A supercharged engine is one of the most impressive things on the street and is definitely the most fun that you can have. It can also - believe it or not -- get impressive gas mileage, as long as you don't floor it everywhere you go. It will last as long as a conventional engine with very little service. Building an engine requires experience, so these instructions assume you have the necessary experience or have someone that does.
Purchase a 4-bolt main block and a steel crankshaft. Have the machine shop double-keyway the crank and the crank damper. The crankshaft damper must be of the solid type, such as a fluidamper, because the standard damper will come apart right away.
Put the bottom end together. The connecting rods should be somewhat stronger than standard -- use something like Miloden. The pistons should be dished for a supercharger with no more than 8.9:1 compression ratio. They should also be the floating-pin type.
Put the top end together. The heads make a big difference in the power, so a decent set of heads should be used. The emphasis should be on the exhaust side --the exhaust valves should be slightly larger than standard. Install a good set of high-performance valve springs and stronger push rods. They don't have to be expensive, just a little stronger than stock.
Install a camshaft that is designed for a supercharger. It can have a relatively high lift without the normal idle problems associated with high lift. The supercharger tames the cams to a more manageable idle.
Install the supercharger. Remember not to overtighten the aluminum bolts, since they are made to break away in the event of an internal explosion caused by a broken valve. Install the fuel management. Two 465 Holley carburetors are a good combination for the street.
Install the supercharger belt. Within a minute of start up, the belt heats up and increases tension considerably. Leave it very loose at start up to the point where it has 2 inches of deflection. It will be bowstring-tight quickly after it heats up.
Purchase a good electric fuel pump with plenty of volume; the pressure is not as important as the flow. You want no less than 8 pounds of pressure under load so that it never runs lean.
