Team Chevelle banner

Looking to convert to EFI

5K views 18 replies 14 participants last post by  73Eldo 
#1 ·
If this has been addressed, my apologies. I have done a good amount of research on the efi conversion and many people seem happy. I am ready to pull the trigger, but I needed some clarity on a few things. I am leaning toward the Holley Sniper kit, but wasn’t sure if anything else was needed. Here are a few questions for you guys....

1. Is the kit sufficient? Is there anything I am missing that I would need in addition to the kit?

2. Has anyone had issues with fuel slosh? If so did you go with something like the g surge? I noticed fitech offers a kit with the g surge as well.

3. Regarding the return line, I noticed Holley said that you could put it in the neck, but also noticed they recommended having a hose sent to the bottom of the tank to prevent aeration. A bit of a contradiction. What are your suggestions?


I am sure many of these suggestions are based on ALL vehicles, so I was looking to you guys to tell me your experiences, Chevelle specific. Are these issues that you have seen with Chevelles (specifically 67’) and what is the best route to make sure I don’t have these issues.

Don’t mind going new tank if that solves all issues, but I just had the original tank replaced 2 yrs back and if it isn’t needed, I’d avoid it.

Thanks!
 
See less See more
#2 ·
I am looking at the same thing for my 66 SS, also looking at the Sniper. A buddy of mine did this to his 72 Duster but it’s a Dodge and never ran right from new. (A friendly rivalry we have). But he loves extra drivability it gives, not to mention the improvements in power and fuel savings.

Interested to read others view of the installation, setup and use.
 
#3 ·
I have the Sniper, but didnt get the kit. I wanted the pump in the tank. So I got the Holley in-tank kit. Love it. Cost me an extra $200 in the long run, but I can run the tank dry (if I wanted), I cant hear it with the engine on and none of the issues associated with the pump inline.
 
#4 ·
Except for one race application I don't think anyone has had issues with the new proper in tank setups. If they make one for your car that really seems like the way to go. Only compromise involved there is a slight cost issue but its cheaper to spend it all up front rather than buy and install some other setup and not be happy.

The rest of the options have more compromises. In some situations they may not be that bad but in others they can be a real pain. I originally thought the g surge type of thing was the perfect solution but it too has issues. Among them is you need to find a cool place to mount it which means next to or in front of the radiator which isn't always the easiest thing to do.
 
#6 ·
I actually bought the kit first, then decided for peace of mind to get the sniper tank for my 67. I think if you were getting the kit for 1250 or the unit itself for 999, and adding the sniper tank for 550, the extra few hundred would be worth it. Remember you’ll need fittings and EFI hose. I found vibrant to be good price and quality.
I had previously bought a 67 SS style-pickup with the return on it, from spectra, so I wouldn’t have to drill the tank but was concerned about the size of the return fitting. Also have the in tank pump, and other fittings too. I figure someone will need the. At some point.
Good luck with your decision.
 
#7 ·
If this has been addressed, my apologies. I have done a good amount of research on the efi conversion and many people seem happy. I am ready to pull the trigger, but I needed some clarity on a few things. I am leaning toward the Holley Sniper kit, but wasn’t sure if anything else was needed. Here are a few questions for you guys....

1. Is the kit sufficient? Is there anything I am missing that I would need in addition to the kit?

2. Has anyone had issues with fuel slosh? If so did you go with something like the g surge? I noticed fitech offers a kit with the g surge as well.

3. Regarding the return line, I noticed Holley said that you could put it in the neck, but also noticed they recommended having a hose sent to the bottom of the tank to prevent aeration. A bit of a contradiction. What are your suggestions?


I am sure many of these suggestions are based on ALL vehicles, so I was looking to you guys to tell me your experiences, Chevelle specific. Are these issues that you have seen with Chevelles (specifically 67’) and what is the best route to make sure I don’t have these issues.

Don’t mind going new tank if that solves all issues, but I just had the original tank replaced 2 yrs back and if it isn’t needed, I’d avoid it.

Thanks!

Do yourself a favor and get the EFI ready tank. I got the Tanks Inc tank along with the basic Sniper. It will only cost about $200 more and makes for a cleaner and easier install. Got the Sniper and all the necessary fittings, return hose and filter from https://www.efisystempro.com/

Found a good deal on the Tanks Inc tank on ebay and was all in for $1600.

