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?
Engine Dilemma
- Thread starter Bananaman
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do I need to lube this area?
no first hand experience, but i can tell you what i know.
1. you'll fight to make it fit. the 66 cars are pretty small up front and wouldprobably require a ton of mods to work. if i were to m od one to fit an engine i would want a new 5.0.
2. you'll have a complicated wiring swap or an expensive carb swap.
frankly i think you can put the money to use in better ways and get better power and performance.
1. you'll fight to make it fit. the 66 cars are pretty small up front and wouldprobably require a ton of mods to work. if i were to m od one to fit an engine i would want a new 5.0.
2. you'll have a complicated wiring swap or an expensive carb swap.
frankly i think you can put the money to use in better ways and get better power and performance.
- Mar 7, 2002
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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.
wicked93gs
15 Year Member
Its not worth the work. I say that as someone who has swapped in a 4.6L 4v DOHC. The power gains simply do not make it worth it. If you aren't getting north of 400HP(unmodified) there is no reason to cut out your shock towers. A 289/302 with some heads, headers, a good cam and a maybe a few other minor mods will make just as much power, be lighter, not require surgery, and will be far simpler.
P.S. I just saw 2013 there...but those 5.4L 3 valve engines I would stay away from...hell, I would stay away from the 3v 4.6L engines as well...Ford when BACKWARD in the effort to create those engines. These days, the only Ford engine I would still cut my shock towers for is a 5.2L Voodoo...nothing else.
P.S. I just saw 2013 there...but those 5.4L 3 valve engines I would stay away from...hell, I would stay away from the 3v 4.6L engines as well...Ford when BACKWARD in the effort to create those engines. These days, the only Ford engine I would still cut my shock towers for is a 5.2L Voodoo...nothing else.
- Mar 7, 2002
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I'll disagree with you on the Voodoo being the only engine worth it, but I strongly agree with your points on the 3v engines. They may have been a step forward in technology, but they were a quantum leap backward in reliability.
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