The words “Latham Axial Flow Supercharger” may not ring a lot of bells immediately in the heads of even hardcore muscle car fans and that is because they were not produced in very high volumes. In fact, we have heard production numbers that ranged from 400 total to 100 total to less than that. The most famous application where a Latham axial blower was highlighted in recent times was on the Zack Reynolds “Tobacco King” Galaxie that came up for auction a couple years back. That car had a Turbonique rocket drag axle and a (claimed) 850hp engine topped with a full sized version of the tiny blower you will see below. Here’s a photo of said engine compartment:
Pretty crazy looking, right? Between the side draft carbs and the shape of the thing it is unique in nearly every exterior aspect. It is even more unique when you look inside and while we cannot see the guts of the big one, we can see the guts of the small one below as the builder/seller pulled it apart so that potential buyers could get a peek at how the thing works. In very simple terms it is a belt driven turbine. You’ll see all the stubby little fins that move the air and you can see the inlet and outlet in the photos below. While we have read that these blowers won’t make boost like a centrifugal supercharger or a more typical roots/screw blower, they are pretty efficient and in a small application like the motorcycle engine it could wake things up for sure.
The seller seems to have designed this one for use on another type of motorcycle but seems to think that it will be perfect for a Harley. Whoever buys it better have some fabrication skills or access to someone who does because this is no bolt on kit. You’ll be fitting the supercharger to your application yourself. One thing you know for sure is that no one at the next poker run will have a setup like you as this sounds like a one-off piece.
Here’s the text of the eBay ad:
Axial flow superchargers have efficiency levels higher than any other blowers.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE PHOTOS OF THIS LITTLE BLOWER AND THE LINK TO THE EBAY AD SELLING IT –
Now that is cool. Small and relatively simple but those fins must take a while to machine. This belongs on something more interesting than a Harley I think, but that is just my opinion as I’m a four wheels guy.
I agree with you on the machining. That had to take some time just to program the cnc to do that. I wonder how fragile the fins are cause some look bent wrong in that last picture.
As I recall, these superchargers only function within a narrow powerband, which was what made them rather unsuitable for automotive application. I know that recently there was a Latham-style blower kits for Mazda RX-8s’ 13B-MSP engine
Sweet! I’ve recently been studying the baby-turbos available from Garrett, IHI BW (3K) and MHI. Lots of fun to be had with your motorcycle, kart, or even mower, hahaha.