HAMPTON BLOWERS 60TH ANNIVERSARY Don Hampton Is The Legendary Supercharger Specialist When you make a call to Hampton Blowers in Downey California, 9 times out of 10 you will get Don Hampton on the other end of the line. People are often shocked...as well as thrilled knowing that they will get the best answer to their supercharger question from the man who has lived the life of a true Drag Racing Champion.
If you asked Don how many superchargers he has customized and sold over 60 years...he could not give you that answer. He would inform you that he wants to make sure that his customers receive his very best work...that way everyone is a winner! To commemorate the Hampton Blowers 60 year Anniversary...let s take a look back as well as let you know what s next for Hampton Blowers. DID YOU KNOW Don Hampton started the first U.S. blower shop. Don Hampton is alive and well and works 7 days a week at the age of 82. On Sundays he goes bicycle riding with his wife Kathy Bee. When Hampton was 13 he built his 1 st car. In January of 1951, on his 16 th birthday, Hampton had completed his first drag race car and began competing at the Santa Ana Drags in Santa Ana California. In 1959 the 1 st time Big Daddy Don Garlits raced in California, at the Smoker s Meet in Bakersfield, Don Hampton put him on the trailer. International Drag Racing). Don is a 2-time NHRA National Champion and is in 2 Hall of Fames (NHRA & BORN TO RACE Don Hampton, at the age of 13, began working at a service station his father owned in Bell, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. At that moment he also began saving money to buy parts for his first hot rod. By the time Don reached his 16th birthday, he had already built a '29 Ford Model-A Roadster with a Cragar twoport cylinder-head-equipped four-banger engine, and drove it to the old Santa Ana Drags to begin his racing career. During the 1950 s, Hampton gained recognition as not only a driver, of such vehicles as his; 29 Roadster, a Ford flathead, a rear engine Buick V-8, a Top Fuel 354-cid Chrysler belonging to Chet Herbert as well as Kenny Lindley s beautiful Miss Fire dragster, which he drove at the 59 NHRA Nationals in Detroit, but also as a mechanical engineer, manufacturing blowers Hampton Blowers in 1957. Partnering with Eldon Dye and Kenny Lindley, throughout the 50 s brought Hampton opportunities to drive award winning vehicles, as well as be on the front lines of mechanical innovation for the early years of dragracing. With his racing career and business well on their way, the 60 s-70 s were pivotal years for Hampton. During the mid-sixty s he created the first after market magnesium blower, which quickly became a must have among racers. At the same time, Don was the driver for many different cars, including fuel and gas dragsters. He drove Eldon Dye s Bantam-bodied competition coupe. They built one of the most unique vehicles in drag racing history, the twin-engine Dye and Hampton Too Bad Fiat competition coupe. In later years Hampton modified the coupe into what may have been history s only twin-engine Funny Car, the American Band Stand Corvette. In 1970, Hampton won the NHRA Winternationals in Top Gas Dragster with his own, The Don Hampton car equipped with a 392 Chrysler engine, beating Bob Muravez in the process. Page 1
In 73 he built and drove a very fast and very noisy rotary engine Mazda at Bonneville named Half Bad, and eventually, driving the Top Fuel runner Too Bad II as the early eighties approached. One of the highlights of Don s career took place when he was inducted into the California NHRA Hall Of Fame in 2006 with a Lifetime Achievement Award. He even drove Bucky Austin s Top Fuel Eagle Electric in the Cacklefest 06. On March 15th 2007, Don was inducted into The International Drag Racing Hall Of Fame. The ceremony was held in Gainesville, Florida. Even though Hampton retired from drag racing in 1984, he continues to thrive with his business Hampton Blowers, manufacturing blowers for street machines, dragsters and drag boats. With precision and expertise Don handles and inspects each product to always deliver the best! A true innovator, Hampton continuously develops new and more efficient blowers and is looking forward to celebrating 60 years in the supercharger industry. His latest innovation, the Hampton Super II is receiving world-wide attention. Superchargers, also known as blowers, boost the power to cars, trucks or boats by forcing additional air into the engine. Over the years the sizes of the root style, 3-lobe, superchargers, have increased, starting out with 4-71, then 6-71, 8-71 and all the way up to 14-71. The rule of thumb was the bigger the supercharger, the more volume of air it would produce. To make sure the blower would seal the air properly; Teflon seals were inserted into the rotor blades to form a tight clearance between the rotors and the housing. These Teflon strips would wear down and frequently have to be re-stripped. After years of research and development, Hampton perfected a supercharger that has revolutionized the racing world, the Hampton Super II. Hampton completely redesigned the standard 3-lobe supercharger, with 2-lobes, that share the same housing as the standard 3-lobe. The 2-lobe supercharger occupies less mass which leaves more room for air. In comparison, the 8-71 Hampton Super II produces more air per revolution than the standard 14-71 Supercharger. The Hampton Super II requires no Teflon strips, no maintenance and it puts out more volume of air. Additionally there is no friction inside the Hampton Super II, adding 30 to 40% cooler air. Page 2
