Holley Sniper 2 barrel conversion

[74fj40]

I got the engine up to temp this morning and set the idle to 625 with the idle screw. And set the target idle to 650. Not sure if that’s a good idea or not but it’s how I did it with my gm TBI.

This thing start and idles way better than my previous setup ever did.

I still have a pretty decent list of things left to do,

Weld up throttle cable mount
Secure fuel lines to frame
Loom and mount wiring to fire wall
Zip tie everything
Change the oil
Pcv hose
Lots of little clean up things

For those of you wondering, so far I am into this for about $1000. I can make a list of parts once everything is said and done.

Here’s a quick video of it revving up.

 

[BrianSanDiego]

Great! Your idle setting is probably close, but the way the manual says is to adjust the idle screw so the the IAC is open 2-10%. I'll try to post more info about learning after work today.
B.

 

[74fj40]

Great! Your idle setting is probably close, but the way the manual says is to adjust the idle screw so the the IAC is open 2-10%. I'll try to post more info about learning after work today.
B.

Thanks, it was at 2% when I set it. Man does it run smoother than it ever has.

Thanks again for your guidance!

 

[Downey]

Sweet! Is the throttle cable bracket Done?

The throttle cable brackets I have zillions of works perfectly, you just have to grind off two small points (that fit Holley 350 2 barrel curvature) to fit the square shaped Holley Sniper body. I can let these brackets go for 5 bucks each, but might have to ship in a flat rate envelope at $6.65 postage- - -I'll check to see if they can ship in a regular envelope with just a couple stamps???

 

[BrianSanDiego]

Thanks, it was at 2% when I set it. Man does it run smoother than it ever has.

Thanks again for your guidance!

You're welcome! And then as it runs, you can adjust the idle mixture from the touch screen and get it really purring. Pretty nifty.

 

[74fj40]

The throttle cable brackets I have zillions of works perfectly, you just have to grind off two small points (that fit Holley 350 2 barrel curvature) to fit the square shaped Holley Sniper body. I can let these brackets go for 5 bucks each, but might have to ship in a flat rate envelope at $6.65 postage- - -I'll check to see if they can ship in a regular envelope with just a couple stamps???

I had a lokar cable already from the previous setup. Just needed to weld a bracket that also holds my oil filter.

 

[BrianSanDiego]

OK Mr. 74,
There was one thing that confused me about how it learned, I'll try to describe but I'll probably just make it confusing.

It starts with a "base fuel table" that gets loaded when you first select the number of cylinders, C.I., cam, etc. This table tells the Sniper how much fuel to inject at all different RPM and vacuum combinations (other factors too. Temp, Accel pump, etc.)

After your motor reaches operating temp, the ECU goes into learning. What it does is modify a "learn table" (I think of it as an overlay, that modifies the base table). Each cell of this Learn Table (RPM & Vacuum matrix) is modified by a percentage, as the motor varies speed/vac.

SO! All this to get at one point. On the touchscreen display there is a readout labeled "current learn %". At first I took this as meaning how far along the learning process has progressed, from 0% to 100%. It is actually far from that. What it is telling you is how much each cell of the Learn Table has been modified.

As the throttle setting and RPM change, the ECU reads from different cells on this table, so one cell might have a learn value of 2% while another cell has 20%, or whatnot. What you want to do to help the learn process along is vary the throttle and RPM as you drive, watch the "current learn %" and when this value stops changing, throughout the map, it's about done tuning. So your learn value is going to be all over the place and that's OK, it's not counting up to 100%. Then you can proceed to fine tune the map by hand if you wish.

I hope this makes a little bit of sense.

Also, there is an option on the display to "transfer learn table to base (map)" or something similar. Don't do this on the handheld. I've tried twice and both times it FUBARed my fuel map. You don't need to transfer it to the base map, but if you choose to, do it from the computer software and it will work fine.

See ya, B.

 

[AlaskanWheeler]

I wonder if this unit is capable of adding a turbo...

 

[BrianSanDiego]

I wonder if this unit is capable of adding a turbo...

It says it's compatible with a blow through system. I also read you can use it with a draw-through blower but it requires an additional MAP sensor and tuning. I assume that's true with draw-through turbo, but don't hold me to it!
Also compatible with nitrous

 

[C6H12O6]

Would be cool to see dyno results before and after, just to quantify things.

