HombreCalgarian
Member
Will repost it here in case somebody may find it useful.
It took me a while to do the install due to work and other factors. But finally it is all in and working.
Started with:
1978 bone stock 400cid C-body with TQ but ELB-delete (poorly) performed eons ago. Canadian spec, so no emissions gear.
It ran reliably, but slowly, starting cold was a funny game.
Installed - Sniper EFI with MSD magnetic distributor, MSD coil driver and in-tank fuel pump.
Used original steel fuel lines (pressure and return) but with new rubber parts everywhere. Kept original "fry pan" air filter housing.
Result - sure start any time, very crisp throttle response, good acceleration from 0 to 85 (have not explored further yet) and pickup at any speed. Allows me to keep up with or stay ahead of traffic with zero effort. No bogging at idle with AC running as before. Fuel economy so far stays about the same.
Now some thoughts:
Worth it - Yay or Nay?
If you are only looking to improve drivability for you summer toy - then firm "NO". Just get yourself a new carb, new wires, ensure there are no air/vac leaks and enjoy your car. The extra expenditure, time and effort simply not worth it.
If you are driven by the desire for better drivability, as well as long range / all weather predictability and superior throttle response - and are prepared to put some 2K into the project - YES, by all means. But also be aware that once you get used to the new set of dynamics, you will want more - sharper and tighter steering, sportier cam, TC with higher stall speed... And did I mention tighter steering?..
How complicated?
If you can rebuild and tune your engine with closed eyes, habitually swap distributors, cams and at least once installed and set up some software or a mobile app - it's a walk in the park. Just RTFM and be prepared to look for extra info on the interwebs.
If you are like me - familiar with modern plug and play cars and comfortable with general wrenching, some aspects will be a bit of a challenge. And here it greatly depends how you approach it - as a mental excersise to keep you grey matter humming or a nuisance that postpones immediate gratifications.
What do you need?
There are at least 2 setups, as I see it.
Basic - you just buy the injector kit with external fuel pump and whatnots, but leave the ignition as is. Worth doing if your ignition has been updated (and not a mess of old hacked wires left from the Lean Burn delete surgery performed 30+ years ago).
All in (that is how I did it) - the injector kit + magnetic distrib, wires, coil/coil driver, in-tank fuel pump... Or any combination of these components, really.
You also need decent set of tools, good wire crimpers, rolls of wires and connectors, million zip-ties, lots of gorilla tape, fuel hose and or copper-nickel pipes, a timing light, and ability to control the hate of imperial units: as someone from the metric universe I totally struggle with all these gages, thread designations, and how to measure up the wrenches - whereas it is immediately clear if 11 mm is less than 13 or 15, with all these x/8 and x/16 it just bends my mind backwards every time.
What not to like?
How the information from the OEM is presented. I realize, that it is mostly aimed at the "experienced" category and serves as nothing more than a general guidance. As a tech writer who spent quite a few years in MFG creating shop assembly and repair manuals for complicated drilling machinery, I'd say a more systematic presentation would be much welcome and make it so much easier for a layman like myself to install and tune it. What especially annoys is that once you start digging, you drown in endless linking to yet another write-up or a video that only confuses you more. Web forum on Holley's own website is not too bad, but the advice from Holley folks is not always very informative and more often than not is a copy-paste of the same set of endless links to writeups that have some more links to click...
Also you lose the cruise control - if it worked. Mine did. I am kinda thinking of trying to connect it (will need a mod to the throttle bracket), but I rarely use this feature even in our everyday cars, so this can wait.
On what and how I did - it will be easier if you ask a question rather than me writing about the whole adventure and trying to recall all steps.
Some highlights:
It took me a while to do the install due to work and other factors. But finally it is all in and working.
Started with:
1978 bone stock 400cid C-body with TQ but ELB-delete (poorly) performed eons ago. Canadian spec, so no emissions gear.
It ran reliably, but slowly, starting cold was a funny game.
Installed - Sniper EFI with MSD magnetic distributor, MSD coil driver and in-tank fuel pump.
Used original steel fuel lines (pressure and return) but with new rubber parts everywhere. Kept original "fry pan" air filter housing.
Result - sure start any time, very crisp throttle response, good acceleration from 0 to 85 (have not explored further yet) and pickup at any speed. Allows me to keep up with or stay ahead of traffic with zero effort. No bogging at idle with AC running as before. Fuel economy so far stays about the same.
Now some thoughts:
Worth it - Yay or Nay?
If you are only looking to improve drivability for you summer toy - then firm "NO". Just get yourself a new carb, new wires, ensure there are no air/vac leaks and enjoy your car. The extra expenditure, time and effort simply not worth it.
If you are driven by the desire for better drivability, as well as long range / all weather predictability and superior throttle response - and are prepared to put some 2K into the project - YES, by all means. But also be aware that once you get used to the new set of dynamics, you will want more - sharper and tighter steering, sportier cam, TC with higher stall speed... And did I mention tighter steering?..
How complicated?
If you can rebuild and tune your engine with closed eyes, habitually swap distributors, cams and at least once installed and set up some software or a mobile app - it's a walk in the park. Just RTFM and be prepared to look for extra info on the interwebs.
If you are like me - familiar with modern plug and play cars and comfortable with general wrenching, some aspects will be a bit of a challenge. And here it greatly depends how you approach it - as a mental excersise to keep you grey matter humming or a nuisance that postpones immediate gratifications.
What do you need?
There are at least 2 setups, as I see it.
Basic - you just buy the injector kit with external fuel pump and whatnots, but leave the ignition as is. Worth doing if your ignition has been updated (and not a mess of old hacked wires left from the Lean Burn delete surgery performed 30+ years ago).
All in (that is how I did it) - the injector kit + magnetic distrib, wires, coil/coil driver, in-tank fuel pump... Or any combination of these components, really.
You also need decent set of tools, good wire crimpers, rolls of wires and connectors, million zip-ties, lots of gorilla tape, fuel hose and or copper-nickel pipes, a timing light, and ability to control the hate of imperial units: as someone from the metric universe I totally struggle with all these gages, thread designations, and how to measure up the wrenches - whereas it is immediately clear if 11 mm is less than 13 or 15, with all these x/8 and x/16 it just bends my mind backwards every time.
What not to like?
How the information from the OEM is presented. I realize, that it is mostly aimed at the "experienced" category and serves as nothing more than a general guidance. As a tech writer who spent quite a few years in MFG creating shop assembly and repair manuals for complicated drilling machinery, I'd say a more systematic presentation would be much welcome and make it so much easier for a layman like myself to install and tune it. What especially annoys is that once you start digging, you drown in endless linking to yet another write-up or a video that only confuses you more. Web forum on Holley's own website is not too bad, but the advice from Holley folks is not always very informative and more often than not is a copy-paste of the same set of endless links to writeups that have some more links to click...
Also you lose the cruise control - if it worked. Mine did. I am kinda thinking of trying to connect it (will need a mod to the throttle bracket), but I rarely use this feature even in our everyday cars, so this can wait.
On what and how I did - it will be easier if you ask a question rather than me writing about the whole adventure and trying to recall all steps.
Some highlights:
Last edited:
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