Goodbye Edelbrcok Carb, Hello Holley TBI!

[2B32]

After weeks of tinkering with my carburetor, I have made my carb settings worse and better, but I just can't get it right. I know some guys on here can tune carbs in their sleep, but I lack the skill set, and patience, to tune my carb well on my own. So, I've decided to upgrade to a Holley Sniper TBI. I want something I can jump in and drive anytime without worrying about it, and this seems to be the best semi-budget friendly option.

[onebigjohn]

Originally Posted by 2B32

After weeks of tinkering with my carburetor, I have made my carb settings worse and better, but I just can't get it right. I know some guys on here can tune carbs in their sleep, but I lack the skill set, and patience, to tune my carb well on my own. So, I've decided to upgrade to a Holley Sniper TBI. I want something I can jump in and drive anytime without worrying about it, and this seems to be the best semi-budget friendly option.

I'm going to follow this.....
I have been looking into the Endelbrock TBI and FI-Tech also both are more money. Cant wait. Please post the pics!

[weq92f]

While I don't have direct experience with this TBI setup ( Holley ), I have some with MSD's offering.

I suggest you get the Master kit containing everything you need. That is, unless you already have a high pressure, electric fuel pump and all the plumbing for a return line and regulator installed. This way, Holley will support and troubleshoot your entire system.

If possible, build it out so you can attach and run the "hand held" programmer inside the cab while driving.

Use an anti-heat-soak spacer between TBI and intake.

Good luck and happy EFIn,

-klb

[2B32]

I plan to get the master kit, but they are currently on backorder so I'll have to wait 2-3 weeks.

[Z10]

I also have a little experience with FI. I installed a F.I.R.S.T. TPI unit about two years ago and now have 10k miles of trouble free driving on it. You can see the install on my build thread below. I think you'll find from a cost perspective it compares very well with Holley MSD, Fast, etc.

https://www.firstfuelinjection.com

I also have a FiTech TBI installed on my 69 Camaro and it's working just fine also. It's pretty straight forward and less expensive.

http://fitechefi.com

[Tdrcreyn4]

subbed

[kenmosher]

Another quick tip ...

Do the fuel injection piece first and get it tuned out a bit before adding in the ignition timing function (you also need a compatible distributor like the Holley Dual Sync or one of the MSD Magnetic pickup Dizzies that have the output for the trigger.

It's much easier to get the FI part up and running and THEN add in the ignition piece to "fine tune" things. You'd be surprised how much the ignition piece can help with idle and part throttle stuff.

[el_fantasma]

Subscribed

[ARCTICFRONTIER]

Subscribed! I'm really interested in a Holley Sniper as well. Curious to see some of your thoughts on the system.

[MLB57]

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[MLB57]

I can suggest that if you are replacing the intakes a single plane that is what Holley recommends and I had to add a 1" spacer on my dual plane to get any kind of idle quality. Make small adjustments as you go
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[James the III]

Originally Posted by kenmosher

Another quick tip ...

Do the fuel injection piece first and get it tuned out a bit before adding in the ignition timing function (you also need a compatible distributor like the Holley Dual Sync or one of the MSD Magnetic pickup Dizzies that have the output for the trigger.

It's much easier to get the FI part up and running and THEN add in the ignition piece to "fine tune" things. You'd be surprised how much the ignition piece can help with idle and part throttle stuff.

I'd check.. as I'd think the truck vortec oem distributor or computer controlled hei could be used..

[MLB57]

They stopped recommending the small cap and msd. distributors having compatibility problems. Check out the Holley forum on terminator there is a lot of good information
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[James the III]

Originally Posted by Z10

https://www.firstfuelinjection.com

If it was not for the crazy cost for a TPI vortec intake .I'd be doing this as the TPI makes killer torque and would go with my ramjet cammed vortec350 nicely.

power under the curve is where it's at on a truck

[2B32]

Quick update.

My kit arrived this week, so I pulled the carb today. I noticed the vacuum line into the Sniper was hitting the vacuum fitting running from the brake booster. I tried to seat the fitting a little more to make clearance and cracked my intake. So, now I have a bunch of new parts just laying around until I can get a new intake. Aside from the major suck of cracking my intake I learned someone did a horrible job of seating the old intake, and even used some sort of liquid sealant in places. It's a setback for sure, but it's not the end of the world.

[RUN GMC]

Originally Posted by 2B32

Quick update.

