1972 Chevy Nova Weiand 142 Blower Upgrade - Boost Machine

The supplied lower crank pulley is a easy bolt-on deal. We simply had to pull the front belt pulley off the balancer, sandwich in the new blower pulley, and replace its center bolt and the three outer bolts to fasten it down.

Space is an issue when the blower is on, so we decided to throw the distributor back into place before we mounted the supercharger. Since we marked it before taking it out, Varquez simply plopped it back in with the cap and wires already attached.

While we could have used the old water-neck, Holley sent this one with the kit. It features an extended neck for better access and two threaded bosses for temperature control sensors. Using the old thermostat with a fresh gasket, we bolted it down with sealant.

Finally, the blower. Smiles were huge as we unwrapped the supercharger from its packaging. We removed the protective wrapping that covered the blower inlets. From there Varguez and John McKindley gently set the unit on top of the manifold with its new gasket. With the supplied hardware, they torqued the assembly down to 10 ft-lb.

Holley sent us three sizes of pulleys to try on our system. While we would have liked to install and tune for each one, we had limited time and went straight for the smallest pulley for maximum boost. It measuring 2.66 inches in diameter, all it took was a 9/16-inch socket to unloosen the bolt, remove the old pulley, and swap it with the new one.

Knowing that the generic mechanical fuel pump that originally came with the motor wouldn't handle the fuel demands of the supercharger, we went ahead and ordered a 110-gph fuel pump from Holley. To mount it, we had to disassemble the pump and rotate the pump a couple clicks to make sure our inlet and outlet wouldn't interfere with the frame.

Since it's crucial to keep an eye on boost levels, we tapped into our manifold using Holley's boost gauge kit. With some pipe sealant, we threaded in our fitting and hooked up the vacuum line, which we eventually ran through the firewall and into the car.

Our blower-specific carburetor from Holley was spot on from the box and didn't require much tuning besides idle adjustment. Our efforts literally consisted of bolting the carb down with a 1-inch HVH spacer and gaskets. Added features of the carburetor include mechanical secondaries, nonstick gaskets, adjustable air bleeds, and a four corner idle system.

With the new Holley carb, we took advantage of the kit's new fuel lines from B&M. This kit comes prebent with stainless steel lines and AN-8 inlet anodized fittings with a provision for a fuel pressure gauge. We installed it and ran the lines to our new Holley fuel pump.

To get the throttle linkage hooked up, we used Holley's universal linkage setup and fed the lines through the firewall and onto the bracket. The bracket itself uses a variety of adjustable slides and Allen bolts to achieve the proper length. After figuring out the exact settings, it was only a matter of tightening the bolts.

All that was left was to reinstall the radiator and vacuum lines and to wrap the blower belt around the supercharger. After a final once-over, we cranked it over a few times to fill up the fuel bowls, and started the engine.

With nothing more than a supercharger pushing 5 pounds of boost with 91 octane, we laid down 312 hp and 349 lb-ft to the tires. That's a gain of 78 hp and 75 lb-ft! At first glance this might not seem like much, but considering we're still using cast-iron heads, factory steel stamped rockers, and a less-than-exciting cam, there's tremendous room for growth. You ain't seen nothing yet!