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.
 
I doubt they go back to an iron block in any mustang...if it happens I would think they produce a destroked aluminum 7.0L...fingers crossed though, would love nothing more than to see a Ford Pushrod motor back in a mustang
 
I would be surprised if this engine ends up in anything where gas mileage is disclosed.

A boss 429 with an aluminum 7.0L version of the motor with Direct Injection added, spec the mustangs with 3.08 rear, and the Tremec 6070 7 speed with the 0.42 7th gear and they could prob get ~25mpg Highway
 
A boss 429 with an aluminum 7.0L version of the motor with Direct Injection added, spec the mustangs with 3.08 rear, and the Tremec 6070 7 speed with the 0.42 7th gear and they could prob get ~25mpg Highway

That’s a big maybe, and now we are basically talking about a completely different engine than what was just announced.

Just don’t ever seeing that happening. This looks like a pure HD truck engine.
 
That’s a big maybe, and now we are basically talking about a completely different engine than what was just announced.

Just don’t ever seeing that happening. This looks like a pure HD truck engine.

I agree with you, in it’s current configuration I highly doubt Ford ever puts this into a mustang
 
Who knows, it would be nice to see Ford respond to the "Hellaphant" with a Boss 429 or a 427 Cobra Jet, but, just pipe dreaming over here...then again, "Godzilla" does sound like it would stomp the crap out of an "Hellaphant" lol
 
I think ford would build an aluminum version if the demand existed. Is there enough money in an aluminum version of this v8? Can it fit in a GT chassis and be worked into a detomosa pantera of sorts?

The business case is next to zero unless we get a few mustangs with this mill.

Now show that a new generation of ibc 7-8k rpm v8’s can replace the mod mills and save money/make easier power, last longer, well business would be business. Chevy/Camaro and dodge are selling fine with pushrods.

I see how they could switch to aluminum 5.8 for gt’s to 390’s for bullitts and mach1’s to to 7.1’s and 7.0L ibc ohv’s for cobrajets and gt500’s but again this is pretty hard to pitch in a business board room. We’re talking complete architecture switch
 
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It would be a very interesting decision 25+ years later for ford to change from modular 4v architecture to ibc ohv’s. I think the overall performance and cost would be better but the perception and so on would be a tough one.

Thing is v8 guys get it, and that’s really all that it comes down to.

The buyer of the car would be fine with more power, torque, and the same mpg if it could still hit 7k rpm and worked fine.

Like I said, dodge and gm aren’t having problems selling cars because of pushrods. Dodge is past Chevy now and creeping up on the mustang.

There’s much more margin in a push rod engine, and let’s be honest, there isn’t much meat left in the 4v vs ohv argument because ohv’s are attaining ge 400-800hp. From there efficiency, weight and reliability come into play.

Ford whittled the 5.2 voodoo mill to a lower weight than the 4.5L Ferrari mill. Take that level of dedication to push rod mills and you’ll see sub 400lbs 6L v8’s.
 
It would be a very interesting decision 25+ years later for ford to change from modular 4v architecture to ibc ohv’s. I think the overall performance and cost would be better but the perception and so on would be a tough one.

Thing is v8 guys get it, and that’s really all that it comes down to.

The buyer of the car would be fine with more power, torque, and the same mpg if it could still hit 7k rpm and worked fine.

Like I said, dodge and gm aren’t having problems selling cars because of pushrods. Dodge is past Chevy now and creeping up on the mustang.

There’s much more margin in a push rod engine, and let’s be honest, there isn’t much meat left in the 4v vs ohv argument because ohv’s are attaining ge 400-800hp. From there efficiency, weight and reliability come into play.

Ford whittled the 5.2 voodoo mill to a lower weight than the 4.5L Ferrari mill. Take that level of dedication to push rod mills and you’ll see sub 400lbs 6L v8’s.

The only people who care about OHV vs OHC are magazine editors. The truth is that for the most part, the consumer doesn't care how the valves are opened.

The area where DOHC has a significant advantage over a single cam engine is in the ability to have independent VVT. That's one of the reasons that Coyote engines make ridiculous power compared to LS and Mopar when you consider displacement.
 
The only people who care about OHV vs OHC are magazine editors. The truth is that for the most part, the consumer doesn't care how the valves are opened.

The area where DOHC has a significant advantage over a single cam engine is in the ability to have independent VVT. That's one of the reasons that Coyote engines make ridiculous power compared to LS and Mopar when you consider displacement.

Independent VVT for an IBC engine is an available technology already

Mahle's cam-in-cam technology, which was used on the gen V Viper engine has truly independent intake and exhaust timing. It's quite trick.

GM's VVT technology still utilizes a single ground cam, where intake and exhaust timing is phased together.

 

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