Has anyone had any experience with one of these superchargers?

There's one on E-bay and I'm wondering how my '97 F250HD would like it.

For what its worth, my truck is 4wd 5-speed with 4.10s.

Thanks.

 

SHHHH! haha, just kiddin

No experience here, but I am watching that auction too.

Should be interesting to see what it gets up to. It might end up being a good deal, but thats unusual for Ebay.

 

Hey guys, I know this thread is over 3 years old. But maybe youre still out there. I have been looking on all corners of the earth for a kennebell twin screw for my '97 460. I have watched ebay for one of these since like 2004. I just want to know .....was the one you are referring to on ebay actually for or off of a 460?? Or was it just a KB with no other parts? I have searched and looked and called and hunted and bent over backwards, and I cant seem to find even a photo of one of these. I called KB and they said they "did" made one for the '93-'97 efi 460s, but they are like a phantom I guess. I posted a thread on here a year or so ago, also asking if anyone else had ever seen on of these ghost. Heck I used to even know the KB part # but I cant remeber it anymore. This is the 1st time I have found this post, some how I missed it. If you are still out there, let me. This would really bring me some satisfaction. thanks

8-6-2010 Update: Since writing this I talked to a guy at KB (his name was TJ or TK i believe?) And I actually got an Installation/Service manual for This perticular kit. They actually still have this stuff on file. I "put in an order" and it took a few weeks but they printed one up and sent it to me. It List for Ford 7.5 EFI from '87-'97. The book cost about $20 but the awesome thing is it has very good photos of actual installs and running units on 90's model 460's. These are the 1st pics I have ever seen of this beast so I know there is some hiding out there somewhere. I will find one, one day....

 

Bump. Still looking for the KB

 

Good luck. Keep your eyes open for a Vortech. I got lucky and found a used one on craigs list last year for cheap

 

How do you like the vortech (everyday driving, all around performance)?? I've had a chance before to get one but I decided to stay away from it. I always figured they would only shine at mid to upper rpm's. I cant really afford to lose any more low end torque they way my engine is set up now. I have yet to convert it to MAF or upgrade the fuel system, and right now I'm making about 280hp/420tq at the wheels. I know the stock ecm is at its limits. I've never actually drove a 460 with one of these so I dont know what kind of nature they have. I have seriously been considereing a custom kit from Squires turbo in Utah, but I'm still banking on the KB, hoping one day somebody will pull one out from under a hat.

 

What all do you have done to get 280hp to the tires?

I am pleased with the vortech. I can roast the tires in 1st and 2nd. It chirps em hard in 3rd and gets serious wheel hop. On top of it is only about a 6-8 hour install

I have 3:55 and 35" tires

 

Well its really not radical by any means. Lots of little things add up. To me the biggest problems the EFI's have is the breathing. The 1st thing to go was the P.O.S. factory air box that is barely enough for the 300 or 302. I was shocked at the power and fuel mileage gained when I chuncked the cat and factory exhaust. My cousin gave me a 3 to 3 1/2" Banks muffler off his 7.3 so thats where I started. A year or so later I installed the banks headers.......pros and cons. They picked up more mileage, and much more power past 3000 rpm, but what a kick in the gut on th bottom. I'd say I easlily lost 50-75 ft/lbs. from off idle to 2300 rpm. I've wasted hours (literally) on the phone with Banks, they said it should have more tq all the way around....they perform the same on the stock engine and this one. I would love to know some other aftermarket comp. headers perform. When I built this engine I converted it to a "very mild" roller cam(crane #359331) and matching valve springs, not cheap but I love it. I used light weight sealed power pistons(dropped the compression a bit...for more boost) and had rotating assy. balanced. The cam I used made it run extremely lean, so I had it dyno tuned with an SCT chip. The dyno shop said I needed Mass air to really make it run good. I installed a crave stud conv. kit w/ full roller rockers. Also deleted the EGR system. Throttle body spacer gave me about 10-15 hp I would say(under boost I doubt they do anything to help). I have another set of heads I had ported and polished with 2.19/ 1.76" CJ valves....I cant wait to get them on the truck. I think I'm going to install a bigger cam (custom from COMP) with the new heads. I have way more power now than it ever thought about when stock, but with those damn headers I cant even spin the tires (3.55 gears, I always run stock tire size) from a stand still. Heck when I had the cast manifolds still on, I could burn the tires as far as wanted to go. Ive sereiously thought about changing them back but i hate to lose the top end The last thing Ive done is installing a #1707 BBK fuel pressure reg. Everyone on here (or 460ford.com) says run them at 41-42 psi. This engine is begging for forced induction. The last thing was buying a trans. that could handle it, which is basicly built for the powerstrokes, so I know this thing cant hurt it.
Do you feel like you lost any low end power after the vortech, or was it a big increase fromidle to top end? Looking at the vortech specs I figured it wouldnt start making any boost untill around 3,000? How much boost does it make?.... the way I set this engine up I thin it can stand around 8-10 psi safely. I talked to vortech and squires turbo, they both said I should able to make 500-550 to the wheels, with the turbo a little higher. Did you have yours dyno tuned after the supercharger install.... is it speed density or mass air?

