Originally Posted by
Beechkid
Orininally, Ford had nooo intention of puting the "new' modulars in the trucks.....the 4.6 & 5.4's were for the cars.....at a press conference where the <ACRONYM title="Page Ranking"><ACRONYM title="Page Ranking">
PR</ACRONYM></ACRONYM> staff was introducing the Mods to the media, one of the car mag staffers asked
"if this new engine is so good, why isn't it going to be put in all the trucks?".......The Ford <ACRONYM title="Page Ranking"><ACRONYM title="Page Ranking">
PR</ACRONYM></ACRONYM> staff replied after a brief pause...oh it will be.......
the stage was set, Ford execs had no choice but to temp scrap the windsor series engines...which we are now seeing returning (including the 351) with the mod motor heads!
Well, that's an interesting story, but it isn't exactly what I was told. The Mod. was originally a project for the front wheel drive Lincoln Continentals back in the late 80's. At the time Jac Nassar was running Ford, and he was not someone you said no to. Jac decided one day that the V-8 was on the way out, and decreed that Ford would have at most ONE V-8 engine platform, period. Since a V-8 option for the FWD Continental was considered to be very important for the success of the car, the Mod. was going to have to work in everything else, including trucks. So basically you had one low volume vehicle dictating an engine design that was going to be used in a large variety of other vehicles (trucks) that it was not well suited for. A bad idea that came about because no one in Ford at the time had ***** enough to tell Nassar he was nuts. The Mod. was originally going to be a 4.6L only, but since it was going into the '97 F-150, Ford had to get more power out of it. The 5.4L was the result, and that was the absolute largest displacement Ford could get out of the Mod. without adding cylinders. The V-10 came with the 1999 Super Duty, and was nothing more than a 5.4L with 2 more cylinders and a balance shaft. None of these engines performed all that well in trucks until the 3 valve head was introduced. The 3 valve head overcame the breathing issues the 2 valve Mod. had caused by valve shrouding, a result of the very small cylinder bores. And, those small bores were a direct result of keeping the length of the Mod. engine to a minimum for FWD car applications. Can you say 'compromise'?
Not sure where you got the idea the Windsors are making a comeback. The 6.2L 'Boss' is basically a Mod. design with much larger bore spacing. The larger bore spacing allows for a larger cylinder bore, which makes a very efficient 2 valve head possible. The 'Boss' is not related to the Windsor in any way that I can see. The 'Boss' is far better suited for light trucks than the Mod. ever was, though I find it surprising it has not replaced the V-10 in the F-450 and larger trucks. I thought that a 7L 'Boss' was in the works for the larger trucks.
That's basically what I was told. If anyone can add to the story I would like to hear it.