So I started on this today. Here are all the goodies.


Everything is pretty straight forward. looks like what might be the most difficult part is deciding on where to mount the CD box and coil. From what I read it can cause some interference if close to electronics. I dont know if it's really that big of a deal. Just in case I think I'll mount it on the driver side. Right here.


Here's the engine compartment before I start removing.


And now with the sniper mounted.


So a couple notes. I used this opportunity to plug off all my vacuum ports. I'd had issues with the caps splitting and creating vacuum leaks. The only vacuum I need on this truck is for AC/Heater controls and the PCV so I will pick that up at the base of the Sniper. The sniper has multiple fuel access points so I capped off the ones I don't need. I'm going to bring the fuel into it on the driver side back. I could have gotten a little more done, but I found a few little speed bumps. One of the things I found was the distributor came with a cast cam gear and I'm running a roller cam so I need a steel gear. Gotta pick that up next day off, so that stopped me from stabbing the distributor. Another thing is that I have an E4OD in this truck which needs a TPS signal. I had added that on the carb. The EFI already has one, BUT there's no output for it. So, I had to order a TPS Splitter.

So the other thing I need to figure out is for the Temp sender. The Ideal spot is in the block. Problem is, i have the serpentine set up which has the alternator bracket in front of the sensor. If you look on the bottom of the last pic you can see the temp sensor for my gauges is pretty long when the pigtail is attached. I'm thinking I can do a splitter for this sensor also. So between now and my next day off I'll look into that.

 

So my CTS pigtail was too short (stock intake, 2 barrel edition) so I cut the end off mine and extended it. You can also buy extensions on fleabay. The RFI issues are real. A fender mount for everything is good, and make sure you have a nice fat direct line to the battery positive lug. I'm running open loop for now since my exhaust is just a little too rotten to bother poking more holes in, but I found that I needed to extend the O2 sensor harness as well to get to a good place to mount the sensor.

 

I was doing some reading on it, and apparently the Dakota Digital sensor and the Holley are different ranges and cant be spliced like that. I see that Dakota has a holley box that will send all the info from the EFI to the gauges. I don't want to go that route. I've been wondering what choices I really have. I could put a T in the Heater hoses There are different temp plugs that are shorter or use a different connection that is shorter. I might be able to adapt that. I'll probably call Holley tomorrow and ask about it. If I can't figure it out I'll just buy the holley box, since I also have a dakota digital fan controller, so I have to have signal to the gauges.

 

I think the Dakota system would integrate well, my goal is to go with the VHX dash someday. The issue with a sensor splitter is the ground reference is internal to the device. I think the "Super Sniper" models actually have 0-5V outputs that could mirror TPS data for you, but nobody has cracked the trans control for Sniper yet which is a big miss in my opinion.

The Holley can do fan controls I believe, I have not explored that.

 

phenolic spacer is a great idea. I have read that the ECU is built in to the TBI and can get very hot on long drives due to engine heat.
the phenolic spacer keeps the TBI a lot cooler and the ECU also. you don't want the ECU to get hot at all if possible.

the phenolic spacer is a great idea and I will be using one for sure on my setup as well.

 

The sniper does have fan and AC control. I haven't yet played with the wizard to see how much control it has. Can I set my high and low speed separately or shut off at highway speed etc like I can with the DD. Casper electronics is closed for the holidays, so I cant order my splitter right now. So this will delay me slightly. I've ordered everything else, so maybe I can get this all put together soon.

 

Patiently waiting to see more pics and results of it all buttoned up

 

the one thing I will have a definite problem is setting the timing 50 deg before top dead center to set the distributor.

cant wait to see your writeup on that.

 

Sub. My Sniper is sitting on a shelf waiting for me to finally get back to rebuilding my engine.

 

I'm not sure what you mean. You set cylinder 1 to TDC on compression stroke, then just stab the distributor however you want cylinder 1 to point to. Then you use the fancy cap and it properly locates the body to the rotor. Tighten down the distributor and you're done. The rest is done in the programmer. You can set it to initial timing of 10-12 or whatever you want to a max advance. I really like this because my truck loved 12 degrees in the lower band, but would ping like crazy at top end. So I can dial back max advance and keep my bottom end. I'm pretty geeked out about that.

 

Here's a link on how you do it. Easy peasy.

 

Thanks for the video.

the video I saw a few days a go was from 2018.. it was different.

Thanks again.

 

I'm working nights now so I've not really had time to work on this. I had gotten the new steel gear in and even though it says to take it to a machine shop or send it to MSD to replace it because it needs special tools, I felt I could do it. I pressed the old gear off uneventfully. Pressing the new one on did not go as planned. I think I should have polished the inside of the gear and warmed it up before I put it on. I ended up bending the rotor. So, I sent it in to MSD. They replaced the damaged shaft and replaced the gear (not the one I sent) and shipped it back to me for about $100 and 2 business days. A new gear at summit was around $60, so all things considered that's a decent deal. I'll send the gear back to summit for a credit. So, I pulled all the plugs since I had an HEI distributor and had the plugs opened up to about .053 and it would make it much easier to set the engine to TDC. I set TDC and pulled the distributor, then decided on where I wanted to clock my new distributor. I decided to leave cylinder 1 in the 1 O'clock position. Here's a pic of the Dizzy stabbed and the locator cap on. It's easy peasy.


I took a pic of the splitter I needed for the throttle position sensor since I have an E4OD. If you don't have the Baumann controller you wouldn't need this. I didn't get a pic of it in place, but here's the package.



Next I had decided to locate my CDI and coil on the driver side fender. I did this to prevent electronic noise and I have more space on the driver fender than passenger. I also like to put all my wires in high friction wire loom. Since the kit is "universal" I wanted to shorten and lengthen wires as needed. Also, according to Holley, if you have your alternator exciter wire running over the intake they recommend you move it to the other side of the valve cover. I'll get pics of that after while when I make up the other connections. Here's a pic of the CDI and coil with the really long wires and a pic of how far the power wires reach.



So, I also know that the majority of electrical problems come from poor connections, so I solder and shrink wrap everything. Not doing a soldering lesson here, but just incase you're curious, here's the basics. I start by pressing the ends together, kind of interlocking them. like this. Also if you use a soldering clamp like this it makes your life a LOT easier.



Next heat the wire and apply solder. You don't need a whole lot, but I prefer to solder all the way around the joint.



Now Slide the heat shrink over the joint and heat it.



So I shortened the wire to the coil and lengthened the wires to the battery positive and ground. I didn't get finished pics of it, but I will once I get things a little more buttoned up. After that, I bought an aftermarket inline fuel pressure gauge and an AN fitting tapped for the gauge. I also connected one end of the fuel line and started to run that.


Also removed the fuel pump and put on a block off plate. Pic.


That's all I could get done. I'll post more next week when I have a chance to do more. I can see that this can be done in a weekend with a little planning, especially if you use the external fuel pump. I don't think the internal will be too time consuming either, but the external would be much faster.

 

Amazing writeup and pics!

looking forward to the first start!

 

Thanks for the write up. I’m just getting all the parts ready to do this and hadn’t thought about the fuel pump block off plate so it’s ordered up now thanks to your thread.

So so if an engine doesn’t have a roller cam is the Hyperspark dizzy ready to install as shipped?

Thanks again.