The Ford Barn

deuce5wndw · 03-04-2022, 09:48 AM

Scored this Monday! Any shop manual reprints or instruction sheets available?

solidaxle · 03-04-2022, 12:37 PM

Are you bragging or boasting?

Congrats!!

Dave/Green Bay · 03-04-2022, 01:00 PM

Try a search on the Barn Lots of good information on McCulloch Dave/Green Bay

glennpm · 03-04-2022, 01:00 PM

I'm in the process of installing a VS-57 McCulloch which is a carb "blow through" design. What you have is the early product and draws through the carburator so less complicated. Below is some history of your s/c from an inactive and incomplete older website,
http://vs57.y-block.info/history.htm

McCulloch Supercharger History

1930’s Superchargers

Robert Paxton McCulloch was a skilled Stanford University engineering graduate who inherited a considerable sum of money from his multi-millionaire grandfather at an early age. This gave him the financial freedom to indulge in two of his passions, boat racing and engineering, which eventually led to him becoming a national champion in classes C and D of outboard hydroplanes in the1930’s, and the also saw him set up a machine shop, where he and his helpers made engines for midget racers, and ended up building a twin motored, four wheel drive, midget that was so fast that it resulted in the ban of this type of midget from the tracks. Search for more speed resulted in him using his inheritance to set up the McCulloch Engineering Company in which he employed a team of engineers to develop engines and superchargers for aeronautical and automotive applications.

90 HP 60 Cubic Inch Engine (courtesy of Richard McCulloch)

The first product of the McCulloch Engineering Company was a 2 stroke 60 cubic inch 90 HP racing engine developed by Robert P McCulloch, Gerald C Robechaud and Milton Hoeppner. Another product developed at McCulloch Engineering by Francis L. Colburn was a centrifugal supercharger for the flathead Ford V8. The flathead Ford V8 was an enormously popular powerplant at the time, and a low cost centrifugal supercharger developed for this engine had potential for high sales. The resultant supercharger was belt driven, was horizontally mounted between the standard intake manifold and carburetor, and may well have been one of the first aftermarket blower systems produced.

The 1937 McCulloch Supercharger

McCulloch Engineering Company was based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the flathead supercharger unit was manufactured and sold between 1937 and 1940, and was significantly different to the later McCulloch blow through centrifugal superchargers in that it was an inline unit, which compressed and mixed the fuel/air charge. It consisted of an impellor, which turned at six times the engine speed in the impellor housing, and was driven by a set of worm gears mounted on the drive shaft and rotor shaft. The worm gears were driven by a triple pulley mounted an input drive shaft driven from the crankshaft pulley using several belts and were initially lubricated using engine oil under pressure from the engines oil system. By revolving at high speed the impellor caused the fuel/air mixture to build up pressure, up to a maximum of four pounds, within the impellor housing as a result of centrifugal force, and the pressurized mixture was discharged into the inlet manifold. There appears to have been two versions, one without a water jacket, and the other with a water jacket around the impellor housing which was used to warm the air/fuel mixture and was purported to aid low speed performance. A special three/four belt crank pulley was furnished for the Ford crankshaft, two new water pumps with three belt pulleys, as well as a set of matched V belts, a belt idler pulley and a special air cleaner which was required due to the reduced clearance added by the supercharger. The initial units, manufactured in 1937 and retailing for around $85, were designed to bolt onto the existing Ford and Mercury V8's which had the water pumps attached to the cylinder heads. Continuous improvement by the McCulloch engineers resulted in a modified version being introduced in 1938, retailing for $125, and which was also engine oil lubricated via a supplied intake manifold, which contained all the necessary link ups required for the engine oil lubrication. These also appear to have been offered with in water jacketed and non water jacketed versions. In 1939/40 thermostatic control of the exhaust gas through the impeller housing was introduced, in order to promote a rapid warm up of the fuel/air charge output from the blower. These flathead superchargers were designated with a model number that correlated the year of manufacture against the intended application vehicle (M for Mercury and F for Ford). Hence 38F refers to a 1938 model intended for a Ford.

