What Do Guys Think? Yeah Or Nay?

mikestang63

SN Certified Technician
Aug 27, 2012
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In the garage
Came across what I think is a decent deal on a used Vortech model

1986-1993 Entry Level Mustang 5.0L V-3 SCi Standard (5-6 PSI) Complete System, Satin
Part Number: 4FA218-010L

Guy says it has about 20k miles on it. No end play or anything wrong with it. Head unit not serviced but he swears it runs fine. Says it was on his DD and only reason he pulled it off was to go to a bigger setup.

He says it comes with everything but the air filter, air filter housing, and the pulley above the alternator.

Now, the main thing that concerns me is the fact that he is in another state and it is a used supercharger. The guy could be telling the truth, but who knows. Once I buy it, it is my problem. The other issues are it has the cheapo plastic discharge tube, no bypass (doesn't come with the kit) and no inlet housing. ( Choices are either $150 for the stock Vortech air filter setup or $250 for a power pipe). If I go to the power pipe, I will need to get a blow through MAF and fenderwell filter. The other thing is he is not sure if the FMU has the 12:1 disk calibrated for 19lbers.

Lastly the guy has zero feedback.

What I would ideally want is a kit with a polished head unit, polished discharge, with a bypass, and a power pipe (or at least the Vortech air filter). I can polish up the head unit, but i'm looking at another 4-500 for the discharge tube, bypass, and power pipe. Plus no BTM or MSD with boost retard (again Vortech says not needed with this kit but I've always run one with a blown motor).



Here is what he told me about the unit.

Vortech V-3 SCi kit for 87- 93 mustangs. It is in great condition and very well maintained. It has been installed for about 20,000 miles.

The supercharger was installed on my stock 92 vert and made about 5 PSI through a catted exhaust with the stock 3.33 upper and 6" lower. The blower pulley has never been tampered with as you can see the gray button is still in place. The V-3 has a self contained oiling system and will be shipped full of oil. Also included is one bottle of oil.

This is a very reliable kit and was installed on my car with no tune, chip, anything and never hiccuped and really wakes the car up. The kit is fully upgradeable and will support tons of flow and HP.

It comes with everything you see in the pictures. The only parts that are missing are the idler pulley that goes just above the alternator, filter, and shroud. All these items are available through Vortech. Of course if you want to run an Anderson pipe, you won't need them. I will also include all the original paperwork, instruction manual, and receipt where the blower was purchased originally.

Only reason that I am selling is that upgraded to a bigger blower

image1.jpe


image3.jpe


So, what do you guys think. It's been over a decade since I bought a supercharger. If the price were about $1200 or so and then another $700 for the add ons I want- discharge, bypass, power pipe and MSD, its about $1900. It's a nice deal IMO until you start adding on the extras and items not included. I've seen complete S trims for $1500.

If i knew the guy I would feel a lot better about the risk.
 
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Talk him down some on the price then I would say its ok. I'm running the v3 and I like it! I'm using the plastic discharge tube but like you going to upgrade later. But I'm dyno tuned and running 42# injectors and 98mm pro m calibrated mass air meter! I can post pics if you want!
 
Now, the main thing that concerns me is the fact that he is in another state and it is a used supercharger. The guy could be telling the truth, but who knows. Once I buy it, it is my problem. The other issues are it has the cheapo plastic discharge tube, no bypass (doesn't come with the kit) and no inlet housing. ( Choices are either $150 for the stock Vortech air filter setup or $250 for a power pipe). If I go to the power pipe, I will need to get a blow through MAF and fenderwell filter. The other thing is he is not sure if the FMU has the 12:1 disk calibrated for 19lbers.

Lastly the guy has zero feedback.

What I would ideally want is a kit with a polished head unit, polished discharge, with a bypass, and a power pipe (or at least the Vortech air filter). I can polish up the head unit, but i'm looking at another 4-500 for the discharge tube, bypass, and power pipe. Plus no BTM or MSD with boost retard (again Vortech says not needed with this kit but I've always run one with a blown motor).

Sounds to me like you've answered your own question. If you knew the guy better or he had more feedback I would feel more comfortable buying from him. Unless you can talk him down greatly in price to minimize your potential risk in the event something isn't right, I'd probably pass.

I'm no expert on superchargers for these cars, but just looking at it from a "business-like" perspective.
 
Weren't those kits $1700-1900 new?

So after buying it and getting the additional parts you need...you paid basically the price for a used basic entry-level supercharger kit at new kit price...and still need to upgrade it.