Hampton Super II debut at the IHBA Drag Boat Racing Scene, at Firebird Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona in 2008. Since then, IHBA Boat Racer, Marty Wolf, driver and engine builder, says his primary reasons for running the Hampton Super II is because he wins races and there s no maintenance required. Don Hampton s work is also guaranteed. To learn more about the Hampton Super II go to http://hamptonblowers.com TAKING A LOOK BACK Don in his 1st dragster a Motel A Ford Roadster at the The Santa Ana Drag Strip in Santa Ana, California 1951 Hampton's converted dragster. Page 3
In 1953, Hampton converted rear-engine dragster Above is the picture of Don with his top fuel dragster at the 1st Smokers March Meet in Bakersfield, CA 1959. Page 4
Don Hampton's driving career included stints in Kenny Lindley s beautiful Miss Fire dragster, which he drove at the 59 NHRA Nationals in Detroit. Eldon Dye's competition coup was driven by Don Hampton in 1959. Hampton's small-block Chevy-powered Top Fuel dragster. Page 5
Hampton's famous twin engine "Two Bad" Don with Top Gas Dragster Don won the NHRA Winter Nationals in this car. Hampton wins two NHRA National titles in 1970 & 1973 Page 6
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The one & only twin-engine side-by-side Funny Car Don Hampton's "Too Bad" with a Corvette Body Hampton says that was the time when the racers had to do everything themselves...no perks. Page 8
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Hampton Blowers 60th Anniversary W H A T S A T I S F I E D C U S T O M E R S A R E S A Y I N G A few months ago an email was sent out to Hampton Blower Customers asking the question... I m writing a new book... Help me out and send me some ideas about how you ve made extra money... that you used for your Dream Project... If you already have your Dream Car (or Dream Boat...luxury item) Send me a picture in the reply email!!! Enclosed are some replies... I'm in the construction industry, so I would do odd jobs on the week end to make some extra cash. I also went through old auto parts that I didn't need and sold as many as possible to help offset the cost of the "Dream Project". I attached some pictures of my car with Don's supercharger. Thanks Dennis Page 10
I made extra money by working for someone and also working for myself after hours. All construction work for the last 30 years. Pics are pre-blower. Grant Robert s Blown Car Don, Thank you again for the beautiful 8-71 you put together for my 496 stroker. This weekend will be the first fire up of the new motor in my 77k5 mini monster truck project Money Pit. I have included a couple photos for you. Page 11
Thanks, Trey M. Delaware HELLO DON JUST A LITTLE NOTE TO SAY THANKYOU I BOUGHT A 8/71 BLOWER KIT FROM YOU FOR A 351C EVERYTHING FIT PERFECT AND IT PERFORMS WELLTHANKS AGAIN RICH / MILTON NY I want to tell you this car is unbelievable, 600 cubic inches with two blowers and 4 600's, the carbs right out of the box, no problem the engine turned over about a half of a turn and lite right off. Check out the video also of the start up. Video of start up... Ron Page 12
A Hot Rod Wedding... Hampton meets and greets the newlyweds Mr. & Mrs. Lillard Hill who "tied the knot" at the drag strip during the NHRA 15th Hot Rod Reunion on Oct. 7, 2006. The couple said that were really happy with their Hampton Blower and that they drove their hot rod "Rat Fink" everywhere, everyday... See More Happy Customers at www.hamptonblowers.com When You Visit Hampton Blowers You Can Meet Don s New Mascot Shop Cat Page 13
TOP QUESTIONS ASKED BY PEOPLE WHEN BUYING A HAMPTON BLOWER 1. CAN I PUT YOUR BLOWER ON MY FOREIGN MADE CAR? Answer: No 2. HOW MUCH WILL A BLOWER INCREASE MY HORSEPOWER? ANSWER: WITH PROPER INSTALLATION OF YOUR BLOWER, YOUR HORSEPOWER SHOULD DOUBLE. 3. CAN I USE ROLLER CAMS FOR THE STREET? ANSWER: IN MOST APPLICATIONS, ROLLER CAMS WILL WORK AS LONG AS THE CAMSHAFT GRIND IS DESIGNED FOR THE BLOWER APPLICATIONS. 4. WHY DOES MY CAR BACKFIRE? ANSWER: HOLDING THE THROTTLE OPEN WHILE CRANKING THE ENGINE OVER, IS THE MOST COMMON REASON THAT ENGINES BACKFIRE WITH BLOWN MOTORS. 5. WHY DOES MY ENGINE RUN HOT? ANSWER: REASONS FOR THE OVER HEATING OF A BLOWN ENGINE COULD BE: A. AN INADEQUATE OR INEFFICIENT COOLING SYSTEM. B. THE BLOWER DRIVE RATIO IS TOO HIGH. C. TOO HIGH COMPRESSION RATIO. D. IMPROPER TIMING. E. WATER FLOWING POORLY THROUGH THE MANIFOLD. 6. WHAT S THE TORQUE ON THE BLOWER TO MANIFOLD ANSWER: 10 12 LBS. 7. WHAT KIND OF OIL DO I PUT IN THE BLOWER Answer: 1 PINT OF 90 WEIGHT GEAR OIL 8. ARE YOUR BLOWERS MADE IN THE U.S.A.? Answer: Yes OUR SUPERCHARGERS ARE CUSTOM MADE TO ORDER IN AMERICA. 9. DO YOU GUARENTEE YOUR WORK? Answer: YES WE HAVE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR 60 YEARS OF PROVIDINT YOU OUR VERY BEST SUPERCHARGERS. Page 14
BUY A BLOWER GET A TEE SHIRT AUTOGRAPHED BY DON HAMPTON Many people don t realize that Don Hampton has been asked for his autograph at many Drag Racing meets and Car Shows. To celebrate the 60 year anniversary, Don has decided that he wanted to give away a FREE autographed Hampton Blowers Tee Shirt per supercharger purchase. Don would like to thank all of his Drag Racing colleagues, customers, mates, friends and family... There are way too many people to mention by name so just know that Don means you... If you haven t guessed this report was written by me, Kathy Bee Hampton (Don s wife). I want to give everyone a heads-up...i have something very special in store for Don later on this year or early next year... Even if he reads this...he will not guess what s up... But I will let all of you know through our email list. Send us more of your pictures and letters... We have a new look to the website... We are looking to add more of your pictures to our Happy Customer page! Thank you all for your support and for your loyalty!!! Don Hampton www.hamptonblowers.com Page 15