LEGEND REISSUED

H&H Flatheads releases an improved modern recreation of the iconic S.Co.T. supercharger.

- TONY THACKER

The first recorded use of a supercharger on an automobile was by Mercedes in 1921. The first recorded use of one on a hot rod was by Bill and Tom Spalding, who fitted a Mercedes unit to a Riley OHV Ford V8 in 1938. With a homemade intake and two Stromberg carbs, the Spauldings' Modified ran about 120 mph. The supercharger apparently cost $100 from a foreign car wrecking yard in Los Angeles. It possibly came from a Mercedes 500K (K for kompressor) that had been introduced in 1934 at the Berlin Motor Show.

When Bill and Tom stepped up to racing a streamliner, they sold the hot rod to Don Blair of Blair's Speed Shop, who christened it "The Goat" and raced it to advertise his new hot rod shop in Pasadena, California. Some accounts say he just bought the blower and not the whole car, but no matter, with a '46 Merc engine fitted with Denver heads, a Weiand intake, and a Harman cam, Don managed 141 mph in 1946.

American hot rodders such as "Kong" Jackson and Barney Navarro soon discovered the homegrown GMC "Jimmy" blower developed for diesel engines in the late 1930s. In 1948, Kong had shown up at the lakes with a 3-71 salvaged from a landing craft, and he subsequently sold it to Navarro for $60. Navarro quickly re-engineered one of his intakes, and was off to the races, soon followed by his employee, Tom Beatty, who tried a larger 4-71. The rest, as they say, is history.

In post-World War II Europe, countries were trying to get back to work but materials and markets were in short supply. Around 1950, the Italmeccanica Co. (IT) was formed in Turin, Italy to manufacture an automobile powered by supercharged Ford V8 engines. The car was a failure, but the blower was somewhat more successful.