Holley Sniper 2300 install with PowerSurge (1 Viewer)

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Is the PS next to the Manifold?? Im very bad at identifying parts in enlarged pics. If its close to manifold you may want to rethink that spot bc of heat...gas + heat = no bueno.
No, it’s on the passenger side

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Same spot

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Is that the charcoal cannister? Whats it do? Mine looks old AF...lol

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Yes that’s the charcoal canister. It’s full of small activated charcoal pellets. The purpose is that it absorbs and stores gasoline vapors and then releases them when the evap system sees the proper engine conditions....like steady throttle and cruise.
 
Part 1: Gathering up the parts.

Desmog parts:
I picked up the essentials from Jim C's TLC Performance website: idler pulley to replace the air pump, EGR block-off plate and gasket for the exhaust manifold, plugs for the air ports in the head and the BVSV's in the thermostat housing, and caps for the air cleaner. I also picked up Jim's EGR plug for the intake side...before I realized that the PO had removed EGR pipe, so I couldn't use the plug (PM me if you want to buy it). Since that plug wasn't going to work for me, I got a block-off plate from Man A Fre.

Sniper:
I bought the Sniper directly from Holley during their holiday sale. I didn't get their master kit, just the Sniper 2300 unit itself.

Sniper accessories: I bought just about every Sniper accessory that Red Line (@RLMS) sells (throttle cable & bracket kit, manifold heat shield, manifold adapter, air cleaner adapter, hard fuel lines).

Fuel pump:
I agonized over this decision for way too long. In-tank pump? Frame mounted fuel pump? Surge tank? The surge tank seemed the most interesting to me for a few reasons, not the least of which is that it’s a lot easier to do than the alternatives. Once I stopped thinking of it as a "second little fuel tank under the hood" and realized it’s more like a glorified fuel pump that happens to hold a quart or two of fuel, it just made the most sense to me. I looked at a few options and ended up going with the PowerSurge from RobbMc after reading some Mud threads about it.

Miscellaneous fuel fittings:
I used a combo of Earl’s brand aluminum AN -6 and hose barb fittings from Summit and a local hot rod shop. I also grabbed some of the Earl’s “Vapor Guard” 3/8” hose that Holley recommended.
Wish the Red Line accessories were available when I did my Sniper install. Might have to go back someday and retrofit a few things. No regrets with the Sniper for those considering.
 
Its crazzzzzzzzy expensive. Im prlly the luckiest man alive...bought my cabin for 58k in 2012 its valued at 450k ish. Absurd!
Anyone that bought a house in Boston area about 5-10 years ago...basically after 2008 is doing well in the sale game right now. Houses have been selling there before they ever get listed and usually to a bidding war ending at much higher than the planned asking price.
 
So does the power surge use the stock pump to feed the power surge tank and then a pump in the power surge tank to feed the sniper?
 
So does the power surge use the stock pump to feed the power surge tank and then a pump in the power surge tank to feed the sniper?
Correct. It’s a very nice and easy setup.

Stock pump to PS. PS to Sniper. Sniper return to PS. PS into stock return lines.

I make everything 3/8” from the stock pump
To PS then 5/16 for the returns.
 
Correct. It’s a very nice and easy setup.

Stock pump to PS. PS to Sniper. Sniper return to PS. PS into stock return lines.

I make everything 3/8” from the stock pump
To PS then 5/16 for the returns.
It reminds me of some of the modern diesel designs where a low pressure high volume electric pump feeds a secondary low volume extreme pressure mechanical pump.

Do you prime the PS before the first use or just crank a bunch to get the fuel filled?
 
It reminds me of some of the modern diesel designs where a low pressure high volume electric pump feeds a secondary low volume extreme pressure mechanical pump.

Do you prime the PS before the first use or just crank a bunch to get the fuel filled?

You fill it up before first crank with gas
 
I'm installing a CityRacer as we speak, but this thread is tipping me over to a Sniper. I didn't want to have to drop the gas tank for an in-tank pump, wasn't totally sold on an in-line pump setup. The Powersurge tank setup this way looks like a great compromise.

Looking forward to Parts 4 thru 8.....
 
Part 4: Throttle Cable

I bought a Lokar cable and brackets from Red Line. (If you don’t know, the Lokar cable is essentially a metal cable (or what I'd call the "inner wire") that moves inside a braided steel housing.) Each end of the stainless steel housing is mounted in one of the two Red Line brackets. The firewall side bracket is mounted just under where the gas pedal arm comes through the firewall, and the Sniper-side bracket bolted to the intake manifold.