The later 30's McCullochs

The supercharger, which may also have been used as OEM on the Graham-Paige, was purportedly popular with Truck owners due to the increased torque and low atmospheric pressure performance that it gave. McCulloch advertising of the period claimed a 38% increase in Horsepower, better gas mileage, smoother performance and a longer engine life. More than 5,000 of the superchargers were sold during the late 30’s, but production was discontinued during the early 1940’s due to two reasons. The impeller for the supercharger, being gear driven, and being lubricated via the engine oil system which was often not changed as regularly as it should, had a tendency to become quite noisy with wear, and the blower, due to it’s fixed ratio of 6:1, produced no significant boost until high rpm was being achieved by the engine with boost levels being no more than 4 psi, even with radical reworking. These facts failed to impress the general public, and sales were low, although by the early 40’s this had became irrelevant as McCulloch was making superchargers for all purposes, and many thousands were manufactured for military equipment used during the Second World War. In fact McCullochs total sales in 1942 were $3 million, and the only larger manufacturer in the supercharger field at that time was General Motors.
The success of McCulloch Motors, and the restless nature of Bob McCulloch, resulted in him selling McCulloch Motors to Borg Warner in 1943 for $1 million , which was subsequently invested in Pan American Airways stock. Six months later some of the stock was sold off and Bob McCulloch set up McCulloch Aviation Incorporated to manufacture 6,000 drone plane engines for the, based upon earlier lightweight two-cycle engines designed by McCulloch, for the Army Air Force. As a result of this contract McCulloch felt that his future lay with featherweight two-cycle engines for Industrial use, and given that it was time for a change, and his current manufacturing facilities were not suitable, McCulloch uprooted McCulloch Aviation and moved it to California.

Glenn

Newc · 03-04-2022, 01:03 PM

The other pulleys may have to be fabricated new. Newc

deuce5wndw · 03-04-2022, 02:31 PM

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Quote:

Originally Posted by solidaxle

Are you bragging or boasting?

Congrats!!

Thanks solidaxle but that is a tough question and I'm usually pretty good with multiple choice! Lol

deuce5wndw · 03-04-2022, 02:37 PM

Thanks Glenn that's good info. I plan on running the dual belt truck water pumps and crankshaft pulley if possible. Fabricate a spring-loaded idler and run the generator off one of the other unused grooves on the front of the supercharger.

solidaxle · 03-04-2022, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deuce5wndw

Thanks solidaxle but that is a tough question and I'm usually pretty good with multiple choice! Lol

This guy may help you out. Right here on the Barn.

Very Cool supercharger.

1949-59 Ford Parts Manuals on Computer Disk w/ diagrams and part numbers

City: Loveland
State: Ohio
Price: $15-18

Ford Barn Folks,

Take a look at this link to a fabulous CD I have listed on ebay. The CD includes the pdf (Adobe Reader format) scans of the two 1949-1959 parts manuals (both part numbers and diagrams) and the Ford manual made in the late 50's that covers the 223, the 332, the 352 FE, and the 292 Y block. Also on the CD are manuals that cover the Paxton VS57 McCulloch blower rebuilds, and the great Borg Warner files on the R10/R11 overdrive and the T85 transmissions. Check out this link to see what all is included.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/280858275423

The Ford Barn price shipped to your door is only $15 for the CD... that includes the shipping. IF Interested, DO NOT purchase through ebay... save the charges to me and you by simply sending an email to [email protected] and mention that you saw the CD for sale on the Ford Barn. We will then invoice you through paypal. You can also visit www.hotrodreverend.com and purchase through my personal website.

We can now do a Thumb Drive (4GB!) that will include all files above. It is still only $18 shipped.

We do accept personal checks and money orders...
Daniel Jessup
6218 Spires Drive
Loveland, Ohio 45140

Fordors · 03-05-2022, 01:44 AM

Not to take anything away from the efforts put forth on the above CD, but the VS57 is a completely different style of blower. The best information I have run across will be found in the August and September 2013 issues of Street Rodder magazine. Those issues cover the 39M (M for Mercury, but the 39F for Ford will basically be the same) with some history, specifications, rebuild tips and things you won’t learn elsewhere.
You can find those back issues on eBay or maybe a friend might have them.

