350 vortec swap

[Hoosierlong90]

Hey yall,
Just purchased a new dressed 350 96-2000 vortec. I am putting it in a 94 K1500 that originally has 350 tbi. I want to keep the tbi and make this as simple as I can keeping all the gauges and 4l60 working. Vortec fuel pump has already been installed. I know I can either keep the carb intake and get an adaptor carb to tbi or buy the gm performance intake. My question is which one would you recommend? Also I plan to delete egr and have a custom tune and electric fan.
Also what advise do I need when doing this particular swap. Any insight is well appreciated
Thanks guys!

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[Erik the Awful]

A $40 carb adapter versus a $540 intake? The $540 intake is really only an option if you need EGR and don't like to fabricate anything. That $500 gets you halfway to swapping on a Sniper.

 

[98 Nitro]

Go with the adapter or personally I think leave it as it is and keep the QFT carb and make more power.
Of course your tranny will not last long.

 

[Hoosierlong90]

Go with the adapter or personally I think leave it as it is and keep the QFT carb and make more power.
Of course your tranny will not last long.

I didn't buy the carb. I just didn't want the headache of making everything work with it. I bought everything else with it, intake, headers, serpentine kit, block is jegs L31 . The 4l60 thats in the truck is 15k rebuilt as it is.
Another question?
Do I use the same type distributor that's on the stock tbi?

Thanks for the input!

 

[Hoosierlong90]

A $40 carb adapter versus a $540 intake? The $540 intake is really only an option if you need EGR and don't like to fabricate anything. That $500 gets you halfway to swapping on a Sniper.

Yeah I'm siding with the adaptor more and more.
So keeping the carb intake, i have to make the throttle bracket, and coil mounting bracket? Is that right?
Thanks!

 

[98 Nitro]

Use the Tbi distributor but make sure you have the drive gear for a roller cam .

 

[Erik the Awful]

I used my coil bracket as is. I hacked my throttle bracket up quite a bit to get it to work, but it's going to depend on the manifold. The TBI stuff on the right side of the intake I originally bolted to the valve cover, but as soon as I went Sniper I ditched it. My PCV is teed between the valve covers to the front of the throttle body and the brake booster tube got bent to meet the port at the back of the manifold.

 

[Hoosierlong90]

I used my coil bracket as is. I hacked my throttle bracket up quite a bit to get it to work, but it's going to depend on the manifold. The TBI stuff on the right side of the intake I originally bolted to the valve cover, but as soon as I went Sniper I ditched it. My PCV is teed between the valve covers to the front of the throttle body and the brake booster tube got bent to meet the port at the back of the manifold.

How do you like the sniper?
Easier to tune with more throttle response?
Manifold is a edelbrock performer. I believe I will go with the adaptor after all. Seems pretty straight forward on the swap. I might swap in a RV cam before the swap.

Again, thanks for the feedback!

 

[Erik the Awful]

I like it, but there are caveats:

1) This truck has been a complete turd. Once I got the Sniper running right the transmission burned up. TV cable issues were certainly a part of it, but I think the transmission already had trouble. Getting your TV cable aligned and adjusted correctly is critical - but you're gonna go down that path no matter what fuel system you use.

2) The Sniper, or any self-learning system, is VERY sensitive to vacuum or exhaust leaks. I was very careful about intake sealing and vacuum leaks, but exhaust leaks at the headers were causing backfires. Once I fixed that the truck cleared up with one lap of the neighborhood.

3) The connector for the Sniper's control/display has to go through the firewall, but the grommet has to seal around the much smaller cable. I broke the connector, but managed to salvage it. I used a windshield washer pass-through with a short piece of hose slotted to fit the cable inside. I passed it through next to the convenience center 'fuse box'.

4) The throttle position/idle air control setup is a little tricky, but the following link has a great procedure for setting it. https://www.efisystempro.com/efi-pro-hangout/holley-sniper-installation-startup-troubleshooting

Once everything was done it fired up and self-learned as advertised. I'm impressed. I have a spare small-cap HEI (TBI distributor) with no module that I'm going to swap in so the Holley can control the timing. I also have an electric fan wired up through a relay and the Holley controls it.

 

[Hoosierlong90]

So was it worth it?
Can the sniper work with the 4l60?
Plug and play sounds great! So did you have to add a return fuel line for it too?
I'm not trying to bombard you with questions, it's just nice to hear from someone that's done it.
Starting out I'm just going to get a tune for the stock tbi and run it, see if I like it.
Thanks again Erik!