Just make sure you mount the vent for the tank above the tank. I mounted mine just above the filler neck behind the bumper
 
#8 ·
I would also say that I wish I had just gone with an EFI tank from the get-go on my sniper. Had a long chase of a starvation issue that I misdiagnosed for a while as tuning, etc. Ended up with a stock tank with a McRobb 1/2" fuel pickup and a hydramat. Still probably going to update to an EFI tank in the near future. I've seen a Tanks Inc tank in person and they are quite nice.
 
#10 ·
Build PTFE fuel lines. Rubber EFI hose works, is cheap, and super easy to work with, but eventually off gases fuel vapor. PTFE is rated at 1600psi, is considerably stronger, never stinks, and is not that difficult to work with.

In-line pumps work fine if you buy the right pump, and have the right vehicle to get the pump low and close to the fuel out from the sender unit on a stock tank. Sedans with low fuel tanks in the chassis with no clearance around them are not the right vehicle.

My return goes into the filler tube, but the filler tube is not low and on the rear of the tank. It is on the side of the vehicle and high.

FiTech is no longer associated with HyperFuel products. I would avoid anything fuel pump related from FiTech anyway.

Essentially... One more check box for spending the money on an EFI tank. It'll solve all your concerns.
 
#11 ·
Funny, what I read on this internet goes against what I SEE at car cruises. People have nothing but trouble with those Retro fuel injection systems from what I see. Almost every big cruise I see the flat bed because of a FI issue. Another one is the Retro roller set ups going south..
I live in Pittsburgh which is one of the gear head capitals of the east.. We have dozens of very good garages and mechanics here.. However, this could all be due to owner/ installer error..
 
#12 ·
Just a W.A.G. most EFI install issues are electrical issues, agreed? You go from 1 wire for ignition to about a dozen. Most of that is all new wiring, lots of places for errors, or quality connection issues.
As for fuel, go with the most stock setup you can, proven, dependable, replaceable.
 
#13 ·
I installed a rather complicated fuel injection system and a proper fuel injection fueling system and I haven't had any problems. I've gone on long drives and not once needed a flatbed. The system has yet to fail me-and I don't expect it to.

Of course, proper electrical practices and carefully reading and following the maker's instructions are required. And yes, from what I see (I follow the Fitech and Holley pages on Facebook) most problems are caused by installer errors or not following the instructions.

A proper fuel injection fuel system, with pump in tank, is pretty much required to ensure reliability and drive-ability for any fuel injection system.
 
#14 ·
Actually I don't like the FiTech I installed for one reason. I installed it, looking forward to having the in car display, and tuning it a bit. The only thing I learned from it is I never wind my ZZ4 up that high. I removed my extra gauges for A/C underdash, and the FiTech handheld covers temp and volts, and tach, but not Oil Pressure, and I never worry about that anyway, still have a light. I don't think I have driven the car with the in car display more than 5% of the time. I drive it like a modern car now, fire it up, put it in gear and go, almost makes the El Camino a bit boring in a good way. There is a couple little things that I want to try to tune out and make it perfect, but out of the box, it is already pretty dang good.
 
#16 ·
the FiTech handheld covers temp and volts, and tach, but not Oil Pressure.

The Holley EFI system has a provision for oil pressure to be displayed on the handheld but (my opinion) the handheld touch pads from either maker is too small to rely on for oil, temp, tach, volts, RPM, AFR, etc for everyday driving. It's not designed to replace a standard group of gauges.


and I never worry about that anyway, still have a light.

You really need a proper gauge, a light comes on when you're down to like 5PSI. With a gauge, you can see when pressure is getting lower as a problem starts occurring.


Have you considered the system from Digital Dakota? It can be setup to display a wealth of information, there are pressure, vacuum, volts, amps, temp, GPS and more that can be added to it.



but out of the box, it is already pretty dang good.

That's good to hear about Fitech. There have been plenty complaints but many more people have few to zero issues. I would be one of them.
 
#15 ·
I just installed the Sniper master kit on my '69 3 weeks ago.
Everything came with the kit that I needed. There is room to mount the fuel pump in the frame rail so no issues with that.
There were a couple issues that I had and I was able to speak with Holley techs who helped me with them. I have not had any starvation issues with my mild 454. I'm using a new stock style tank with a return line. everything is 3/8 hose.
So far I'm more than happy with the system, it is still "learning", I have about 150 miles on it so far.
It is plug and play, however, you can use a laptop and their software to do a more custom tune if you desire.

