Holley Sniper Install. 74 F.5

[Steamer]

Starting to position the wiring and figure out how to keep it tidy and easy to troubleshoot if the need arises. Since I have no blower motor, this spot should work good. The extra fuse holder and relay that’s not part of the Holley harness, will energize the D.U.I.

EDITED below.
The Sniper has 5 cables coming out of it. Two are for the O2 and temp sensors. The other three have a ten, eight and seven pin connector attached. Nothing on the eight-pin connector will I use. On the ten-pin connector I will only use the one brown wire for my tach. On the harness that the seven pin connects to, red & black go to the battery, blue to the pump, pink to the ignition switch and yellow to the D.U.I’s “tach” terminal for speed sensing. That extra relay shown will feed the D.U.I’s “batt” terminal as is always has and is triggered by the ignition switch.
EDIT: I was wrong on the eight pin connector. I don't have one. On the front page of my included "Quick Start Manual" (that got wet) it says where to download the "Complete Instruction Manual" in PDF format which I did. All the info in that manual is good but the diagram in that one has the extra 8 pin connector. Confusing at first but finally figured it out. On the back page of the included "Quick Start Manual" that has the correct diagram, I got the form # "199R11364" & googled up the PDF. Also, the cable I forgot to mention is the one for the digital display. So it's still 5 cables out of the unit.

Fairly simple. Hardest part will be tidying up all the unused wires. I got the Holley pin removal tool and plugs to remove un-used wires and plug the holes. Only comes with ten plugs. I will hook it up temporary before cutting or removing wires to make sure it runs properly and I don’t have to send the whole thing back to Holley for service.

 

[krice118]

love it. she gets you where you need to go

 

[Steamer]

Got thinking about my replacement regulator that Holley is sending and realized that the tech guy just took my address over the phone and I have no tracking number or proof that he even wrote it down correctly. Decided not to chance disappointment and yesterday, I ordered another regulator from Summit with overnight delivery. It’s in Miami now and supposed to be delivered by 10:30am today. The other one will be a spare.

BUT !! Now with the current weather situation, I must shut this project down for awhile and start prepping in case Dorian should decide to bear a little left. Just too much to do and must start now. That’s just life in the Tropics. Hope to get back on it soon.

 

[mrboatman]

Nice install it`s looking real good.
JP

 

[Steamer]

Fed-Ex just delivered the regulator from Summit. Should be doing storm prep but I just had to put it in and test it.

 

[UltraFJ40]

Maintaining breaks in the Everglades muck is tough. Axles spend a lot of time submerged. Average speed where I wheel is 3 to 6 mph. In the mud with 39.5 x 15 Swampers @ 4 psi you just let off the gas to stop.

LOL, I live on the other side of US41 in Naples. Same deal over here.

 

[Steamer]

LOL, I live on the other side of US41 in Naples. Same deal over here.

Ah, you know. We wheel in between the two. Jetport area mostly.

 

[terrx]

...
For a pre-filter I’m using the Racor 320R-Rac-02 10-micron filter/separator since it was already in use and is mounted to the passenger side firewall.

Post filter is the Earl’s 10 micron 230606ERL

My pump is the inline Walbro GSL 394 with the mounting clamps and sleeve. It’s mounted to the passenger side fender well.
...

10 micron filter on the supply side of the pump may be too much restriction. You may want to check. I would put that Racor between the pump and engine and a 300-400 micron between tank and pump.

 

[Steamer]

10 micron filter on the supply side of the pump may be too much restriction. You may want to check. I would put that Racor between the pump and engine and a 300-400 micron between tank and pump.

I understand what you're saying. The Sniper instructions call for a 40-100-micron pre-filter. But they’re talking a small sized filter. I’ve been using the Racor 320R-RAC-1 with the S3228TUL 10-micron cartridge for 19 years with the stock mechanical pump with no issues. The cartridge is huge, about quart sized, and overkill for this engine. It’s rated for maximum 60 GPH. I’m thinking that’ll cover it. We’re gonna try it anyhow. If not we'll make a change. I’ll be back on it when this hurricane business is over. I'm dragging butt with all the prep. Way too much junk laying around.

