversations with MC they said it should make about 5lb in my setup and was good for premium gas.
While I'm waiting for it to come on the big brown truck I downloaded the install instructions from the MC website. I note that some items called for in the instructions I will need to get so I ordered some special loctite and also the drilling fixture from MC. A few days later the blower arives and I take inventory. Hmm... Missing the top mounting bracket. I email the guy and he says he sent everything he had. So I call MC again and order the bracket. I also tell the guy I need anything else that's required so he says he'll put together an install kit and send it to me along with the updated install instructions.
Few days later the box from MC arrives. Included are the drilling fixture, special drillbit, cam tensioner retraction tool and retainers, new mounting bolts, top bracket, oil jet, and new cam gear retaining bolt. No updated install instructions. I call and have him fax it to me. What I receive is missing the first page and is basically unreadable. I decide to forge ahead anyway.
I start taking the bike apart and I realize there is a hole in the case of the blower that I have no idea what it is for. I posted the question here and then eventually figured out it's for the cam position sensor which I don't have. I plugged the hole with a plated freeze plug.
I dremel off a little metal from the engine case as required by the instructions (old instructions, new instructions don't mention it).
I don't have the special MC gasket so I buy a Harley gasket and trim it to fit.
I go to mount the blower and it won't snug down. I figure the blower is hitting something and I can't figure out what. After much wailing and gnashing of teeth I figured out the "special" mounting bolts MC sent me are too long and are bottoming in the holes. A trip to Ace and I'm back in business.
So now have the blower installed and I intall the pipe. The front tube almost hits the blower case and the heat shield will not fit, so I notch the front heat shield and viola. I run the cables and gas line but I realize I don't have a vacuum line, so I have to make a quick trip to Checker.
OK, now I think I'm ready to fire it. I took the bike out in the street and pushed it for about 20 yards in 2nd gear to make sure the engine turns over freely with no binding. No problems so I install the new triple platinum plugs and start cranking. After about 4 seconds it fires up and I'm in business.
More after the dyno tune.
![]()
Before.
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![]()
![]()
A small amount of of metal has to be removed here if the MC is an older model (such as mine).
![]()
![]()
![]()
The front pipe is really close to the blower, but doesn't touch.
![]()
![]()
The nearly complete install. The front heat shield was not yet installed.
![]()
Done!
![]()
Here are some bigger pics. I won't force those with slow connections to wait for these to load. Just click if you want to see.
http://4-bikers.com/front_angle.jpg
http://4-bikers.com/front.jpg
http://4-bikers.com/back_angle.jpg
http://4-bikers.com/close.jpg
11/9 - Well, she's up and running. Blower makes more noise than I thought. But then it's a gear drive and gears is noisy.
11/10 - Rode it to work today. Runs fine. Takin it easy for now until tuned. Some observations:
It feels very strong right off idle. Can't wait until I can really get on it.
The carb and blower intake get cold when riding. It was cool and humid this morning and when I got to work there was alot of condensation on the carb and blower intake. Didn't expect that but not really surprising if you think about it.
The right peg is a stretch. I had to move the brake pad over a little to reach it. I'm going to space the whole assembly out a bit for comfort.
11/13 - I noticed after I put in the Crane Hi4TC that it would backfire through the blower when I would try to start the bike hot. (Thank god for the popoff valve) I was so concerned about this that I was thinking of putting the stock ignition back but I decided to try a different method of starting. In the past it started best (when hot) if I just opened the throttle a bit and hit the button. But the new setup prefers that I leave the throttle fully closed and hit the button. Fires right up.
11/20 - Dyno update: Got a VPC from Hippo (83t) and installed it friday night, along with the SE spring. Clutch is actually a bit stiffer now but just barely. So I finally get it on the dyno (not the shop I really want to tune it but they're booked for a couple of weeks and I really wanted to see if my jetting was OK.) To make a long story short the result was a smoked clutch. The VPC comes on with rpms but the blower comes on immediately so it was just blowing the clutch away as soon as it got past the bog (more on the bog in a sec). We didn't totally destroy the clutch but werent able to get a good run. We did get some indications of the carb being too lean so jetted it up. Also it seemed to be bogging right off idle which the tech wasn't able to solve. Last night I was thinking about it and decided it was probably that the plugs needed to be gapped down a bit due to cylinder pressure. I gapped them down about 5 thousandths and took it for a test ride. Couldn't really get on it due to clutch but that did solve the bog. So now it's time to order the full-blown (pun intended) clutch pack from Energy One. http://www.energyoneclutches.com/bt98later.htm Oh, the joys of boost... The best numbers we got on the dyno were 93hp and 95tq but that was something like 3/4 throttle. Most interesting thing was how hard the tq came on. It was over 80ftlb by 2700rpm, again at 3/4 throttle. Real dyno tune (I hope) next month after the Energy One clutch pack is in.
___________________________________________
If it's not Blown, It must Suck.
Wait, do NOT answer that!!!! :yikes:
Here shall abide the (mostly) true tale of 03FXDL and his used MagnaCharger odyssey.
Boost is 5psi.
The engine is 95" with flat-top pistons. Lawlor Scotsmans heads. Stock cams.
The carb is stock reworked by Wally Kerstetter http://harleydavcvcarbrebuild.com/ and polished.
Pipe is a V&H ProPipe HS.
Ignition is Crane Hi4TC.
Well, for 20-some years I've wanted a blown hotrod. I wanted to supercharge my first car (a mustang) but couldn't afford it. But over the years I've never lost the itch for that roots-style blower. So when I first saw the MagnaCharger I wanted one. I finally got to a financial position I felt I could afford it and I started talking to the folks at MC. I had them send me a price list and I decided I wanted the black powdercoat Hot Street version.