Once I had the brackets mounted, I cut the braided housing to fit between the two mounting brackets. Then I connected the inner wire to the pedal arm, fished the wire through the braided housing to the Sniper, and cut off the excess. The inner wire is connected to the stock gas pedal assembly by drilling out the riveted-in ball fitting at the end of the pedal arm that goes through the firewall (through the red boot), and then connecting the Lokar clevis to the pedal arm.

On the Sniper end of the inner wire, you just insert it into the Lokar "cable end assembly" and tighten a set screw. The Sniper came with a few ball fittings of various sizes. One of them is the exact size that Lokar uses, so i mounted that one on the Sniper and then snapped the cable end assembly to that ball. (I wouldn't use the ball fitting that came with the Lokar, as the shaft diameter is too small and it doesn't fill the hole on the Sniper.)

About the Red Line brackets: I had some problems with the firewall bracket not lining up with the bolt holes in the firewall as intended. Justin remade the bracket....same problem. I took some phots and measurements, and Justin remade it again...success! Apparently there are some firewall changes at some point? For what it's worth, my Cruiser was built in June 1986.

After all this was done, the operation of the throttle was not great, in my opinion. It was very hard to just give it a little gas. The pedal feel was very hard. You'd start gently pushing...nothing budges....push a little harder...nothing budges...push a little harder...bam you're at 20% TPS and high revving. I felt like I was 12 years old learning to drive a manual trans again.

It turns out this is a common complaint among Sniper users, and the fix is to extend the throttle lever on the Sniper with this little extension. It adds about an inch of leverage and makes a huge difference. It could still be better though. I think I've got two things working against me right now: 1. My gas pedal seems really high relative to the brake and clutch. It was like this with the carb too, I didn't change anything on the pedal. But with the carb, I didn't notice it as much because the return spring on the carb wasn't as stiff as the Sniper. 2. the Sniper-side throttle cable bracket (mounted on the manifold) is a lot lower than the point where the inner wire connects to the Sniper, and even more so now that I'm using the lever extension. I think if the bracket was higher up, it would give more mechanical advantage and make the pedal easier to push. But...I mean...I got a C in physics so who knows. I'll keep messing with it, but I've got about 200 miles on it now, and I'm sort of getting used to it.

Throttle Lever Extension:

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Bracket attached to intake manifold:

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Firewall-side bracket:

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I'm installing a CityRacer as we speak, but this thread is tipping me over to a Sniper. I didn't want to have to drop the gas tank for an in-tank pump, wasn't totally sold on an in-line pump setup. The Powersurge tank setup this way looks like a great compromise.

Looking forward to Parts 4 thru 8.....

I've got about 200 miles with the Sniper....still loving it.
 
Part 5: Wiring

Wiring is pretty straight forward. There are only 5 wires: power, ground, fuel pump (hot), ignition switched, and tach. The Sniper instructions are very clear about power and ground going directly to the battery. I like to follow rules, so I took their advice and did that. The fuel pump wire (blue) goes to the positive terminal on the PowerSurge. For the ignition switched wire (pink), I ran that to the fuse block in the cab, and used a fuse tap on the fuse marked "Engine." The tach wire (yellow) goes to the negative side of the coil.

The one other wire to run is the negative side of the PowerSurge. For that, since the battery is pretty close, I just wired it to the negative terminal with this bus bar.

Final note on wiring: At some point I plan to install a fuse/relay box under the hood--probably near the battery--and do a neater job of running the Sniper wires and fuel pump relay. For now, it's all just zip tied out of the way.
 
Part 5: Wiring

Wiring is pretty straight forward. There are only 5 wires: power, ground, fuel pump (hot), ignition switched, and tach. The Sniper instructions are very clear about power and ground going directly to the battery. I like to follow rules, so I took their advice and did that. The fuel pump wire (blue) goes to the positive terminal on the PowerSurge. For the ignition switched wire (pink), I ran that to the fuse block in the cab, and used a fuse tap on the fuse marked "Engine." The tach wire (yellow) goes to the negative side of the coil.

The one other wire to run is the negative side of the PowerSurge. For that, since the battery is pretty close, I just wired it to the negative terminal with this bus bar.

Final note on wiring: At some point I plan to install a fuse/relay box under the hood--probably near the battery--and do a neater job of running the Sniper wires and fuel pump relay. For now, it's all just zip tied out of the way.
That bus bar is sweet. Did you see this product from Blue Sea Systems? It’s the same bus bar but with 100A fuses for each terminal.
Amazon product ASIN B01HJTCNXG
 
I tried to make that throttle bracket work. Never could. As long as you keep the Lokar cable off the manifold it will give you plenty of good TPS mounted the traditional way.

I am going a Sniper/Powersurge this week. Not as detailed as yours but here’s my link

 

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