Hope this helps, Shaun
 
#17 ·
I'm all for leaving the factory warning lights hooked up. It really doesn't hurt anything or cost much and it could save you. Temp can be more difficult since to work well they have to be in the stream, you can't just use a T and older engines often have a limited number of places to stick sensors. Oil for sure I would always keep the light because all it takes is a T if you are adding a gauge too.

The current gauge setup I have uses a metal temp sensor you put under a bolt on the tstat housing. It reads pretty close to what the EFI coolant sensor reads a couple inches away. One good thing about the metal temp is it works if there is no coolant. Coolant sensors only give a accurate reading if they have coolant around them and being that they are usually mounted near the top of the system they are usually the first place to get uncovered so you could end up with a false reading if you are loosing coolant somewhere.

The gauge I am using is: Digi-Panel Home It wasn't super cheap compared to other options but I really like it I have had mine for several years now and love it. Not sure if things have changed but when I got mine it seemed like it could be a one likely mature man show. No fancy order online sort of thing. Call on the phone and mail a check sort of operation and sometimes he is backed up but usually tells you that in advance. Mine is the 3 gauge version and has the emergency cut off relay. I didn't really want that feature but that is what he had in stock and gave me a slight discount on it so its there if I ever decide to use it for anything. Apparently it was designed for RV applications where I suppose you were running the engine unattended as a generator or heater so you would want it to shut off if it lost oil, voltage, or temp.

A story, skip it if you don't like stories, there isn't anything else after the story:

I had mechanical gauges (and no lights hooked up) in my car when at 1000 miles on a fresh fairly expensive rebuild I lost oil pressure. I only noticed because I think the lifters collapsed and I lost enough power I could not maintain interstate highway speed and when I let off the gas it stalled. At the time I didn't notice the lack of oil pressure I just knew that the engine was no longer running and I was in the left (of 2) lanes with moderate traffic and the only exit for several miles exit rapidly approaching. Lucky for me it was a rest stop with a slight downhill so I was able to coast into a parking spot.

At the time I was running a Megasquirt system which is a DIY computer that you can configure to work with just about any imaginable parts you can kludge together so I figured it was most likely something I did wrong or maybe a hardware failure since its all open source DIY stuff, not exactly 'big 3' engineered and tested. I may have had a laptop with me since the system was still fairly new so I likely set that up to look for computer issues.

Nothing looked obvious so I tried to start it and it cranked a little longer than usual but started. Sounded a bit strange but not horrible. Was about 30 seconds of scanning all available data on the laptop and then gauges that I saw no oil pressure. Turned out the idler gear in the oil pump sized onto its shaft. Didn't have to have any machine work done but did have to replace crank and rod bearings which had more than quadrupled in price between when I had bought them at the start of the engine rebuild process and this failure. Could have been worse but I also wonder if it could have been better if I had the light that would have made me look at the gauge right away rather than scanning everything.
 
#18 ·
Having just done a Super Sniper conversion on a blow thru boosted setup this past winter, my advice is don't take ANY shortcuts. That includes fuel system, alternator, ignition and especially wiring.

It is amazing what you can get away with for wiring with a carb and have no issues at all. Not the case with EFI. I think the Sniper is more sensitive than remote ECU set ups like the HP and Dominator EFI systems.
 
#19 ·
My original EFI system had an inline pump and it didn't really cause me any major issues but.....

-it was a TBI so only running at 13psi. Low pressure TBI is less sensitive to pressure and air than MPI and I suspect primes easier.

-my pump was mounted to the side of the tank just below where the sender hard lines came off the top. The centerline of the pump was maybe 1/4" below the bottom of the tank so maybe 8" of hose between the sender and pump. Only thing that could be more ideal about that setup is if I had a tank that had the sender at the bottom.

Even with those things in my favor which I think were both significant I did have times taking a hard wide left that I got a stumble if I was below 1/2 a tank. Stalled one time on a cloverleaf freeway ramp but it did restart when I got to the bottom. With a carb and mechanical pump you have the buffer of the bowl and a pump that is actually pretty good at pumping air not to mention the bowl that has a vent so it easily burps out any air that came along without missing a beat.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top