Ggmac · 03-05-2022, 07:20 AM

Cool , a blow through . There is a older book on blower setups , not necessarily a paxton but it gives the requirements for carburetor modifications needed . Ill try to find the name , I think It was a Peterson publication.

deuce5wndw · 03-05-2022, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fordors

Not to take anything away from the efforts put forth on the above CD, but the VS57 is a completely different style of blower. The best information I have run across will be found in the August and September 2013 issues of Street Rodder magazine. Those issues cover the 39M (M for Mercury, but the 39F for Ford will basically be the same) with some history, specifications, rebuild tips and things you won’t learn elsewhere.
You can find those back issues on eBay or maybe a friend might have them.

Thanks Fordors I am embarrassed to say I have those issues!

03-04-2022, 12:37 PM	#2
solidaxle Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: upstate NY Posts: 478	Re: McCulloch supercharger Are you bragging or boasting? Congrats!!

03-04-2022, 01:00 PM	#3
Dave/Green Bay Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Green Bay Posts: 391	Re: McCulloch supercharger Try a search on the Barn Lots of good information on McCulloch Dave/Green Bay

03-04-2022, 01:00 PM	#4
glennpm Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Wiscasset, Maine Posts: 1,981	Re: McCulloch supercharger I'm in the process of installing a VS-57 McCulloch which is a carb "blow through" design. What you have is the early product and draws through the carburator so less complicated. Below is some history of your s/c from an inactive and incomplete older website, http://vs57.y-block.info/history.htm McCulloch Supercharger History 1930’s Superchargers Robert Paxton McCulloch was a skilled Stanford University engineering graduate who inherited a considerable sum of money from his multi-millionaire grandfather at an early age. This gave him the financial freedom to indulge in two of his passions, boat racing and engineering, which eventually led to him becoming a national champion in classes C and D of outboard hydroplanes in the1930’s, and the also saw him set up a machine shop, where he and his helpers made engines for midget racers, and ended up building a twin motored, four wheel drive, midget that was so fast that it resulted in the ban of this type of midget from the tracks. Search for more speed resulted in him using his inheritance to set up the McCulloch Engineering Company in which he employed a team of engineers to develop engines and superchargers for aeronautical and automotive applications. 90 HP 60 Cubic Inch Engine (courtesy of Richard McCulloch) The first product of the McCulloch Engineering Company was a 2 stroke 60 cubic inch 90 HP racing engine developed by Robert P McCulloch, Gerald C Robechaud and Milton Hoeppner. Another product developed at McCulloch Engineering by Francis L. Colburn was a centrifugal supercharger for the flathead Ford V8. The flathead Ford V8 was an enormously popular powerplant at the time, and a low cost centrifugal supercharger developed for this engine had potential for high sales. The resultant supercharger was belt driven, was horizontally mounted between the standard intake manifold and carburetor, and may well have been one of the first aftermarket blower systems produced. The 1937 McCulloch Supercharger McCulloch Engineering Company was based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the flathead supercharger unit was manufactured and sold between 1937 and 1940, and was significantly different to the later McCulloch blow through centrifugal superchargers in that it was an inline unit, which compressed and mixed the fuel/air charge. It consisted of an impellor, which turned at six times the engine speed in the impellor housing, and was driven by a set of worm gears mounted on the drive shaft and rotor shaft. The worm gears were driven by a triple pulley mounted an input drive shaft driven from the crankshaft pulley using several belts and were initially lubricated using engine oil under pressure from the engines oil system. By revolving at high speed the impellor caused the fuel/air mixture to build up pressure, up to a maximum of four pounds, within the impellor housing as a result of centrifugal force, and the pressurized mixture was discharged into the inlet manifold. There appears to have been two versions, one without a water jacket, and the other with a water jacket around the impellor housing which was used to warm the air/fuel mixture and was purported to aid low speed performance. A special three/four belt crank pulley was furnished for the Ford crankshaft, two new water pumps with three belt pulleys, as well as a set of matched V belts, a belt idler pulley and a special air cleaner which was required due to the reduced clearance added by the supercharger. The initial units, manufactured in 1937 and retailing for around $85, were designed to bolt onto the existing Ford and Mercury V8's which had the water pumps attached to the cylinder heads. Continuous improvement by the McCulloch engineers resulted in a modified version being introduced in 1938, retailing for $125, and which was also engine oil lubricated via a supplied intake manifold, which contained all the necessary link ups required for the engine oil lubrication. These also appear to have been offered with in water jacketed and non water jacketed versions. In 1939/40 thermostatic control of the exhaust gas through the impeller housing was introduced, in order to promote a rapid warm up of the fuel/air charge output from the blower. These flathead superchargers were designated with a model number that correlated the year of manufacture against the intended application vehicle (M for Mercury and F for Ford). Hence 38F refers to a 1938 model intended for a Ford. The later 30's McCullochs The supercharger, which may also have been used as OEM on the Graham-Paige, was purportedly popular with Truck owners due to the increased torque and low atmospheric pressure performance that it gave. McCulloch advertising of the period claimed a 38% increase in Horsepower, better gas mileage, smoother performance and a longer engine life. More than 5,000 of the superchargers were sold during the late 30’s, but production was discontinued during the early 1940’s due to two reasons. The impeller for the supercharger, being gear driven, and being lubricated via the engine oil system which was often not changed as regularly as it should, had a tendency to become quite noisy with wear, and the blower, due to it’s fixed ratio of 6:1, produced no significant boost until high rpm was being achieved by the engine with boost levels being no more than 4 psi, even with radical reworking. These facts failed to impress the general public, and sales were low, although by the early 40’s this had became irrelevant as McCulloch was making superchargers for all purposes, and many thousands were manufactured for military equipment used during the Second World War. In fact McCullochs total sales in 1942 were $3 million, and the only larger manufacturer in the supercharger field at that time was General Motors. The success of McCulloch Motors, and the restless nature of Bob McCulloch, resulted in him selling McCulloch Motors to Borg Warner in 1943 for $1 million , which was subsequently invested in Pan American Airways stock. Six months later some of the stock was sold off and Bob McCulloch set up McCulloch Aviation Incorporated to manufacture 6,000 drone plane engines for the, based upon earlier lightweight two-cycle engines designed by McCulloch, for the Army Air Force. As a result of this contract McCulloch felt that his future lay with featherweight two-cycle engines for Industrial use, and given that it was time for a change, and his current manufacturing facilities were not suitable, McCulloch uprooted McCulloch Aviation and moved it to California. Glenn