 

[pjohnson]

junk laying around

Also known as projectiles...

 

[LINUS]

love the towel on the fender to protect the showroom finish

love the EFI install!

Close but 180* out - I bet he’s protecting those enviable tools / parts

Seriously though — Stay safe next few days.

 

[Steamer]

Lucky for us in So. Florida Dorian turned away. Terribly unlucky for those caught in it's path.
So all my prep here wasn’t needed but I have no complaints at all. Shutters are all off I’m un-prepped and getting back on the Sniper install. Sure am looking forward to starting this thing up.

A little confusion on the wiring, as I was using the wrong diagram at first but all good now. I explained it by editing post # 21.

 

[Zjohnsonua]

Digging those hard lines up around the top end. They add a really nice touch of detail.

 

[Steamer]

Digging those hard lines up around the top end. They add a really nice touch of detail.

Thanks! I use to bend a lot of tube in the pipefitting trade, so it comes easy. Also, I’m just not comfortable with fuel hose over the exhaust manifold. It’s the first time I worked with cupronickel. The color is kind of cool and it bends & flares a bit easier than steel tube. The new 3/8 OD cupronickel lines are replacing the 5/16 OD Aluminized steel tube lines I made up years ago. Probably a better chance of accidently bending the cupronickel should I lean on them be mistake but they are easier to work with. Cupronickel tubing comes in a roll but it’s stiffer than soft copper.

 

[Zjohnsonua]

I was a little concerned about a reaction with copper due to our ethanol content, but thanks to the wonders of chemistry, cupronickel doesn't suffer the same fate. This info may be what pushes me over the edge to start re-doing a few of my own lines.

 

[Steamer]

Funny, but I first heard of cupronickel in the early 60’s when I was a youngster and never forgot it. I was Dad’s helper with his one-man AC & refrigeration business. Helped him install cupronickel heat exchangers on some chilled water lobster holding tanks he designed for a big seafood supplier in Atlantic City. The saltwater didn’t bother the cupronickel. He had just come across the stuff and was always bragging about it.

 

[Steamer]

IT RUNS! I should have waited till today, but late afternoon yesterday I was getting close and just had to try it. Canceled dinner plans and rushed against the sun setting as I don’t have any decent lighting set up for my outdoor work area. Made a handful of mistakes like having the dizzy 180 out and some loose wires but finally got it going. Running rough but running. While I was getting better acquainted with the display, the new paint, never-seize and manifold coating started gassing me out as the temp came up. So, I just stood upwind and had a beer and listened to it begin to settle out and run better little by little. Then I finally shut it down for the night.

Fired it up this morning after getting the manifold heat riser bi-metal spring re-installed correctly. (thanks guys) It started right up, and I set the timing to about 12 deg btdc. It came up to temp still running well. It’s an off road only rig so I can’t road test it. It’ll probably get a swamp test in a few weeks.

Some of the wiring was just hooked up temporary for the test so now I’ll get it squared away to its permanent state. May add a few LED pilots under the hood for diagnostics sake. Also want to fab up a heat shield and a display mount. Need to find a place to mount a new vacuum gauge and find something for the hole left in the dash where a choke control used to be.

So far, I’m real pleased with the Sniper. It’s already running as good as it ever has with the three different carbs that I’ve had on it over the years. I expect it to get better as the learning process continues. I need to read up on it more and continue my own learning process.

My attempt at video taping the first start late yesterday didn’t work out. By the time I corrected all my little mistakes, the camera battery died and then the card filled up.

