Well, you just bought a supercharger, and now you're ready to install it. While the Novi 1000 itself is an excellent unit, the installation instructions have a few shortcomings. This is for a 1986-1993 5.0 Mustang.
My blower was delivered in September 2002, with the Owner Installation Guide copyright 2000. Most of the instructions are OK, but here are some errors that I found in the Guide:
Under "Recommended Tools", you do not need the pricey 37/64" drill bit, nor did I use the "small heat source". You will need the 3/8" NPT tap, available at Home Depot, or borrow one if you can.
Section 3.1-b, Where it says 'insert the tap into the pilot hole", they mean insert the tapered punch (supplied with the kit), NOT the 3/8 NPT tap. I used an air hammer to drive the punch into the pan, and this was actually quite easy to do.
Section 3.1-g, The support bracket was just a little long, causing the mounting plate to rock, so I needed to grind a small amount off the narrow (rear) end. While you're grinding, take a little off the front driver's side corner of the support bracket, so that the tensioner pulley arbor will have clearance when the tensioner is tightened all the way down. You may have to loosely assemble things to see how much needs to come off.
Section 3.1-h, the 3/8x5" bolt won't thread into the bracket boss because the boss is not threaded! I know that others have had this same problem, so I don't think that it was just an error on my bracket. The solution is to get a 3/8x7" bolt (grade 8), and put it through the bracket and use a fiberlock nut.
[Note--I have heard of clearance problems between the blower oil return line and the smog pump--I cannot help you there, since I am substituting an idle bracket in place of the smog pump. I had no clearance issues]
Section 3.1-i, this is correct, the alternator is mounted with a 7/16x4.75" bolt, but the hole in the mounting plate is only 3/8", and will need to be drilled out to 7/16. The threads in my main mounting bracket were 7/16, but you might want to double-check this. The exploded diagram in the Appendix ( Drawing 1016622, Appendix C) of the mounting bracket assembly erroneously shows this bolt (item 23) as 3/8x4.75". The 7/16x4.75" bolt was not supplied, so I re-used the original Ford alternator bolt
Section 3.1-m, your oil pressure sender will last longer if it is mounted more-or-less vertically, with the electrical connection at the top. Bring the oil line to the blower off of the side of the "T": it's plenty long enough. Be sure to use pipe sealant and NOT teflon tape.
Section 3.1-cc, there is NO bypass valve supplied with this kit. A hole is supplied in the intake U-bend if you wish to add one later. An NPT plug is supplied to plug the hole in the intake U-bend if it is not used. You might want to de-burr the inside edge of that hole: mine had a tangle of plastic fibers remaining from the tapping operation--you would not want that getting sucked into the impeller.
Section 3.1-bb. I didn't use the supplied discharge tube: because of some other intake changes it was too short, but it probably works fine in most settings. If you want a "custom" discharge tube, visit your local muffler shop and buy a mandrel-bent 3 inch "U" for $30. (The mandrel-bent "U" is formed using internal and external mandrels, so it is of uniform diameter throughout, with no narrowing at the bend). If you cut this carefully, you can make a custom tube with only a single weld. The legs of the "U" are long enough that you won't need additional straight tubing. If you don't have a welder, just line it up, tape or mark it, and have the muffler shop weld it for you. Paint it for now, and next time you take the motor apart you can send it out for chroming.
Section 4.1-e. You will probably have no trouble if you use the Paxton-supplied belt. I needed a shorter belt, and the first one I got (a cheap one) was so stretchy that even at proper tension, it would squeal when the engine was first started and slip at higher RPM's, losing boost. This problem was solved by going to a quality belt.
Also, a different (underdrive) alternator pulley is supplied with the kit. There is no mention of it in the instructions, but I called Paxton and was told that it was to be sure the belt length was correct, because there are so many different alternator pulleys out there. In any case, I installed it, and it seems to work fine, charging OK at idle.
There you have it! No real insurmountable problems, no more than installing anything else, really. The biggest hassle was finding a 3/8x7" bolt: I had to drive clear across town to an industrial hardware store for that.
Once you have the blower on, though, you will love it! I haven't been to a dyno yet to get real numbers, but it feels really strong now, much more than I expected! I'm entirely happy with my purchase.
I am emailing these correction to Paxton, BTW, maybe they can update their instructions.
Forrest
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