03-04-2022, 01:03 PM	#5
Newc Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 2,482	Re: McCulloch supercharger The other pulleys may have to be fabricated new. Newc

03-04-2022, 02:37 PM	#7
deuce5wndw Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Liberty, KY Posts: 900	Re: McCulloch supercharger Thanks Glenn that's good info. I plan on running the dual belt truck water pumps and crankshaft pulley if possible. Fabricate a spring-loaded idler and run the generator off one of the other unused grooves on the front of the supercharger.

03-05-2022, 01:44 AM	#9
Fordors Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Orland Park,IL Posts: 1,402	Re: McCulloch supercharger Not to take anything away from the efforts put forth on the above CD, but the VS57 is a completely different style of blower. The best information I have run across will be found in the August and September 2013 issues of Street Rodder magazine. Those issues cover the 39M (M for Mercury, but the 39F for Ford will basically be the same) with some history, specifications, rebuild tips and things you won’t learn elsewhere. You can find those back issues on eBay or maybe a friend might have them. __________________ My school colors are black and blue, I attended the School of Hard Knocks where I received a Masters Degree in Chronic Mopery.

03-05-2022, 07:20 AM	#10
Ggmac Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Lake worth Florida Posts: 1,088	Re: McCulloch supercharger Cool , a blow through . There is a older book on blower setups , not necessarily a paxton but it gives the requirements for carburetor modifications needed . Ill try to find the name , I think It was a Peterson publication.