[Tom Vaught]

Next Step is a Blow Thru Configuration, again low boost, so we will talk about the Studebaker Avanti R3 engine with the belt driven compressor and the AFB "Boosted Carb in a Box".

Starting with the passenger side of the vehicle, Pic #1, first we see the Air Filter peeking out of the shiny silver deflector air cleaner housing. The Air Cleaner has a nice LARGE air inlet tube with a short length over to the Orange Colored Part (which is the Paxton "Ball Drive" Supercharger. The Ball Bearing "Balls" in the drive system created a "step-up ratio" so that the supercharger impeller rpm was much higher vs the engine rpm.
There was also a Large Crank Pulley and smaller Supercharger Drive Pulley "Step-Up Ratio in the design.

So at the end of the day, at 5,000 rpm you could make about 7 psi of boost pressure inside the Carb Enclosure.

The Blow-Thru AFB carb was installed inside that enclosure. It is the Aluminum Box shown in the second picture Pic #2.

The "Clamshell Box" was held together under Boost Pressure by 4 long Bolts that went from the Intake Manifold to the Top of
the box. See Picture #2.
You can also see the Accelerator Pedal rod attached to the lever on the enclosure. The Lever hooked up the the AFB Carb Lever
inside the enclosure. You can see the short hose coming off the discharge side of the Paxton Supercharger and where it is
attached to the enclosure inlet nipple with a hose clamp. (Pic #2)

You can see the fuel line and fuel filter but cannot see where the line enters the lower half of the enclosure to feed the AFB Carb Fuel Bowls.

The Fuel Bowls used brass floats with an expanded foam material inside them (to keep them from crushing under boost pressures or they had small brass support rods installed inside and the rods soldered to the float walls from the outside.

So now we move into another part (not visible on this enclosure). An Air Bylass Valve that was a simple plate that moved upward under higher air flow rates and sealed the box for higher than atmospheric pressures from the supercharger.

The valve was open under idle conditions to allow a smooth flow of air into the carb without having to pass thru the supercharger. So now you know the basic parts of the early Paxton Blow Thru Carb System.

Vortech Engineering, who many years later bought Paxton Superchargers, and still owns the name came out with their own
Supercharger Enclosure. See Picture #3 and Picture #4 (which shows the whole assembly of parts). Their system/Enclosure
is designed for a Holley Carburetor so we finally get to a Boosted Holley Discussion. More on that tomorrow.

Tom V.