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FEATURE INTERVIEWS:

Shane Weckerly – Holley Technical and Service VP:

This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Shane Weckerly, the Technical and Customer Service Vice President at Holley in Bowling Green Kentucky. Shane has been on the show before, way back on Episode #166 where we discussed the five steps needed to swap a modern GM engine (LS) into a classic muscle car. I figured it was high time for an update and needed to get him back on the show.

Shane grew up in Arizona and dreamed of owning his own hot rod shop. He learned how to do machining and worked for a few places learning the ropes but eventually got “tricked” into working at the So-Cal Speed Shop. Shane worked there for many years until Holley bought the shop and he moved to Kentucky where he now keeps his family and a collection of cars, tractors, motorcycles, and a semi truck.

Shane has been very active over the last decade since we talked and has moved around at Holley a little bit but always has a passion for helping people find solutions to their installation and technical issues. The tech service line at Holley gets a lot of interaction with its customers especially with the fuel injection line of products and it is not because of bad products, but due to it being a very big task. It is very hard to troubleshoot a complicated electronic system over the phone and it is doubly so when you finally have to identify that the installer just disassembled the OEM harnesses to install the new system. Many times the person has gone over the install multiple times and it takes a patient technical assistance agent to get them to slow down and review each and every basic connection in order to find the one thing that has been overlooked. Simple things like not attaching direct to a battery ground will cause tremendous problems even though the connection looks perfectly good going to a different location.

Holley utilizes the information gathered from the Tech Line to make updates to the product line and release new improved versions. Recently they released the Sniper 2 which features many improvements over the previous model. The new Sniper 2 utilizes a Power Distribution Module (PDM) that many option can be connected through and forces the installer to connect to a good power and ground for the best experience. Shane also pointed out the upgraded shielding from electrical interference. The engine compartment is a bad place for spurious emissions from distributors, spark plugs, bad wires, alternators, and various other electrical noise offenders that can interfere with sensitive electronics like in a fuel injection system. Other changes are more subtle like the throttle linkage that makes for a smoother throttle action. He also pointed out that fuel injection will definitely help smooth out an engine and helps in many situations where a carburetor just can not handle it. EFI is very tunable and a good tuner technician can dial in the system to make it start and run great.

Holley has various technical assistance locations to handle each business groups own special features. For example Baer brakes handles calls for brakes and are very specialized in braking solutions. Holley EFI is your source for fuel injection information and they can get you up and running with your new fuel injection systems. You can find all of the numerous Holley brands at Holley.com and get all of the information you need. You can also check out YouTube.com/@HolleyPerformance for entertaining videos that will teach and inform about many Holley products.

Thanks for the interview, Shane – See you at Moparty!

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This interview sponsored by our pals at National Parts Depot – your premier source for muscle car restoration parts!