144 Weiand supercharger and engine displacement

[Michael Harrington]

In the near future I will have a Magnum based small block built and will utilize a 144 Weiand blower. Goal is a gutsy responsive fun street engine that is not temperamental. No drag strip but a fun summer toy for driving to work and cruising thru the beach and town. I would like a 3:55 geared Dakota capable of low 13s. The cam will be mild- maybe around 218-220 dur @.050. Would the smaller 318 be more optimal for the small blower or is the 360 just as good? What do I mean by ideal? Would the 318 allow the full streetable potential of the 144 over the larger cube 360.

 

[Coyote Jack]

Seeing as nobody else has jumped in here I will take a stab at it. I don't think the 318/360 question is your biggest problem. All things being equal the 360 will make more power. The big problem I see is the magnum is a closed chamber head and your compression might be to high. As far as making boost the 144 is a little on the small side but can be over driven to increase the boost, bringing in a new problem of heat. Run it on the rich side to help there. You should be able to make it work with either the 318 or 360.

Jack

 

[Michael Harrington]

Thank you. I guess it depends then on which core engine I can get. I plan on forged pistons and properly gapped rings. I also plan on stock Magnum rods and crank. I do have a set of 2.02 J heads that I common sense ported and polished years ago laying under my bed. If I can get a set of stock Magnum Heads that are suitable, I will port them up / have the Valve guides cut down and run them. I will not entertain the Chinese EQ cast iron heads BECAUSE............... I already spent over $1000 on a set to find out the LA intake holes are drilled in the wrong location. I could redrill them but will not. I'm afraid of what other compromises these heads may reveal. Lesson learned. Don't buy iron Chinese made heads that claim to be the Aussie made Engine Quest derivative.

 

[Coyote Jack]

Thank you. I guess it depends then on which core engine I can get. I plan on forged pistons and properly gapped rings. I also plan on stock Magnum rods and crank. I do have a set of 2.02 J heads that I common sense ported and polished years ago laying under my bed. If I can get a set of stock Magnum Heads that are suitable, I will port them up / have the Valve guides cut down and run them. I will not entertain the Chinese EQ cast iron heads BECAUSE............... I already spent over $1000 on a set to find out the LA intake holes are drilled in the wrong location. I could redrill them but will not. I'm afraid of what other compromises these heads may reveal. Lesson learned. Don't buy iron Chinese made heads that claim to be the Aussie made Engine Quest derivative.

I thought of something else. The magnum heads have different bolt holes for the intake than an LA set of heads. You might want to keep that in mind when looking for an intake.

Jack

 

[PROSTOCKTOM]

In the near future I will have a Magnum based small block built and will utilize a 144 Weiand blower. Goal is a gutsy responsive fun street engine that is not temperamental. No drag strip but a fun summer toy for driving to work and cruising thru the beach and town. I would like a 3:55 geared Dakota capable of low 13s. The cam will be mild- maybe around 218-220 dur @.050. Would the smaller 318 be more optimal for the small blower or is the 360 just as good? What do I mean by ideal? Would the 318 allow the full streetable potential of the 144 over the larger cube 360.

View attachment 1716419947

I would be far more inclined to build a 360 over a 318 and not for the cubic inch benefit that everyone would probably think.

The 360 has a much better selection for pistons, and small journal main bearings (273"-318") are getting harder to find and a lot more expensive.

I have a friend with a 144 on a 383" SBC and it's a lot of fun with only 5 psi. You'll have a great time with it.

Tom

 

[AJ/FormS]

Or you could just run it NA with an A518, and 4.30s.

I ran my alloy-headed 367 like that for 4 years with a 223/230/110 cam, at about 190psi, on 87E10, but with a manual trans. Car went 106 easy enough on 245s and 3.55 gears. I went with a GVOD instead of the A518, is all.

After that cam died, I switched to a 230/237/110 cam and immediately lost bottom end torque, which took a 3.09 low gear to solve; and fuel-economy took a serious hit. Which I was never able to resolve.

I liked the 223 cam way better.

 

[jimjimjimmy]

@MiradaMegaCab

 

[Michael Harrington]

@MiradaMegaCab

I have located a Magnum 360 I will pick up. I know the owner and the truck never overheated so hopefully the heads have no significant cracks. If the heads pass the test Ill have the guides cutdown for clearance and Ill common-sense port and polish them. I can rent the jig to redrill the heads to the LA pattern from a member here But- I recently learned of a machine shop 40 miles from me in Muskegon MI who actually drills Mag heads to the LA configuration. Most shops never heard of this.
I also discovered a place 90 mile south of me that rebuilds Roots superchargers. I took a day off last week and drove it to them. They will give it the go over. His preliminary visual showed that this 144 ( or maybe its a 142) is in very good condition. He is going to machine the rotors and add the teflon strips. Does this mean I have the 142 because it's not lined with the Teflon strips?

 

[MiradaMegaCab]

B&M blowers had Teflon on the rotor and came in 144.
Your Weiand is a 142 as there’s no Teflon strips.

 

[Michael Harrington]

Ah I stand corrected. Thank you