Hey all,
This may be a beat down question but I've looked alot and have only seen bits and pieces that concern my situation(that doesn't mean it doesn't exist I just havnt found it).
I have a 1989 f250 5.8L 4x4 with C6 and 4.10 gears. I'm looking* to avoid the trucks original system by installing a holley sniper efi. I've already looked into finding the new mustang CPU and harness situation but the junk yard in the va beach area / eastern shore Maryland don't have much to offer. Not to mention the legit harness replacements online are 1100-1300 from what I have found. I can have the holley sniper for 800.00 brand new with my discount. Does anyone have any current input on this potential decision?

I would also need intake and heads. Which I think I've decided on, but with the potential* of a MAF system or Holley sniper, what cam is ideal for the most low end torque without leaving me to deal with updating the torque converter? This truck will tow recreational boats 6000lbs and less as well as take a 3000lb truck camper to the beach from time to time.
It runs 33x12.5x16.5s right now and possibly soon to be 33x12.5 +/- on 16in. I'm doing restore work with the bed off now but I wanna get an idea or what will be to come for preparation of next summer.


Thanks to everyone ahead of time.
If I did this incorrectly please let me know.

-Steve

 

Throttle body EFI (e.g. Holley) only offers limited improvements over carb setups and I'd personally go with a multi-port like Edelbrock's Pro Flo which I've used on multiple applications -- simple to install but does require some welding to add the o2 sensor and fuel pump, coil, etc upgrades............easy to tune, maintain, may help with MPGs and it certainly helps with fuel distribution..........the product comes as a kit (with the distributor, harness, tablet) and by the time you kludge up something with a Sniper you'll end up spending just as much in the long run

 

I've almost disregarded sticking with any sort of stock-type situation. Because of my desires and the cost of what I've found for the MAF conversion. That is only what I've found though.
As far as edelbrocks pro flo, how does it compare to the holley sniper? I'll look into that approach tonight, but I've done away with the in line high pressure pump and have upgraded/fabricated my "low pressure" intank pumps to walbro 255s to hopefully sort out any fuel needs I may come across.

Like I said I will look into the Edelbrock system, since I have only heard bad reviews about fintech and great reviews about holley. But any info is greatly appreciated.

-Steve

 

What about a PiMPx from Stinger Performance? More capable than the Sniper, uses the stock harness, fits in the stock ECU location, and is completely tunable for ANY mods, no restrictions and the same price ($820). Seems like it would fit the bill for you? See signature.

 

Thanks for the idea! I've spent some time last night looking into the PiMPx, which I gather works with the non- controled C-6 trans and with the batch firing. It sounds like a legit hot swappable way to avoid stock SD and with future room to tune and diagnose issues. I'm not 100% but it seems like I may be stuck with pricey stock parts that may be constricting air flow ( upper intake, TB, and such) that would otherwise be done away with with the Sniper and carb intake route? I'm not a professional, so I'll need to look into what it would cost to upgrade those particular pieces + fuel injectors if they're an issue later on.

-Steve

 

The PiMPx doesn't restrict you to the stock intake, TB, etc., it works with ANY mods. Whether it's a stock 200hp setup or a highly modified 2000+hp setup. Want to run a carb style intake with an elbow and a conventional throttle body, or a carb intake with a carb style throttle body bolted on? Go for it.

 

If you are just planning on towing that boat and using that camper in your first post, I would just do some home porting on The stock intake or look for a gt40 from a boat or lightning if you are that worried about it. The problem with going to a bigger better intake is losing low speed velocity and killing torque. I would go with the pimpx and a crane 444232 cam, good set of long tubes and exhaust. And see how it does. While the truck intake isn't fantastic for horsepower it does alright with low speed torque.

 

A full rebuild with GT40 heads, good cam, and exhaust is much more affordable and more than a few folks have found it to be a satisfying upgrade.

If you wants to spend all the money and minimize fabrication work:

Eddy truck intake
AFR 165's or GT40X heads
24 lb injectors
"RV" style cam
Long tube headers
PimpEx controller - assuming it is all is purported to be, or a custom tuned EEC

I would advise the bottom end be rebuilt appropriately.

You could run a GT40 style intake from a Lightning/Mustang/Boat or an aftermarket clone but you will have to modify or fabricate other items to make it all work. You might be able to get away with the stock intake but I suspect it would be restrictive when combined with the above parts. You could also port the stock intake.

Rebuilding/beefing up the rest of the power train would be advisable.

Or drop in a big block and be done with it.

Or go for a carburetor set up.

 

Sorry for the delay, it was my duty section for work.
I think I've decided on the long tubes, GT40s, and crane cam mentioned above. Still deciding between Pimpx and Sniper, but thanks for everyone's help!

-Steve

 

You will not need to modify or replace the existing EFI system or EEC to run those mods.

Be aware that iron GT40 heads come in couple of different flavors depending on what the were originally installed on, and may require a little machine work to be 100% bolt on. If you are going to run long tubes you can use GT40P heads as well.

 

Not trying to hijack - If for some reason need a wiring harness, do you guys supply that too? Thanks, cant't wait to get you setup. Do you give a military/veteran discount? Thanks again!

 

Yes, we have harnesses available if necessary, though the stock harness is fine as long as it's not in horrible shape (hacked up, fire damage, insulation falling off, etc.). Thank you for your service. We offer one price for everyone.

 

Still not trying to hijack - but my '96 F350 Std cab 4X4 C-6 w/Gear vendor 460 EFI has 150,000 and would it be ok to upgrade cam lifters rods roller rockers etc? Maybe add upgraded pistons too along with performance injectors,etc? I want to pull the trigger on your products and I want to get the best bang for my buck on a budget build, I don.t have to tear down to the block do I? Just wanted to bolt-on and go or should I rebuild engine? Also what about a efi throttle body set up with torker manifold etc on my engine? Thanks so much!

 

If the engine is solid (minimal leakdown, doesn't burn oil, etc.) then doing mods without rebuilding is fine. It's obviously a good time to rebuild since you'll already have it partially torn down but it's by no means mandatory. You can run an EFI TB on a Torker type manifold if you want. Single plane intakes are a bit harder to tune than dual plane, particularly with batch fire EFI that doesn't allow individual cylinder tuning since sometimes cylinders will "steal" the fuel from other cylinders and you can end up with a large variance between the richest and leanest cylinder. Something to keep in mind if you're not really going to "need" a single plane intake (and modern dual plane intakes often perform as well or better than single plane versions for the majority of the RPM range anyway).