Installation was beyond simple, with no need to supply oil to the self-contained blower or drill and tap the oil pan to serve as an oil return.īecause the kit was originally designed for use with a carburetor (we ran it carbureted for John McGann and the boys over at our sister publication Car Craft), we had to improvise the discharge tube connecting the supercharger to the throttle body. The BOV also eliminates boost buildup under cruise conditions. Also included were couplers, tubing, and a blow-off valve (BOV) to eliminate the pressure spike that occurs when lifting off the throttle at high rpm/boost. The kit also featured the belt and tensioner, which allowed us to successfully run over 10 psi of boost with no belt slippage. The kit supplied by TorqStorm included the supercharger (with pulley), mounting bracket, and crank pulley assembly (including the hub-centric spacer). Capable of supporting over 700 hp on the right application, the TorqStorm supercharger was perfectly sized for our modified 305. While other blower manufacturers offer superchargers capable of exceeding 1,000, 2,000, or even 3,000 hp, TorqStorm designed their blower for real-world, daily driven applications. The centrifugal supercharger offered a number of desirable features, including billet aluminum construction, a proprietary ceramic bearing system, and coating of the internal components for temperature and wear control. The 305 was already off to a good start.īoost for the modified TPI 305 engine came courtesy of the gang at TorqStorm. Run with a Holley HP ECU, the modified LB9 305 produced 372 hp at 5,900 rpm and 353 lb-ft of torque at 5,000 rpm. The final mod was to replace the long-runner, factory TPI intake with a Holley Stealth Ram intake and 58mm throttle body. Compared to their stock iron counterparts, the Super 23 heads from TFS offered sizable flow gains and were capable of supporting nearly 500 hp on the right combination. Designed specifically for the small-bore size, the Super 23 heads featured 175cc intake ports, a 1.94/1.50 valve package, and 56cc combustion chambers. The cam was teamed with a set of Trick Flow Specialties (TFS) Super 23 175 aluminum cylinder heads. The cam offered a 0.570/0.565-inch lift split, a 218/224-degree duration split, and 113-degree LSA. Prior to the pressurization, the small-block was treated to some performance mods: a performance cam, aluminum heads, and a much-improved induction system.

To illustrate the potential of a boosted 305, we took an original LB9 TPI 305 small-block and added positive pressure from a TorqStorm supercharger.

305 with 350 cam