(prices valid as of 9-19-05)
Finned $3395.00 Standard Polish or Black Powdercoat
Hot Street $3395.00 Sandard Polish or Black Powdercoat
Hot-Billet $4395.00 Full Polish
Show Billet $5500.00 Full Polish with chrome hardware
So I'm ready to plunk down the plastic when I discover that the quoted lead time was 8 weeks, and the info I found from other buyers was that the wait was really much longer. I'm pretty bummed but I'm still about to make my order when I found a used polished unit for $2900, which included the blower, a polished carb, a Crane Hi4TC ignition, and braided steel throttle cables. The unit was set up for 7 pounds of boost with a stock 88". I figured it would make a bit less with my 95", which was perfect considering my 9.1cr. So I took the bird in the hand and bought the unit sight-unseen from a guy in another state. In my later conversations with MC they said it should make about 5lb in my setup and was good for premium gas.
While I'm waiting for it to come on the big brown truck I downloaded the install instructions from the MC website. I note that some items called for in the instructions I will need to get so I ordered some special loctite and also the drilling fixture from MC. A few days later the blower arives and I take inventory. Hmm... Missing the top mounting bracket. I email the guy and he says he sent everything he had. So I call MC again and order the bracket. I also tell the guy I need anything else that's required so he says he'll put together an install kit and send it to me along with the updated install instructions.
Few days later the box from MC arrives. Included are the drilling fixture, special drillbit, cam tensioner retraction tool and retainers, new mounting bolts, top bracket, oil jet, and new cam gear retaining bolt. No updated install instructions. I call and have him fax it to me. What I receive is missing the first page and is basically unreadable. I decide to forge ahead anyway.
I start taking the bike apart and I realize there is a hole in the case of the blower that I have no idea what it is for. I posted the question here and then eventually figured out it's for the cam position sensor which I don't have. I plugged the hole with a plated freeze plug.
I dremel off a little metal from the engine case as required by the instructions (old instructions, new instructions don't mention it).
I don't have the special MC gasket so I buy a Harley gasket and trim it to fit.
I go to mount the blower and it won't snug down. I figure the blower is hitting something and I can't figure out what. After much wailing and gnashing of teeth I figured out the "special" mounting bolts MC sent me are too long and are bottoming in the holes. A trip to Ace and I'm back in business.
So now have the blower installed and I intall the pipe. The front tube almost hits the blower case and the heat shield will not fit, so I notch the front heat shield and viola. I run the cables and gas line but I realize I don't have a vacuum line, so I have to make a quick trip to Checker.
OK, now I think I'm ready to fire it. I took the bike out in the street and pushed it for about 20 yards in 2nd gear to make sure the engine turns over freely with no binding. No problems so I install the new triple platinum plugs and start cranking. After about 4 seconds it fires up and I'm in business.
More after the dyno tune.
Before.
A small amount of of metal has to be removed here if the MC is an older model (such as mine).
The front pipe is really close to the blower, but doesn't touch.
The nearly complete install. The front heat shield was not yet installed.
Done!
Here are some bigger pics. I won't force those with slow connections to wait for these to load. Just click if you want to see.
http://4-bikers.com/front_angle.jpg
http://4-bikers.com/front.jpg
http://4-bikers.com/back_angle.jpg
http://4-bikers.com/close.jpg
11/9 - Well, she's up and running. Blower makes more noise than I thought. But then it's a gear drive and gears is noisy.
11/10 - Rode it to work today. Runs fine. Takin it easy for now until tuned. Some observations:
It feels very strong right off idle. Can't wait until I can really get on it.
The carb and blower intake get cold when riding. It was cool and humid this morning and when I got to work there was alot of condensation on the carb and blower intake. Didn't expect that but not really surprising if you think about it.
The right peg is a stretch. I had to move the brake pad over a little to reach it. I'm going to space the whole assembly out a bit for comfort.
11/13 - I noticed after I put in the Crane Hi4TC that it would backfire through the blower when I would try to start the bike hot. (Thank god for the popoff valve) I was so concerned about this that I was thinking of putting the stock ignition back but I decided to try a different method of starting. In the past it started best (when hot) if I just opened the throttle a bit and hit the button. But the new setup prefers that I leave the throttle fully closed and hit the button. Fires right up.
11/20 - Dyno update: Got a VPC from Hippo (83t) and installed it friday night, along with the SE spring. Clutch is actually a bit stiffer now but just barely. So I finally get it on the dyno (not the shop I really want to tune it but they're booked for a couple of weeks and I really wanted to see if my jetting was OK.) To make a long story short the result was a smoked clutch. The VPC comes on with rpms but the blower comes on immediately so it was just blowing the clutch away as soon as it got past the bog (more on the bog in a sec). We didn't totally destroy the clutch but werent able to get a good run. We did get some indications of the carb being too lean so jetted it up. Also it seemed to be bogging right off idle which the tech wasn't able to solve. Last night I was thinking about it and decided it was probably that the plugs needed to be gapped down a bit due to cylinder pressure. I gapped them down about 5 thousandths and took it for a test ride. Couldn't really get on it due to clutch but that did solve the bog. So now it's time to order the full-blown (pun intended) clutch pack from Energy One. http://www.energyoneclutches.com/bt98later.htm Oh, the joys of boost... The best numbers we got on the dyno were 93hp and 95tq but that was something like 3/4 throttle. Most interesting thing was how hard the tq came on. It was over 80ftlb by 2700rpm, again at 3/4 throttle. Real dyno tune (I hope) next month after the Energy One clutch pack is in.
___________________________________________
If it's not Blown, It must Suck.
