(above and below)Much of the general installation work can be seen when studying thefront of engine installation without the supercharger inlet tube. Thererouted radiator piping between the radiator and intake manifold is newfrom Vortech, and the stock radiator hoses are cut and extended. Theaftercooler is fitted, held by tubing from the blower and throttle body.
Under hood are Denso Iridium spark plugs--a proven aid in avoiding misfiring in supercharged engines, along with a Bassani X-pipe and after-cat exhaust system.
Vortech's Mach 1 Kit
And then there is the Vortech V-1 SQ supercharger installation, for which Trevor's car is acting as the guinea pig. For its '02-'03 Mach 1 kit, Vortech began with its existing '01 Mustang Cobra kit, which means the blower installation is readily familiar to Mustang enthusiasts as few changes were required. As always, the Vortech buyer has his choice of a standard output (around 7-8 pounds of boost) or the high-output variety (10-11 pounds of boost). The high-output has proven most popular.
Actually, there are two Vortech kits for the Mach 1. The standard kit is everything--supercharger, aftercooler, fuel pump, and so on--minus anything to do with the Mach 1's ram-air hardware. In other words, the standard kit supercharges the Mach, but simply ignores the hoodscoop, leaving it there for looks.
Optional is the Functional Ram Air kit. It adds those parts necessary to connect the air scoop into the blower's intake path. In a bit of lawyerly labeling, the Functional Ram Air kit does deliver all the function the stock Ford ram-air arrangement does, which is to deliver what air may go down the scoop into the general vicinity of Vortech's conical air filter.
Getting back to the standard Mach 1 blower kit, as expected, the blower sits on a Vortech-supplied bracket, facing the engine so as to share the serpentine drive belt.The oil pan is punched and fitted with an oil drain-back line from the blower. The battery is relocated to the trunk to accommodate the aftercooler reservoir. The aftercooler radiator and electric water pump are fitted to the lower radiator support. Iridium spark plugs are highly recommended. A 255-lph fuel pump replaces the stocker in the fuel tank. The 38-lb/hr injectors are swapped for the stockers. And the kit comes with a voucher that is returned to Vortech for a custom-calibrated computer chip. The kit is complete and well detailed, which also means it retails in the $6,000 range and will take the home-shop enthusiast all weekend to install. The battery relocation and dropping the fuel tank for pump installation are meaningful jobs by themselves, after all. As always with Vortech, the installations are clear and complete.
As for the Functional Ram Air option, that kit was still under development at our deadline, so final materials, dimensions, and pricing remain undetermined. What's involved, however, is a new tray--or lower section--of the hoodscoop. It has a large outlet and tubing leading down to Vortech's open element air filter in the right inner fender.