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.
 
Putting any type of PD blower on a 8,000lb curb weight truck with a 20,000lb tow capacity is a recipe for disaster. There isn't enough meth in the world to keep the intake charge cool enough during heavy towing.

the performance world and the work truck world are very different applications. In fact, the industry standard process is to detune the engine for less power and torque as you go into heavier duty applications, especially when you get into class 5-7 commercial trucks.
 
Putting any type of PD blower on a 8,000lb curb weight truck with a 20,000lb tow capacity is a recipe for disaster. There isn't enough meth in the world to keep the intake charge cool enough during heavy towing.

the performance world and the work truck world are very different applications. In fact, the industry standard process is to detune the engine for less power and torque as you go into heavier duty applications, especially when you get into class 5-7 commercial trucks.

Didn't stop KB and Whipple in the past. With about 8-10 PSI you should see some really nice gains and still be able to keep the IAT2s in check. The new trucks are already setup for a massive air-to-water system for the PSD running well over 20 PSI on a large turbo. With no concern for hood clearance I can imagine a fairly sizable intercooler fitting easily.
 
Didn't stop KB and Whipple in the past. With about 8-10 PSI you should see some really nice gains and still be able to keep the IAT2s in check. The new trucks are already setup for a massive air-to-water system for the PSD running well over 20 PSI on a large turbo. With no concern for hood clearance I can imagine a fairly sizable intercooler fitting easily.
Plenty of room for a reservoir for a heat exchanger mist system too. Air to air or air to water would benefit.
 
Didn't stop KB and Whipple in the past. With about 8-10 PSI you should see some really nice gains and still be able to keep the IAT2s in check. The new trucks are already setup for a massive air-to-water system for the PSD running well over 20 PSI on a large turbo. With no concern for hood clearance I can imagine a fairly sizable intercooler fitting easily.

Done it in the past? I dont recall whipple ever doing a f250 specific supercharger kit. They have one for the raptor but almost no one uses this for a superduty. KB had one for the triton v10 but it flopped hard. You couldn't go over 6psi while towing unless you wanted 240f inlet temps. Its fine for romping around town in the truck without a load but if you tow with it up a long grade you can get into minutes of sustained boost and no where for all they heat to go.

PD blower will always be limited for intercooling since there is only a small area between the engine valley and the blower outlet. Even with the blower flipped upside down there is not much room. You can put a super sized front mount heat exchanger but the flow rate across the blower outlet will be the limiting factor. That is why there has never been a blown application in a 1 ton truck. Large displacement NA or turbo diesel is the only thing that makes sense

i towed with my lightning but usually on level ground and nothing heavy enough that i needed to be in boost all the time.
 
Turbo kit with 5 or 6 #'s and huge air to air intercooler is all you need for a killer camper tower.

that would work great but by the time you design a custom manifolds for turbo, all the fuel system mods, intake manifold, intercooler, plumbing and hardware it would've been easier to just buy the diesel. Fleets will never do this and most people want the safety of a warranty with their $70k truck.
 
Done it in the past? I dont recall whipple ever doing a f250 specific supercharger kit. They have one for the raptor but almost no one uses this for a superduty. KB had one for the triton v10 but it flopped hard. You couldn't go over 6psi while towing unless you wanted 240f inlet temps. Its fine for romping around town in the truck without a load but if you tow with it up a long grade you can get into minutes of sustained boost and no where for all they heat to go.

PD blower will always be limited for intercooling since there is only a small area between the engine valley and the blower outlet. Even with the blower flipped upside down there is not much room. You can put a super sized front mount heat exchanger but the flow rate across the blower outlet will be the limiting factor. That is why there has never been a blown application in a 1 ton truck. Large displacement NA or turbo diesel is the only thing that makes sense

i towed with my lightning but usually on level ground and nothing heavy enough that i needed to be in boost all the time.

Whipple had a 2V V10 kit and a 3V V10 prototype. Ford sold 2V V10s that we’re hydrogen fueled with a PD blower from the factory.


Sent from my iPhone using the svtperformance.com mobile app
 
Whipple had a 2V V10 kit and a 3V V10 prototype. Ford sold 2V V10s that we’re hydrogen fueled with a PD blower from the factory.


Sent from my iPhone using the svtperformance.com mobile app

hydrogen fueled? Post a link...

those whipple kits i had forgot they even existed. They must have sold like 8 of them. As much time as i spend on excursion and superduty forums ive never seen one. Used KB kits pop up from time to time but not much interest for them.
 
Looks like a couple different colors for 2020 as well.
 

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Where's your sense of adventure!
Star white looks pretty close to platinum white, maybe a little more pearl in it or something. It's nice to see a new shade of blue in a SD, blue jeans has been around quite awhile and was about as much maintenance as black.
 

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