Ladies and gents,
I have drawn a blank in hunting down the real origins of the Marshall superchargers, despite contacting the companies noted above (including Hadron SR). I’ll post my notes-to-date below, with the hope that it sparks some interest (and that someone can fill me in on the Marshall origin).
In my previous Wray supercharger anecdote, I mentioned that in the local (Australian) forced induction field there were numerous people bolting on (or making kits for) imported superchargers in the 50’s and 60’s. Whilst this is a little different to Norman and Wray (who were building superchargers from scratch), the kit builders were both contemporaries and competitors to the Norman supercharger.
One such contemporary was Barry Ekins. Barry originally became interested in superchargers when he bought a Marshall-blown 1300cc MG/TA Special around 1959. The car, owned by Alan Tomlinson, had previously won the 1939 Australian Grand Prix in Lobethal, South Australia. Tomlinson, who won the AGP at age 22 and is shown in the event in the photo below, has described the circuit as “bloody dangerous” to drive on.
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Barry operated in the late 1960’s in Sydney, utilising the Marshall-Nordec Roots-type supercharger.
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Marshall is a large UK automotive and aircraft company, which started in the early 1900's and continues to operate today. I have confirmed that this “Marshall” neither manufactured superchargers, nor licensed the design (with thanks to Marshall, who were incredibly helpful). Sir George Godfrey and Partners made Marshall-Roots superchargers, both for aviation service and for automotive use. There are a number of advertisements advertising them doing so:
http://www.aviationa...frey & Partners
Godfrey traded from at least the 1930’s, until being taken over by Howden Wade Ltd (who were once Wade Engineering, and now trade as Hadron SR) in 1955. I have been unable to trace back the origins of the “Marshall” component of the Marshall-Rootes name for these type of superchargers, despite much hunting.
Godfrey supplied the Marshall-Godfrey superchargers for the World War 2 effort, where they were used as high-altitude aircraft cabin blowers and for snorkel blowing on submarines. Following the war, a significant number of these machines were surplus. L.M. Ballamy was able to secure the rights to use these surplus machines for automotive supercharging. Ballamy did not manufacture the superchargers, rather they “kitted” them into post-war vehicles including Ford 8s and 10s, Vauxhall 10s and 12s, MG TCs and even at least one E93a Ford Prefect. Ballamy’s company, L.M. Ballamy, Consulting and Experimental Engineers began in the UK in 1939. In 1946 the business was reorganised as North Downs Engineering Co (Nordec). The company continued supplying supercharging kits (based on the Marshall supercharger) as well as retaining the rights to some of Ballamy’s patents. In 1947 some of Nordecs engineers, designers and managers departed to form Wade Superchargers. Thus both Nordec’s staff, and Godfrey’s company, ended up with Wade. Wade derives from it’s company name from those of the founders, Bryan Winslett and Costin Densham. Wade is familiar to many Aussies for their Rootes-type RO superchargers, including the model RO20 utilized on Peter Brock’s 1970 HDT 186ci LC GTR Torana rallycross vehicle “The Beast”.
But I digress J.
Barry sourced the superchargers (originally intended for either aircraft cabin pressurisation or industrial service) from Marshall-Nordec in the UK, along with some aircraft repair companies. A visit to the UK in 1968 saw Barry return with around 150 superchargers. Barry would provide his "tame pattern maker" with manifold mock-ups (two flanges and a piece of bent wire), with the pattern maker delivering to him the finished cast manifolds. Relief valves for the machines (originally intended for air compressors) were manufactured by Clisby, and sourced from McPhersons hardware in the Sydney CBD. Barry used ex-aircraft gauges, plumbed with copper pipe. Whilst the thermostats were removed when fitting an Ekins kit to a Mini, the grey motor kit thermostats were soldered/braised open (Barry found that removing them directed the flow of water at the radiator cap, blowing it off).
Barry made kits for around 400 vehicles, including around 25 Holdens and 100 Volkswagens (which largely used the J-75 model Marshall-Nordec). The image below shows the Volkswagen kit:
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The image below shows a typical endplate made by Ekins:
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Barry’s machines were also used in some historic racers, and some ski boats (Barry was interested in skiing as a hobby). The majority of Barry’s works were done in 1968. Barry remembers supercharging a new Holden Monaro (probably a HG or HT). The customer wanted the largest setup available, and despite Barry’s advice a supercharger and manifold was imported from the US… costing half as much again as the new vehicle price. The kit was removed after one years use due to the high fuel costs. When Barry ceased his supercharger work he pursued his own Volkswagen service business. Most of the manifold moulds have since been destroyed.
The “BLOW it Man” article below, from The Australian Hot Rodding Review of November 1968 shows some of Barry’s work.
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Cheers,
Harv