Who will swap for the new 7.3 V8!

[millhouse]

I'd take the word of a very senior engineer who owns the design of the engine over a communications guy.

I can't disagree with that.

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[Norm Peterson]

As for the current 5.0, it absolutely IS a truck engine tweaked for small car duty. Again, it would not exist if not for the F150.

Not by direct intention - it's more about Ford's abandonment of RWD sedans some years ago.

The modular engine series was originally a car engine, car as in sedan. Trucks borrowed it somewhat later, but that doesn't make anything in the modular line a truck engine by design. Hell, DOHC and the implied high-revving capability in gasoline engines is anything but trucklike in nature.


Yeah, I get that somewhere, somebody will assemble just about any combination of vehicle and engine. There's even SBC-powered motorcycles.


Norm

 

[Fatguy]

I can't disagree with that.

I can.

In journalism you can’t just rely on one source and it is only one. Not even hotrod.com that looked into an aftermarket swap could see a problem. He is a manager first and Ford is not putting it in the Mustang, so I get all his comments are negative on the idea. BTW: He is the only one that said this and all the others said it fit. But even he said it was possible, but that you would have to alter part of the firewall. We are talking a few inches here. Not 6” or 12”. So it is not a deal breaker by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[tokuzumi]

Why stop at a small block powered motorcycle? How about a viper v10 motorcycle?

 

[BmacIL]

We are talking a few inches here. Not 6” or 12”. So it is not a deal breaker by any stretch of the imagination.

These statements shows substantial ignorance with respect to vehicle packaging. This isn't a '70s land yacht with two feet around the engine anymore, buddy. These engines fit very tightly. Try working on one with a V8 and you'll realize that.

 

[tokuzumi]

But even he said it was possible, but that you would have to alter part of the firewall. We are talking a few inches here. Not 6” or 12”. So it is not a deal breaker by any stretch of the imagination.

Altering the firewall is not a trivial task. What would need to be reshaped to be put back in the car? If the engine has to slide back, the transmission needs to be moved rearward also. New transmission crossmember. That means a new shifter location (assuming the shifter is physically connected to the trans, and not an electronic switch), which means the existing console either needs to be tossed, or hacked up to accommodate the new shifter location. Shorter driveshaft (probably the easiest part). Also, what's hidden in the dash in those "few inches" that would need to be used for engine placement that would need to either be removed, or re-engineered to make work elsewhere in the car? While the majority of that would be blower motors and HVAC plumbing, heater core, and lots of wiring, under the dash tends to be a catch-all for stuff the engineers want to hide.

 

[Laststandard]

These statements shows substantial ignorance with respect to vehicle packaging. This isn't a '70s land yacht with two feet around the engine anymore, buddy. These engines fit very tightly. Try working on one with a V8 and you'll realize that.

C'mon, it'll drop right in. Then they'll plug all electronics in and it'll fire right up! Easy peasy

 

[TexasRebel]

People like the unusual, and that is going to be about as unusual as it will get in an S550.

People like things that are clean and operational.

 

[Fatguy]

Altering the firewall is not a trivial task. What would need to be reshaped to be put back in the car? If the engine has to slide back, the transmission needs to be moved rearward also. New transmission crossmember. That means a new shifter location (assuming the shifter is physically connected to the trans, and not an electronic switch), which means the existing console either needs to be tossed, or hacked up to accommodate the new shifter location. Shorter driveshaft (probably the easiest part). Also, what's hidden in the dash in those "few inches" that would need to be used for engine placement that would need to either be removed, or re-engineered to make work elsewhere in the car? While the majority of that would be blower motors and HVAC plumbing, heater core, and lots of wiring, under the dash tends to be a catch-all for stuff the engineers want to hide.

The A10 bolts up to the Mustang as usual and rather than deal with the fire wall you push into the grill. 1-2.5” should be doable. I put photos of both engines on top of each other and there are no strange flanges and such that should get in the way.


The real problem is the oil pan and electronics.

 

[Big Boss]

The A10 bolts up to the Mustang as usual and rather than deal with the fire wall you push into the grill. 1-2.5” should be doable. I put photos of both engines on top of each other and there are no strange flanges and such that should get in the way.


The real problem is the oil pan and electronics.

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but if you were to move the engine forward, then you would be cramming it into the radiator and messing with the cooling system

 

[BmacIL]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but if you were to move the engine forward, then you would be cramming it into the radiator and messing with the cooling system

You're not wrong. There is very little room between the FEAD and radiator fans.

 

[Fatguy]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but if you were to move the engine forward, then you would be cramming it into the radiator and messing with the cooling system

Easier than the alternatives.


Other idea was to run the stock Superduty ECU for the powertrain and the stock V6 ECU for the rest.

 

[Big Boss]

You're not wrong. There is very little room between the FEAD and radiator fans.

So the only way to make it fit then would be to bust out the sawzall and get into the firewall

 

[WildHorse]

Forget about the 7.3 for a moment, just say they came out with a high horsepower big block pushrod motor - what would you choose?

A coyote that'll rev all day long. But seems to me your in the wrong car. You need a 73 Mustang. Then go find yourself a 335 horsepower 428 Super Cobra Jet to stick in it. Put some 4.30 gears and enjoy your 107 mph top end.

 

[Maggneto]

I'd take the word of a very senior engineer who owns the design of the engine over a communications guy.

The communications team at Ford doesn't know shit from shinola. They have been printing the new EB/HPP has updated brakes borrowed from the base GT, but all 15-19 EB/PP have updated brakes borrowed from the base GT.

They have also stated that the new EB/HPP has 53/47 weight distribution (same as the GT) but actually has 52/48 distribution, same as 15-19 EB.

Let's assume the 7.3 will drop right into the Mustang engine compartment, what is the end result? A 70k Mustang that handles like shit, and slower than an Ecoboost Mustang. On the positive side,.you can tow 15k pounds.

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