The well chronicled history of Marcus Miller's modified '64 Corvair began on November 4th, 1963, at Mahlon Maxton Chevrolet in Worthington, Ohio. Marcus has the original purchase order bearing his father's name, Myles Richard Miller, and the date, November 4, 1963. The car, VIN 40967W159055, was a Meadow Green 1964 Monza convertible with black top and interior, built at the Willow Run plant.

The Monza was less than a week old when the photo at right was taken. It was equipped with an array of options including a 110 horsepower engine, 4-speed transmission, manual radio, seat belts, padded dash, comfort and convenience group, tinted windshield, oil bath air cleaner, simulated wood grain steering wheel and white wall tires. The options contributed $307.05 to the total purchase price of $2,575.70.

Mr. Miller and his Monza moved to El Paso, Texas, in 1967. After enjoying 125,000 trouble free miles of service from the original engine, he swapped in a 150 HP turbo-charged Corvair engine salvaged from a low mileage Monza Spyder that had been written off in a front end collision.

In 1976, Mr. Miller gave the car to his son for his 16th birthday. When Marcus opened the hood and gazed on the turbo-charger, he knew he had something special. Over the next few years, he and his father built up a collection of 12 Corvairs and a wide assortment of option parts including early and late model A/C kits, wood grain steering wheels, Corsa and Spyder dashes, etc. This eventually led to the conversion of the Monza to Spyder trim in 1991.

Later, in 1996, Marcus had the car restored and repainted by childhood friend, Ralph Barron III of ACE Body Shop in El Paso, Texas. He also decided to retire the turbo-charged engine and replace it with a 110 engine with a twist. There was something lurking in the parts stash, and curiosity loomed large!

The Judson supercharger pictured at right had been in the Miller family cache for 26 years when, in 1996, Marcus finally decided to install it. Fortunately, in 1979, he'd had the foresight to obtain written installation instructions from Judson. He credits two very knowledgeable Corvair people for help in making the unit work. One was Harlan Colburn of the V-8 Registry. (See the V-8 Registry feature in the "Extra!" section.)

Harlan offered much useful information, which he obtained from experience with running dual Judson blowers on a Corvair engine.

The other Corvair man Marcus contacted was Steve Goodman of Rear Engine Specialists, Inc, in Golden, Colorado. Steve remembered the Judson set-up from working on it years earlier, and he helped to "dial in" the carburetor and get the car running well. Experience has no substitute!

The Judson blower is driven by a fan belt attached to a special crank pulley included in the kit. It uses a single carburetor and a cross-over tube to feed the cylinder head on the driver's side.

"Everyone asks about the Mason jar with the red fluid," says Marcus. "The supercharger spins on a center shaft which has sealed bearings at each end. The Judson uses a 'Marvel Mystery Oil' vacuum oiler to reduce friction, heat and wear. The oiler has an adjuster and window which is set to drip one drop of oil every 4 seconds at idle. The small amount of oil is ingested by the engine, and burned."