Engine Dilemma

Bananaman said:

Hey all, new to the site. Looking for your thoughts. I have access to a very low mileage 5.4 out of a 2013 Expedition for the right price. I have a 66 coupe with a 289 4 spd doing a restomod. Thought is to swap in the 5.4 instead of doing up the 289. I know its quite a bit of work but might be pretty cool and the "perks" of a newer driveline cant be snuffed at. Wondering if anyone has done a swap like this?

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If they aren't paying YOU to take a 5.4 3v engine, then it's not the right price. Those engines are junk, which is why the trucks that have them have such low resale value.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcN_WcGr4BU


Now, I don't just say this because I watched some YouTube video, I say it because I've worked on the things, for a Ford dealership, Car Wizard's video just saves me a lot of typing.

Even if it wasn't junk, you'd need to do major surgery to make it fit. For an early Mustang like yours, making a modular, coyote, or big-block engine fit means cutting the shock towers out of the car and putting a Mustang II-style IFS under it.

If you have your heart set on something more modern, look into a 4.6 or 5.4 4V engine, or a 5.0 from an Explorer. The 4V modular engines will still require cutting out the shock towers and putting in an IFS, but are far more reliable than the 3V you're looking at, and thanks to the arrival of the Coyote engines, have become dirt cheap (I picked up my 4.6 4v long-block from a Lincoln Mark VIII for $200). The 5.0 from a 95-2000 Explorer will bolt right into your engine bay with no issues, and you can keep the EFI and distributorless ignition. You can even make it easier on yourself and run it with a Megasquirt ECU and not have to deal with having the Ford unit modified to eliminate PATS.