Drop a 460 ! A new guy at work is like my 2000 Chevy 1500 would smoke your ford ! I only thought so because he has way smaller tire's . Then he tells me he put a 454 in it !! So that gave me an idea . I also have seen a 390 in a 97 . Find a wrecked Eco boost

 

The Explore is based on the ranger. And 98 didn't have pats. the 99 and up does and the gauge cluster and steering are tied into pats. The 5four has more low end torque than the 5.0. With a lot of work and wiring it can be done but in the end you would have a truck that wouldn't pull or haul.

 

This is a whacky thread.

500 hp / 11 gen dirt cheap. Those two statements are mutually exclusive. Save your money and buy the right truck to begin with. If your looking at an 11 gen because they are cheap, you don't have the money to be talking about 500hp. If you have the money to be talking about 500hp, you have the money to buy a 2011 with a 5.0 and be much closer to your goal right out of the gate.

As others have said, there is no easy way to make a 5.4 put out more than 360hp. After that you may as well be building a 500hp Prius because the same amount of work would be involved...basically replace everything from the engine to the trans to the interior gauges.