My kit arrived this week, so I pulled the carb today. I noticed the vacuum line into the Sniper was hitting the vacuum fitting running from the brake booster. I tried to seat the fitting a little more to make clearance and cracked my intake. So, now I have a bunch of new parts just laying around until I can get a new intake. Aside from the major suck of cracking my intake I learned someone did a horrible job of seating the old intake, and even used some sort of liquid sealant in places. It's a setback for sure, but it's not the end of the world.

Pardon the expression, seems like a lucky break for you....efi is sensitive to excess air affecting the true oxygen reading.....believe your fine turning would have been effected.....when I get my Holley Sniper set up Im going to pull the intake and make sure gaskets and sealant are properly done and add exhaust gaskets too.......

[CastIron]

Originally Posted by James the III

power under the curve is where it's at on a truck

Exactly! It seems like hardly anybody understands this. They only see peak hp.

[GR8-68]

I am also going with the Holley sniper but I am also using the sniper intake with it. The bad intake seal may have been your main issue in the beginning more than the carb.

[68bowtie]

interesting. is the sniper kit applicable to a gen IV 396 with a moderate street cam and a performer intake? i was planning on a 750 carb with elec choke and vac secondaries. what specifically will the viper kit add/detract from that setup?

[Z10]

Originally Posted by James the III

If it was not for the crazy cost for a TPI vortec intake .I'd be doing this as the TPI makes killer torque and would go with my ramjet cammed vortec350 nicely.

power under the curve is where it's at on a truck

James, give FIRST a call, the set up I got included the manifold, runners, throttle body, injectors, wiring harness. Very complete. for around $2100. Pretty comparable to other TBI systems.

A stock TPI set up will suport about 300hp, the FIRST TPI will support around 600hp. The runners are much larger than stock.

[weq92f]

The FIRST looks great! Reminds me of a friends camaro from back in the day!

Mech fuel pump though? Using that to feed a pressure tank?

-klb

[Z10]

Originally Posted by weq92f

The FIRST looks great! Reminds me of a friends camaro from back in the day!

Mech fuel pump though? Using that to feed a pressure tank?

-klb

Yes, I kept the in cab tank and a buddy of mine built a surge tank which is fed by the original mechanical pump and sits behind the battery. Inside the surge tank is a corvette high pressure pump which feeds the fuel rail. You can see pics in my build thread.

The system/engine/drive train now has 11k trouble free miles on it. Runs better than great.

[weq92f]

This article is almost 12 months old but it does give a great breakdown of the available EFI TBI systems ranging in price from 750 to 2000+.

http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/eng...-market-today/

-klb

[2B32]

I finally got my sniper master kit and installed it. The kit was complete with everything I needed. The install itself was pretty easy; I'm not a mechanic by any means, but I was able to do the install myself. At first, the engine was running extremely rough. I have no idea why, but I went through the startup wizard again and the truck started and ran well. After getting the engine up to temp, and adjusting some parameters I went on a test drive. Initially, the truck ran perfectly, way better than it ever did before. About half way through the test drive the handheld froze up. the truck still ran ok, but it didn't run as well as before. I was switching through screens as I was driving so I may have overloaded it with commands. After I parked and cycled the key the handheld worked fine again.

My only problem now is hard start when the engine is hot. I have adjusted the timing a little, but I haven't found the sweet stop yet. I was told I should get everything running well before I swap in the Holley Dual Sync Distributor, so I have a little fine tuning left before I make the change. I'll post again when I have everything completely installed.

[MLB57]

Originally Posted by 2B32

I finally got my sniper master kit and installed it. The kit was complete with everything I needed. The install itself was pretty easy; I'm not a mechanic by any means, but I was able to do the install myself. At first, the engine was running extremely rough. I have no idea why, but I went through the startup wizard again and the truck started and ran well. After getting the engine up to temp, and adjusting some parameters I went on a test drive. Initially, the truck ran perfectly, way better than it ever did before. About half way through the test drive the handheld froze up. the truck still ran ok, but it didn't run as well as before. I was switching through screens as I was driving so I may have overloaded it with commands. After I parked and cycled the key the handheld worked fine again.

My only problem now is hard start when the engine is hot. I have adjusted the timing a little, but I haven't found the sweet stop yet. I was told I should get everything running well before I swap in the Holley Dual Sync Distributor, so I have a little fine tuning left before I make the change. I'll post again when I have everything completely installed.

I had issues with the touch screen freezing up sent to Holley twice and they could never find the problem. Adjust your after start enrichment one lesson I learned was to make small adjustments drive it for at least a 100 miles to let it learn before making a lot of adjustments
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