What is the blower on a muscle car

Question

I would like to know what is the part of the engine that is showing when the hood is down on a muscle car. I'm pretty sure that it's called a blower but I can't be sure. Can you tell me what it's called and what it's used for in a muscle car.

Answer 1

All the answerers are missing a point here.  You are assuming that the question is talking about a blower - in fact the person asking the question is only 'pretty sure it's a blower'.  If you think about it, most older muscle cars have only the "air scoops" sticking out of the hood.  In everyday normal driving or street racing, you don't want your blower sticking out.  The air scoop normally has 3 butterflies showing.  These are sticking out of the hood because when the gas pedal is pushed, the carburetor throttle linkage pulls these butterflies open so they can suck in more air; making more power.  Hope this 'thoughtful' answer helps.

Answer 2

The air intake? Does it look like this? http://us4.pixagogo.com/S54Wv7ew067bsBv!...

Answer 3

Most muscle cars don't have blowers, but some more serious pro-street muscle cars do.  Some high rise belt-driven blowers actually stick out of the hood through a hole, but other low rise blowers can fit under a custom cowl hood or the stock hood.  

The previous poster is correct about the functionality of blowers/superchargers.  They force air into the engine to create more horsepower and torque.  More powerful supercharger applications require extensive engine modifications to avoid detonation when the boost kicks in.  Some milder kits can be installed on a basically stock engine.