 

[74fj40]

Sorry for no updates! When I keep it at work, it’s hard to find a happy balance of doing work and “doing work” aka working on my cruiser. It’s running pretty amazing. Definitely need to do some learning, but I’ll need to wrap up quite a few loose ends still.

Brian, thanks again for an awesome response! You’ve been very helpful.

 

[74fj40]

I briefly drove it today, maybe about 5 miles. Runs pretty good. Needs some learning at WOT and when first starting off. Also, here’s a cool picture so you guys don’t lose interest!

 

[BrianSanDiego]

Nice looking Cruisers!

Needs some learning at WOT and when first starting off.

Quick tip,
For the first starting off part, that is probably related to your "acceleration enrichment" setting, which is adjustable with a slider on the handheld display. Exact same function as an accelerator pump on a carb.
Not enough fuel = stumble/hesitation/maybe backfire.
Too much fuel = bog/lack-of-power/black-smoke/stinky. You probably knew that though...

WOT learning,
I didn't really like that part, having to rev it out so it could learn that area of the map. You can quicken that process by tuning via laptop, but that's not necessary.

Later, B.

 

[74fj40]

This thing runs amazing... I drove it 35 miles home today and it has never run that smooth or quiet.

The curve on the stock distributor really sucks. So I’ll advance it some more and see how it drives, otherwise I’ll have to make timing control a priority.

Also found that the electric cooling fan would drop t below 160. So I’ll have to connect it to the sniper to control it.

 

[White Stripe]

Im surprised you haven't gotten more questions about this. Seems like a great alternative to using a carb. Especially for those that live in mountain areas where one can drive just a short ways and find themselves at a completely different elevation.

 

[BrianSanDiego]

Im surprised you haven't gotten more questions about this. Seems like a great alternative to using a carb. Especially for those that live in mountain areas where one can drive just a short ways and find themselves at a completely different elevation.

Yep. I live on the coast and often drive over the 4500' hill to the desert. This system with "closed-loop" doesn't skip a beat, it readjusts on-the-fly just like a new car would. My primitive old EFI system was not happy at all changing altitude without readjustment.

 

[AlaskanWheeler]

If I decide to go efi on my ol 6 it'll be a Holley unit like this one.

 

[74fj40]

If you use your stock distributor, its a somewhat inexpensive option, I was considering using the optimum kit from AFI but the $2000+ price tag scared me off. I figured I'd take a leap and be one of the pioneers to put this on an F or 2F.

@BrianSanDiego, the air must get pretty thin at 4500' Thanks again for your help!

 

[Bripars40]

So what’s your total cost to date and estimate on your time to install?

Would an FJ60 electronic dizzy make things even better? I’m trying to convince myself that now is the time to switch to EFI

 

[74fj40]

I bought the basic sniper kit with no fuel kit as I had a pump and 3/8 delivery and return already. It’s recommended to have 3/8 return so there are no restrictions so that’s something to keep in mind. Also an intank pump is recommended but not necessary. I also had an air filter from the tbi setup, so that is something else you’d have to source.

Sniper kit-$850
90* and 45* -6an fittings-$20
Throttle linkage and misc clips-$50
Misc gaskets-$20
Cap, rotor, wires-$35
Misc loom,connectors, relay- $30
CAN cable for laptop tuning was $50 but I haven’t used it yet. I will though as I’d like to use a tablet for my gauges.

I’m sure I’m missing a few things, but I’m all in for about $1000-1100. It is truly worth every penny. It’s never run this well before.

I spent probably 2-3 hours on it a day for 1 week straight and had it running. There were a lot of small projects I did at the same time, mounting wiring, getting some other circuits run through the fuse box, mounting relays and a new remote power junction. Cleaning up fuel lines, relocating fuse box, etc. Since the sniper has an ecu built in, it really inspires you to keep everything else around it clean too.

I think an fj60 distributor probably has a better curve to it for fuel injection. Maybe @FJ40Jim can chime in on that. If I can score a good deal on one I will upgrade. But I’m still a broke dad going to college.

And fj60 distributor also would have the ability for timing control which I would highly recommend once the base fuel maps are dialed in. It seems a little complicated to figure out but can be done. Especially if you can get the timing maps from a good TBI chip.

At this point i only have about 50 miles on it, but I’m happier than ever with it!