Hilborn stacks appeared on road racers of all kinds, and the company’s two-port units could be found atop supercharged drag cars as well, but it all started with the dry lakes flathead.

The aftermarket soon picked up on the trend, offering custom-made supercharger systems, such as the Italmeccanica S.Co.T. blower, which saw use on Ford Flathead V8 engines. Centrifugal ...