Ford's 450HP 7.3L 'Godzilla' V8 | Inside Info & Spy Pics | Where's the Direct Injection?

Ford's 450HP 7.3L 'Godzilla' V8 | Inside Info & Spy Pics | Where's the Direct Injection?
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It's safe to say that there's some excitement around the release of Ford's New 7.3L Godzilla V8 Engine. Let's face it, no one really expected to see a brand new pushrod V8 engine design from Ford Motor Company in 2019. We here at SVTP did our best to bring you the insider info we uncovered during the 7.X's development, and now that it is here we can share with you some of the "behind-the-scenes" materials we were able to dig up and some HP numbers we keep hearing batted around.

Here are our previous articles on the 7.3L if you want to review the story's development:

So to not bury the lead, we've heard from several sources that the internal goal for the 7.3L Godzilla engine is 450HP. It may come in a little higher or lower, but that seems to be the figure Ford engineers were initially shooting for. No word yet on a torque figure, but my guess is somewhere around 500lbft. One thing is for certain, big power is going to be made on the low-end of the RPM range. For the current applications the 7.3L is slated for, stump-pulling grunt always on tap is a standing order.


Another good bit of information is that the lead on this engine program was Brian Wolfe. If that name sounds familiar it's probably because Wolfe is an avid drag racer, and was the Director of Ford Racing during its glory days. His name still carries a lot of weight with those who are working hard to unleash maximum performance from all things Blue Oval related. He was known to be extremely accessible, so much so that he happily took a phone call from me in 2004 to discuss the Terminator and SVTP. I was only about 21 then, but he took the time out of his day to talk cars with someone he had never met that just happened to get his number from a mutual friend. That's just the kind of guy he is. I can't disclose all the features of the 7.3 over which he personally bludgeoned the bean counters to make sure they stayed in the program, but in a future installment we'll cover them. You're going to see a lot of the knowledge and experience Wolfe gained from Pro-Stock Drag Racing transferred into the DNA of the 7.3L.


Speaking of DNA, we have healthy looking iron block, some ridiculously gorgeous aluminum heads, and a forged crank. I can see this engine becoming a more popular swap option than the 5.0 Coyote V8 in the next few years (if FPRP cranks out a control pack for it). You may be asking yourself, "What happened to SVTP's predictions of Direct Injection." All I can say is that the engine was developed with the addition of direct injection in mind. It could be that it's being held back for a future program or a mid-cycle power increase. With dual-fuel systems and 12:1 compression you're easily looking at a 500+ Horsepower engine. We'll get into that more bellow as we review some spy pics for which many Bothans died to bring us.


Ford, especially the performance side, listens to their customers. If you want to see this engine design in more than just trucks you really need to make your voice heard. If I can point them to a 50+ page thread of current Ford owners saying they want this engine in a Mustang there's a chance we can make that happen. I'll take mine with an aluminum block, a destroked crank, in Grabber Blue, with the name Boss 429 emblazoned on the side. What about you? For now, let's do a deep dive into the details and pics:

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Let's start off with this little crop of the head. As you can see here, the port for a Direct Fuel Injector has been machined above the intake port.


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Here's a little bigger view in which you can see the intake port, spring pockets, guides, and pushrod through-holes. Also take notice of the extensive ribbing cast in for extra strength and the pedestal mounts for the roller rockers.


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Here you can see the wide based mounting surface, spark plug holes with a generous number of threads, and the exhaust port.


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Speaking of ports, check out these intake ports.


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They are a wide-mouthed design that are undoubtedly capable of massive flow right out of the box.

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I mean just look at this port. Imagine what these will flow with a little port work from @Livernois Motorsports.

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Remember us saying the combustion chamber held massive valves and had a similar shape to a Dart Pro1 head? Well here it is. Notice the pocket cast into the top for a DI injector. It doesn't look like coolant flow or oil drain-back will be an issue either.


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It all adds up to a new Ford Engine that performance enthusiasts can really get excited about. I want to see Godzilla swaps in everything.
 
kinda disappointed, that is a only 18lb-ft more than the current archaic 3v triton v10 and only 11lb-ft more than the new GM 6.6L.

But im sure its heavily detuned for a high service life in heavy applications. Give and take i guess..
 
430hp 475 ftlbs


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Way lower than i expected in tq. I was hoping for a min of 525tq

The other issue is that the 475tq is all the way at 4000rpm. But it at least it makes 400tq at 1500rpm.
 
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I'm sure this thing is detuned, they just needed to make more power then the competition for now. It will get turned up over time as pressure increases from the compitition and as a incentive to upgrade in the future. I bet it's 450hp 500+tq within a few yrs. It will be fun to see what kind of gains a 5 star tune will give it.
 
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The chassis cab and f550/600/650/750 gets the detuned 350hp/468lb/ft of torque. By comparison the 6.7 powerstroke in the chassis cab(2019) is rated at 330hp/750lb/ft torque. Just an fyi.
 
I can understand the reasoning behind keeping the power rating low. This is going to be an extremely high-mileage capable, high reliability power rating.

Looks like as an overall package, they are going to use the gear ratios in the 10-speed transmission to get the pulling power needed rather than rely on brute engine power alone.

Id say there is an easy 150/150 left in this as shipped from the factory. Probably a VERY conservative tune.
 
Sid, are any of the super duty 10r parts fit in the the mustang/f150 10r? That video shows a huge planetary gear vs f150. Is the case dimension the same?

It would be fantastic to get one from a junk yard for people wanting to upgrade.
 
i like how the engineering manager admitted that they were basically wrong all this time about smaller engines being more efficient. LOL

Ford sang that sung for over 20yrs and now are basically admitting that GM and Dodge philosophy of larger, simpler 2v ohv engines was the correct one. Thats some major crow.
 
Id say there is an easy 150/150 left in this as shipped from the factory. Probably a VERY conservative tune.

no way in hell does it have 150hp in it just by tuning. Unless you're referring to an all out NA build with ported heads, higher compression, performance manifold, long tubes and a lumpy cam.
 
i like how the engineering manager admitted that they were basically wrong all this time about smaller engines being more efficient. LOL

Ford sang that sung for over 20yrs and now are basically admitting that GM and Dodge philosophy of larger, simpler 2v ohv engines was the correct one. Thats some major crow.

+1

I was waiting for him to thank those two lol.
 
i like how the engineering manager admitted that they were basically wrong all this time about smaller engines being more efficient. LOL

Ford sang that sung for over 20yrs and now are basically admitting that GM and Dodge philosophy of larger, simpler 2v ohv engines was the correct one. Thats some major crow.

Well in the heavy duty trucks that aren't as effective by the mpg rules they should have made this motor a while ago.
 
Sorry, underwhelmed

A totally irrelevant comparison on how badass the old Ram 8.0L V10 was. 450 lbs of twist at only 2400 rpm. About 7 mpg though....ouch

did all those trucks just die and rust to nothing in salvage yards or something? I can't remember the last time seeing a magnum v10 ram on the road. I see big block vortec chevys and v10 fords almost daily.
 

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