Oddball Muscle Cars

[BlueOval Ralph]

Ford had 2 different blowers in 57 one looked like the regular Mcllough (sorry for spelling) supercharger the other looked like a modern big alternator, the one used in NASCAR as I remember used the engine oiling system the other had it's own oil interal oil system the ones that used the engine were much more durable.

http://www.mustangandfords.com/featu.../photo_12.html


SEE BELOW

According to Jim Moody's Web site, www.vs57.com, which chronicles the history of McCulloch superchargers, "With the Rochester Fuel Injection looming on the horizon, Ford's prospects looked weaker for 1957, and they were looking at all options. The decision to use superchargers was made late in 1956, and the decision to use McCulloch superchargers was probably due to the fact that Ford did not yet have a system of their own, and the fact that McCulloch superchargers were well proven in the field."

McCulloch's Paxton Products division, based in Los Angeles, California, signed a one-year contract with Ford to supply its variable-ratio, oil-cooled, centrifugal VR57 supercharger exclusively for the 312-cu.in. Ford V-8 in 1957. Paxton delivered between 100 and 125 VR57 Phase I superchargers to Ford in December 1956 to meet NASCAR's homologation rules, according to Moody. Twelve D-code Thunderbirds and an unknown number of passenger cars built in January 1957 received the Phase I superchargers, identified by the large clamp used to hold the two halves together.

Because the Phase I superchargers proved sensitive and unreliable (though reportedly more powerful), Paxton revised the design for the superchargers destined for the general public. The VR57 Phase II supercharger went into the now-famous F-code Thunderbirds (between 208 and 211 total production) and passenger cars (as many as 1,500 total), which didn't come out of the factory until later in 1957. Ford claimed 300hp from the supercharged engines, and Paxton claimed 360hp, though actual output, depending on the camshaft, peaked at 325 and 340hp.

The McCulloch-Ford contract expired in September or October of 1957, after factory-involved racing took two big hits: NASCAR's April 1957 decision to ban superchargers and fuel injection from its tracks and the Automobile Manufacturers Association's June 1957 decision to end all direct factory participation in racing. Thus, the F-code Thunderbirds lasted just one year.

But the link between the two companies didn't simply materialize from thin air. McCulloch had introduced a supercharger for the flathead V-8 in 1937, then in September 1953 released another bolt-on supercharger, the variable-speed VS57, initially available for the Ford flathead engine, though the company soon produced kits for most automotive V-8s and six-cylinder engines, including the Y-block. According to the aforementioned Motor Life article, McCulloch's installers said a good half of the VS57s made their way under a Thunderbird's hood.

McCulloch's own performance figures recorded a 3.2-second reduction in 0-to-60 mph times for a VS57-equipped 1955 Thunderbird. Motor Life magazine's testers managed just a 2.5-second drop, down to eight seconds. On a 1956 Ford with an automatic transmission, McCulloch stated a 7.5-second 0-to-60 time.

Originally Posted by mtkawboy

This is from a friend whos no longer alive but ran Nascar in the 50s. Only the factory cars ran the blower 312 motor because they had special German made blower roller bearings not available to the privateer racers or even known to them at the time. No one could keep the bearings in the blowers without them in long races so they all ran the 2 -4 barrel engines. Whether theres any truth to that I dont know but he was a big time engine builder that ran both on the beach & the first years of the big speedway at Daytona as well as modifieds in the new England/Canada area in the 50s. His name was George Nelson from Miami Fl. and he built some bad fast flatheads, Y-block Fords & small block Chevys. He also ran a Dodge Dart 273/235 stocker out of New Smyrna's Dynamic Dodge called Little Damn Ram in the mid 60s