This is how the pros do really...
This is how the pros do really tough engine swaps--with a completely stripped engine compartment. Imagine how much easier it is to measure and make brackets and things without bodywork in the way. On the other hand, this is obviously a huge amount of work and thus not desirable for simpler swaps.
Coyote 5.0
Ford Racing is pushing the Coyote as a crate and swap engine, and with its introduction of the M-6017-A504V Control Pack for the Coyote/manual trans combination, the swap future of this exciting new engine is guaranteed. With minimal tuning, it offers well over 400 super-smooth horsepower, great fuel mileage, light weight, and new-engine coolness.
At the moment there isn’t much knowledge of the Coyote as a swap motor because it’s so new. We’ve seen a Fox installation that seems to have gone well, and with the aftermarket tooling up headers and other supporting pieces, we believe the Coyote will offer the most sophisticated, newest design engine in a real-world install package for all S197 and earlier Mustangs. It won’t be as inexpensive as pushrod power, but it will require far less coin than a Terminator 4.6 or GT500 5.4, and offer no-excuses power potential.
Technical hard points center around the Coyote’s involved electronics and electric power steering. FRPP’s $1,500 Control Pack answers the electronic issues, and KRC Power Steering is working on an add-on hydraulic power steering pump. BBK already has a long-tube swap header for Foxes with a matching X-pipe, extra wideband O2 sensor bungs, and you choice of cats or off-road configuration, plus High Flow Fuel Systems has return and returnless fuel systems to suit.
Early interest in putting a 5.0 in a 5.0 has given us our first Coyote/Fox hybrid. The news is that the Four-Valve Coyote 5.0 fits without cutting anything, and because the ’96-’04 4.6 engine mounts are a bolt-on, Maximum Motorsports 4.6 Fox swap K-member is the way to go. Bellhousing bolt pattern matches the 4.6/5.4, so the usual transmissions are a bolt-up proposition, and overall engine length is essentially the same as a 4.6, so we don’t foresee issues in the SN-95 or New Edge engine compartments.
GT500 5.4
Some folks we talked to described this as a nightmare swap when discussing shoehorning the tall and wide 5.4 into a pre-S197 Mustang. It’s inches taller and wider than anything else, including a 460. Engine size isn’t the only issue, as the weight of the earlier iron-blocks is a concern, both its mass and high placement. Of course, if you’re moving it into an early car, a GT500 requires endless fabrication to accommodate its numerous accessory systems, such intercooler pumps, and charge cooling water radiators, as well as fitting Hydraboost braking (or going manual), plus adding the necessary strengthening in a Fox, SN-95, or New Edge. Naturally, FRPP has a Control Pack, which greatly simplifies the wiring of the engine controls in an earlier car.
Of course, that’s if you are going back to a Fox like our Fox 500 project. Moving a GT500 5.4 into an S197 is a far less daunting task. With a proper donor car, you can swap the engine, trans, and wiring straight over with only a few wiring quirks. In fact, one of our feature cars in this month’s issue, owned by Alex Pappas, was converted from a Three-Valve to a GT500 5.4 in an incredible five days by an experienced swapper. 5.0
Unless you’re pinching every...
Unless you’re pinching every last penny, do yourself a favor and use a Maximum Motorsports engine-swap K-member. This will provide you with the correct engine mount and suspension locations, and give far better header and starter motor clearance, not to mention saving many pounds of weight and correcting the suspension geometry when lowering the car.
Three years ago when Roush...
Three years ago when Roush debuted this experimental engine in a race Mustang, no one knew it was a prototype 6.2-liter V-8 destined for the SVT Raptor and F-250 trucks. With no electronic, exhaust, or small parts support, this would definitely be a tough swap, but the big displacement, great flowing cylinder heads, and stable valvetrain promise major power. This would be would an exotic attention-getter at the strip or cruise scene.
A big reason the Three-Valve...
A big reason the Three-Valve engine is a good swap motor is it clears standard vacuum-powered brake boosters. That’s definitely not true of Four-Valve modular’s going into Foxes. Fitting a Hydroboost master cylinder assembly from an SN-95 or later is the answer.