 

[Steamer]

It’s been almost 3 weeks since my first start up with the sniper and thought I’d update. After I ran it a bit and decided it worked ok and I didn’t have to send it back to Holley, I went ahead with the permanent wiring and did some trimming and tidying up on all the wiring. I can’t road test it since it’s an off road only rig and it’s first trail ride is scheduled for this coming weekend. In the meantime, I’ve been starting it up every day and trying to learn how I may tune it some. On a cold start it did not fire right up. Felt like it need a couple of pumps which doesn’t work with EFI. If I turned it on without cranking, turned it off then back on again and cranked, it would fire right up. With a little reading I found you can set the “Fuel Prime” with the display monitor. Default is 100 percent. I changed it to 200 percent and for several days and, the cold starts were instant. Then I tried 150 percent and cold starts are still pretty much instant so 150 percent is where I’ll leave it for now. Initially I set the idle speed to 750 rpm and was happy that it idled so well there. Then a few days ago I set the idle at 600 rpm and was quite surprised how well it idled there. I could never idle smoothly at 600 with any of the three previous carbs I had on there but that probably has a lot to do my lack of carb skill. That's all I'll change for now.

I’m really impressed with how much control you have over how the Sniper operates. All new to me and I’m liking it more & more as I learn more. Getting it on the trail will tell me a lot more but so far, I’m real happy with converting to EFI. Like a few others have said, “My rig never ran this good”.

 

[Steamer]

I finally got to trail test the Sniper with 5 to 6 hours of crawling in the swamp over four days. Mostly in 1st gear going 2-1/2 to 4-1/2 mph on the GPS and that’s about as fast as the suspension and my bones can handle on the washed out, under water trails with lots of hidden holes. To go that speed with stock gearing and 29.5 x 15 Swamper TSL’s, I’m quite low on the rpm. But the engine runs smooth at a few hundred rpm lower than I was ever able to crawl with the previous three carbs I had on it for almost two decades. I’m sure my poor carb tuning abilities contribute to that, but the bottom line is “My rig never ran this good”. The idle is set at 600 rpm and mostly run on the trails at 700 to 1000 rpm. Testing for the lowest rpm limit in about a foot & a half of water with mild mud and holes, I could even let it roll in 1st at idle and it won’t stall. That’s with the rpm under 600 and intermittently dropping to 500 and I didn’t have to tap the pedal now and then to prevent stalling like I did with the carbs running at 750 idle.

I did get a little time on some unused trails where the holes had filled in and the brush was grown over. I got it into 2nd gear doing 10 – 12 mph which is fast for the area. It had a good load on it in 4wd low, churning mud, pushing down brush, fish tailing & bouncing about but it had more than enough power.

There are a few cons with my Sniper though. I’ve got a mild whistle around 700 – 900 rpm. From what I’ve read on the Holley forums it’s not uncommon, but the reason is known. It’s where the gaskets are between the Sniper and the intake manifold and adapter. Depending on how the gaskets edges match up on the edges of the ports, any gap or protrusion can cause a whistle kind of like blowing are across a pop bottle. Some refer to it as a reed effect and it’s usually eliminated with thicker gaskets. So that minor problem looks solvable.

Another noise that bothers me and only occurs when it’s up to full temp and that’s a whining noise that sounds like a large mosquito with a sore throat. More testing is needed to track this down. On the trail I assumed it was the fuel pump but getting my head under the hood the sound was coming from the Sniper area and not the pump. Back at home with some tubing to the ear, it sure sounds like it’s coming from the regulator. With the tube to ear again, I couldn’t hear any noise that’s coming from the pump with engine running. With engine off and jumping 12 V to the pump, it does sound like the pump is whining but I can’t hear any whining at the pump with the engine running. Then the rain came and shut down the testing, so we’ll get back to tracking that down that sore throated skeeter.

Besides the noises, I’m quite happy with Sniper’s performance and glad I went for it.

The throttle conversion from linkage to cable that I did, works smooth and would be fine for street use but on the trail it’s a bit sensitive and a bit tough to give it just a little tiny bit of increase. I hope to alter the throttle setup so it’s less sensitive in the beginning of it’s travel. Something progressive. I’ll have to work out the geometry.

I did a quickie fab & install of a hand throttle just before the trip. It works well but would also like it to be less sensitive. I’ll post pics in another post.

 

[SteveH]

Thanks for the real world thoughts on driveability. I have AFI TBI and (of course) wonder if the grass is greener on the other side.