Chris and Ken decided the key would be to mount the air meter to the inlet of the supercharger, which would maintain the vacuum signal necessary to regulate the flow of fuel to the injectors.
Now that Ken was fairly convinced that it was doable, he went blower shopping. "Shawn Roberts of Extreme Automotive in Canoga Park, California, referred me to Todd Armstrong, CEO at Vortech Engineering, who suggested that I go to their facility to see if one of [their] head units would fit." He did so in November, and spent an hour with John Snee and Chris Wahley of Vortech test-fitting several different compressors in the Vette's limited space, and they finally opted for a V-2 SQ S-Trim supercharger. "Todd offered to let me borrow an old compressor unit to use as a mockup, and I gladly accepted his offer!"
Ken's installation process began the very next day, and he took extreme precautions to preserve the originality of the Corvette. "Even though it wasn't an original Fuelie, I did not want to modify, cut, or destroy any of the original parts like inner fender panels, underside of the hood, or any engine part. I was committed to fabricating all of the necessary parts using existing bolt patterns in the block or on the F.I. system, and I was successful in all but one area." Other than being unable to avoid tapping a 1/4-inch hole in the stock oil pan for a return oil line, Ken kept his word. Between November 23, 2002 and May 3, 2003, Ken invested 472 hours in the project!
The installation was a rousing success, meshing new technology to old without compromising either. Ken says, "I was surprised that drivability was just like it was without the supercharger, except for that sweet whine or whistle only a supercharger can provide." Ken notes that Vortech's SQ designation stands for "Super Quiet," referring to its helically-cut gears. As for performance, well, it really performs. Ken estimates 475-plus rwhp at 6,000 rpm and 500 lb-ft torqe at 4,800 rmp. And he plans to verify these numbers soon when he dials in the motor's tuning on a chassis dynamometer.
Yup. Ken's defied the odds and guaranteed that his '65 Fuelie convertible is more than just another pretty face!
How He Did It
Though the Rochester mechanical fuel-injection system has been around since the '57 model year, and approximately 13,000 Corvettes were equipped with F.I. induction from '57-65, surprisingly few people have attempted to supercharge one, and even fewer have succeeded. The installation that Ken performed on his '65 Fuelie is marvelous. It looks natural under the mid-year hood and runs perfectly, and he managed to keep 99.9 percent of his commitment to not modify any original pieces.
Luckily for us, Ken carefully documented the process he took so we could share it with you.
 Once Ken had estimated the...  Once Ken had estimated the ideal location for the Vortech supercharger under the hood, he began designing the mounting plates. After cutting-out and test-fitting numerous card templates, Ken transferred his design and milled the final bracketry from a 3/8-inch-thick 6061 aluminum plate. Because the original cylinder heads do not have accessory bolt holes, Ken had to find another way to attach the main mounting plate to the engine block. Bob Endress of Vortech Engineering suggested he use the left-side water pump bolt pattern. This design worked perfectly. However, Ken had to mill 3/8-inch off the left-side water pump outlet to compensate for the plate thickness. Ken decided to replace the stock water pump with an Edelbrock aluminum "super-cooling" water pump. |  Because the air meter was...  Because the air meter was to be moved from the F.I. plenum to the supercharger inlet, it was necessary to fabricate an air meter adapter rings. Both adapters were turned from 6061 billet aluminum stock. |  A second mounting plate is...  A second mounting plate is bolted to the compressor, which is then bolted to the main mounting plate. Ken's first design did not allow for adequate clearance between the exhaust manifold and the compressor volute, so he had to start all over-as he did on numerous other occasions. The next step was to mount the compressor head unit and plate to the engine block-mounting plate. Ken had to first rotate a V-belt type pulley (as all current pulleys are serpentine design) so that the supercharger pulley could be aligned with the other pulleys. The size of this pulley also determines the impeller speed-a critical aspect of supercharger boost-so Ken opted for a 3.70-inch pulley to keep the impeller speed below 42,000 rpm at 6,000 engine rpm. The pulley was then attached to the supercharger and lined up with the crank and water pump pulleys to determine the space needed between the two mounting plates. Three stainless steel spacers were then turned for this purpose. To add rigidity to main the mounting plate, a support was added to the front bolt of the F.I. base plate-another support at the bottom to the left-side motor mount-and for good measure, another brace to an adapter between the thermostat housing and intake manifold. |
 After the air meter was attached...  After the air meter was attached to the supercharger inlet using a 3 1/2-inch silicone connector and T-bolt clamps, it was time to design a new throttle linkage system. The best solution ended up being a 4-foot throttle cable unit from Lokar Performance Products. Attaching the cable to the air meter was not difficult, however, attaching the other end to the original F.I. bellcrank proved much trickier. The challenge was to design a second bellcrank that pulled the cable to open the throttle, as opposed to the original rigid linkage that pushed the throttle plate open. |  With the air meter secured...  With the air meter secured to the supercharger inlet, it was obvious that a heat shield would need to be fabricated around the exhaust manifold. Ken removed the air meter to enable him to design a template that would be attached to the spark-plug shield brackets on the bottom and to the front valve cover screw on the top. The template design was transferred to a piece of thin sheetmetal to see how it would fit. After a number of trial bends, this revised pattern was traced onto 18-gauge sheet steel and folded into shape. He used spot-welds to hold the various bends and angles in place. |  After the air meter was adapted...  After the air meter was adapted to the supercharger inlet and the throttle cable installed, Ken had to design an inlet for the air-meter-to-air filter. He started with a '63 air meter adapter and made a template to rotate the air-filter unit under the left fender. Brady Sheet Metal of Burbank California, then replicated the template using 18-gauge sheetmetal. A K&N air filter, PN RF-1008, was clamped to the 4 1/2-inch air inlet. |