International Vintage Volkswagen Forums

Hi there, first time on the forum for me, i was wondering if anyone had a Judson they wanted to swap or part ex for another Judson that i could then put on my oval?
A few years ago when i had a '66 1300 i came across a Judson supercharger complete in its original box with all the linkages and glass flask , pulleys and belts etc. The waxed brown box is marked Judson performance motor parts West Chester, Upstate New York U.S.A. I came about it whilst measuring up a bathroom for a refit and i turned up at the customers house in my tired looking '66. The customer said his old dad used to have Beetles in the 60's and he still had some bits hanging around. I was pretty disinterested until he uttered the words Judson Supercharger, then i had to try and contain my excitement and not look too full of glee.
Anyway he went to the old garden shed and came back with the big box of stuff, all still wrapped in a 1965 edition of the Morning Post .Apparently when his dad had bought the new '63 he wanted more power so ordered it with the Judson, Two years later he traded it against a brand new 1300 model that had just come out and the Judson would not fit so he took it off, it's only done about 10,000 miles he wrapped it up and it went in the shed never to see daylight again.
I had plans to put it on my Beetle but mine had a 1600 cc engine fitted , My Ghia wouldn't suit it either and anyway that had a 1679 unit.
A few years passed and i sold my '66 Beetle along with a lovely 1500 cc engine i took from my Split screen camper and i bought a spectacularly original 1956 Oval Beetle.

It is to this car a 30 hp 1200 that i want to fit the Judson but it won't fit, i think it's because the generator stand is cast into the engine block ? anyway it won't fit.
So now all i need to do is find someone who has what i need and is willing to swap what i've got.

I've been driving Beetles continuously now for 26 years , and finding a judson was like finding the Holy Grail . It's a shame to see it just resting in a box in the spare room it needs to be on a car. Can anyone help?

Your best bet would be to sell the 40hp Judson Kit and buy a 36hp kit in its place. The likelihood of you finding someone who would like to swap models is pretty remote.

Puzzled by the name and address on the box...can you post pictures? The Judson Research and Mfg Co. operated throughout their lifetime from Conshohocken PA and never had a facility in New York state. All original Judson boxes carried the slogan "Another Package of Power."  judson box.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.

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Cheers John, no i'm sure the box says Judson power performance parts West Chester Upstate New York, but i'll have a look at the weekend, it's at the back of the spare room behind a MOUNTAIN of split screen van and Karmann Ghia Parts and furniture and camping stuff, infact the room is pretty packed and it went in first !! I may even try and get a picture of it all for you it looks pretty unused to be fair , The bellows have perished and i think there are some other none metal parts which may need renewing but its all complete.
Do you think that a 30 HP unit would be easy to find and expensive i mean are they similarly priced to a 34 or 40 hp unit ?

Yep no reason why you can't find a twin belted 30hp Judson but it won't be cheap, especially if it's a complete kit and in good condition. We're talking about £1500+ for a ready to go kit. No real price difference between the 30/36hp and the 34/40hp Judsons.

Most people judge value on cosmetic appearance but you do need to go deeper...check out the profile of the rotor slots of the internal rotor. Here's a picture of the typical wear pattern of a Judson rotor...at this stage the rotor is largely toast. The red lines show what should be the the ideal rotor profile... parallel.

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