Moss Supercharger do you need the boost gauge?

I am pretty certain that I am going to get a Moss Supercharger (the interior is going to have to wait another year).

The boost gauge is optional. Do I need a gauge at all? Should I have one, to know what my boost is, for the safety of the engine? I don't plan on changing anything from the factory setting of the supercharger.

I really prefer the stock look of the interior.

You don't really need one, but I would feel more comfortable having something connected to measure boost during the first few miles. Too little boost isn't a problem at all, but too much boost = kablooey!

Kabloooey?

is that like reeeeeeeally fast??

hahahaha

Yeah, kablooey speed ahead! :D

Mike, I suppose you could do that. I'll probably do something similar unless I decide that the boost gauge is too fun to remove. In that case I'll have to find a really unobtrusive way to mount it because this car is otherwise very original and stock.

I have always enjoyed mine as it is nice to see actually how little time you run under boost which helps explain the 30 mpg I was seeing.

well at least it hasn't gone plaid

Mike,
I got the Moss gauge and mounted it exactly as shown on the ad. I am completely redoing my cars wiring including new white faced instruments. In the new setup the steering column pod will be occupied with the analog air fuel meter and the boost gauge will go in one of the dash slots. BTW as you will read here and find to be true if you elect to install a wideband a/f meter, it can be distracting, especially if it has a digital read out and goes beyond tenths in the decimal scale. I personally like more information than less but can say that with few exceptions the Moss set-up is geared for the safe side and truly the chances you will ever really need either gauge is slim. My set-up is going to be more towards the extreme with higher boost (smaller SC pulley and larger harmonic balancer) so I decided to go with information overload...hope I remember to keep my eye on the road!
Frank

You can save a few bucks somewhere like Summit with an Auto Meter gauge and mounting pod. I mounted it on the steering column into the signal indicator enclosure.
Why not keep an eye on the SC?

I just got the Moss Supercharger and finished install/timing a few days ago. Got the Moss boost gauge and mounted as shown. Although I only got to drive for 2 days before putting MGB away for Winter....I enjoyed having the gauge. Watching the few times I was actually running under boost was fun. Unfortunately we are getting 8-14 inches of snow between today and 5pm Wednesday....so driving days may be over until March.

I agree with the others - you don't "need" the boost gauge, but it is very informative - especially during the early setup. After that it works really well as a "rate of fuel consumption" gauge! (It also works as an "early warning" system to passengers - if they know what they are looking at!)

I bought an AutoMeter version from Summit (along with a matching Volt gauge), but there are a lot out there cheaper than the Moss version. Biggest problem is finding one with a low boost scale. Unless you expect to be changing the pulleys, the Moss blower only puts out about 10lbs of boost which looks a little lost on some of the gauges!

There is a Smiths boost gauge that will match your other instruments - but it is expensive.

To install my two additional gauges, I obtained a dash from a '74 model - with glovebox and air vents. You can't hook the air vents up in a '71 body, so I installed an auxilliary instrument panel in place of the vents!

I have a Moss blower and a boost guage. The guage is more useful for it's vacuum function. The boost is fixed with the Moss blower, and once you know what it is it won't change unless you change pulleys.
I have found an AFR (Air Fuel Ratio) guage to be much more useful as it warns you of rich or lean conditions which can cause your engine to go "Kablooey".
I bought both of my guages from Innovate Motorsports, although Moss now carries their AFR guage.
I modified the guages to take Smiths bezels so that they match the rest of my instruments.

Rich

HI, I have a Moss M45 S/C fitted to my 72 BGT. As it was already installed in the car, I am not sure
where the boost gauge pipe attaches on the S/C itself. A photo would be appreciated. Thanks, Steve

Steve,
There are three pipe threaded ports on the rear of the SC intake manifold. One for the brake boost vacuum, one for the anti-run on/charcoal cannister system and the final one for the line to the boost gauge.
Frank

You gotta have one for the COOL factor!

I have a boost gauge that I purchased through egauges.com. It lives between the console and the bottom of the glove box on the passenger side. It is where I can see it, but also doesn't "stick out" like the Moss gauge assembly. I also did not have to drill any holes. If you are interested, I will snap a picture when I get home.

Mike. You definitely don't need a boost gauge. It's absolutely not necessary, as the supercharger doesn't put out enough boost to make your engine go Kablooey. Unless perhaps you have Steve helping you build the engine. : )

That said. The gauge has a lot of cool factor and it's the only give away that there is something very special under the bonnet.

I like the steering cowl mount location. It works really, really well on 68-76 applications. Not sure how it would look on a 77-80 and it's not really designed for the earlier application, but looks good on the image above.

There are a pair of custom bits needed to mount the gauge on the cowl, hence the higher cost than generic mounting kits. You can fab something up for cheaper, but as noted you will need a low pressure gauge. Most of the gauges out there are calibrated for turbo applications, not superchargers.

Thanks everyone for the info. I'm sold, now the decision on brand and location.

Here is my mount, down under the glove box. If you are after a more discreet approach, this may suit you.