 

My banks headers never hurt my bottom end. but i was dissapointed in the power gains. I notticed more difference when i put my BBK throttle body on. When my truck had 33" tires i had ALOT more get up and go but he Vortech surpassed when i was with even stock tires. Last moth i Blew the doors in on my buddys 99 powerstoke(140 chip,turbo wheel,intake, stacks) between 60-95 mphon the hwy. The vorteck gave me a big help in the lower RPM rang by seat of pants. never had the truck on a dyno. I do not have boost or fuel pressure gauges yet. They are next on my list. O here is the truck

 

Thats a nice truck, I like that blue. I see too many guys today that go way over the top with so much crap on them they look silly. Both of mine look bone stock, still have the ford/alcoa factory alum. rims and hubcaps. The 460 is a reg. cab, gloss black. Does your truck have Mass air or Speed density? The maf would adapt much more easily to the supercharger. Thats very interesting about you headers...........that was in 2001 when I first installed them(also the last time I was able light up the tires at will), been trying to figure that one out ever since. I've built plenty of engines and worked on a lot of 460s.......still beatin my head against the wall. Its really frustrating when you call banks and none of them can tell you anything. More than once they tried to tell me it must be a sensor- I reminded them I didnt live in CA and my truck is spd. density not MAF, and it is OBDI , plus its been dyno tuned more than once.. so I gave up. According to their dyno charts and the techs I should have gained torque from off idle to top.....not even close. I remember the 1st time I hooked a stock trailer to it I thought "what the hell happened, somethings wrong". I will say it pick up a lot past 3000 rpm, and with this cam it pretty well falls on its face by 4,500. Have you ever changed your timing chain (straight up/advanced)? I see you have a cowl induction hood. I got a Hypermax cowl intake that goes to the 6.9/7.3 kits. It mounts next to the brake booster and has a 4" outlet, but I haven't put it in yet. The vortec would be the easiest thing for me to install but I was worried I woulndt gain the power where I wanted or lose even more low end... If your truck runs they way you say, it sounds like it improved it all the way around. When I was a senior in high school (1998) I had the chance to drive my truck just after the original owner purchased it off the lot here in town. I do believe it was the baddest bone stock 460 I have ever been in. 2 years later I jump on it when she decided to sell it. Never thought I'd still be driving today. I have a diesel performance business I do on the side, and I get a kick out of truck owners asking me why i'm drivin this gas job and doin all this work on diesels (mostly powerstrokes). Its does give you a good feeling when you out run trucks that people have invested $30-50,000 in. Whats the note "1 of 5 built" mean? later

 

It is one of 5 1996 f350 Crewcab 460 5spd xlt trucks ever made. And it i= just got rarer this summer. I found another on of the 5 that was converted to a cummins. So now it is 1 of 4

 

Oh thats awesome. A good friend of mine had one like yours but it was a '90 model, he kept in mint conditionfrom new to last year when he sold it somewhere in Tenn. Definitely dont see too many of that body style with 4 door anymore, especially in good cond. I just realized you have 5spd (duh it say it right below your name) instead of E4OD like mine. That might explain the seat of the pants power difference on lower end. I'm kinda of partial to manual transmissions myself. Ironically the only trucks I have now with man. is a '29 model A pickup and an '84 359 Pete. My dad bought a new F250 reg. cab with 460/ 5 speed , and 3.55 gears in Nov./Dec. of 1987. I think it was one of the very first EFI 460s built. I was only 8 years old but that is what turned me on to BB Fords. We still use it today on the ranch, appx. 250,000 miles later. It spent most of its life pulling a stock trailer. Incidently, my truck was built in Dec. of 1997. I would like to know how close it was to end of production, but how do you find that out? I see you also have a '80 with a 429.... never been around one. How do you like it compared to the 460's?

 

I don't know if Kenne Bell offers one but I know that Whipple makes a lung that will bolt into place of a 1471. It's listed on their web site under the marine systems.

Whipple Industries

There are 460 supercharger intakes out there.


Supercharger USA - 429 to 460 Ford Blower Manfold Blue Thunder 671 871 1071 1471

and even adapters so you can keep your EFI heads.

AP-37 Intake Adapter Plate

Now I doubt the factory EFI could work with this setup so you would be starting from scratch. Also, just pricing the Whipple kits this would be very, very expensive. And there is no way this is going to be emissions legal in most states but installing this it would be possible.

and oh the possibilities…

 

Thanks for the info. Believe me I have thought about a set up like that many times. But the one I am hunting for is the kit KB made to fit the factory F-series '87-'97 EFI 460's. So far all I have is the owner/installation manual that I bout from KB last winter. It has some pretty photos of the installation process in steps. The pics in the book show both the 5.8 and 7.5 engines. I could have easlily went a different route long ago, and built my own set up from scratch.... But I've always had some kind of mental hang up about keeping the factory efi (aka: stone age speed density fuel infection) as close to original as possible. I've seen photos on here where guys have taken Magna charger and adapted it to a 6-71 BB ford manifold. It looked pretty good to me. Heck you can pretty much build anyhting you want nowadays if you have the money, and just look at all the latest aftermarket EFI kits that have hit the market in the last 2-3 years. I still have my hopes up though that eventually I will find what I'm looking for. If you notice at the top of this thread, it was started by a guy who said there was on on Ebay in march of 2007.... I must have been under a rock somewhere. I cant believe I would have missed that but oh well. So far the pics in mu install manual are the only ones I have seen of an actual unit.

 

I know a lot about Kenne Bell blowers, as I put one on my '93 Cobra. They are badass blowers. I can only imagine one one a 460! I've seen 'em on 1st gen lightnings but not our trucks. I bet they are hard to find....