As I understand it, only '91-'92 Modulars have the SBF bolt pattern (F1AE and F2VE castings).

Why not rip all that garbage off and put a carb/manifold and an MMR distributor drive on it? I know you can get a bellhousing adaptor to mate Modular to SBF pattern. Then you can have a unique powerplant swap without all the BS. Dealing with those wiring harness "snakes" that go everywhere sounds unappealing to me in a classic truck.

 

I actually own a Mark VIII and was marginally tempted to try and swap the engine out of it into my '85 short box 4x4 (and find a tranny/xfer case from a newer F150) but quickly decided against it. Biggest reason is cost, other reasons include time involved fabricating everything to make it work, wiring concerns, compatibility issues with aftermarket items, and most of all...

the 4.6L DOHC engine in the Mark VIII only has 285 ft.lbs of torque. That's pretty much EXACTLY the same amount as the 351W that's in my truck now. Yes, the horsepower rating is near double, but how often are you really in the higher RPM's in a pickup? Unless you do a lot of high-speed driving or something, torque is a truck's best friend.

The main reason I can see for doing such a swap, however, is for the "coolness factor" of having a quad-cam 4.6 in your classic pickup. As far as utility/usefulness/drive-ability I personally recommend staying with an engine that uses the Windsor bell housing bolt pattern (300, 302, 351) unless you want a torque monster. Then I'd say find yourself a good 460 and stuff it in there. That may be what I wind up doing with mine...

This is just my personal view on the matter. You may take it or leave it as you choose. Good luck with whatever you decide to do, though!


(Also, the 4.6L engines in these Mark VIII's do NOT have the SBF bolt pattern. They are definitely the "modular" type. You cannot interchange a 302/351 transmission without modifying the bell-housing, unless you go with a manual and find the adapter bell-housing part)

 

You can hook a Modular up to an AOD or a C4.... but be prepared to pay.

Performance Automatic Bellhousings/Adaptors

If I was going to take the time and effort to swap a Modular into an older truck, I would definitely start off with a 5.4L. More torque, more suited to a truck... and if you want really interesting and unique, swap in a DOHC 5.4L into it from a Navigator (300 HP and 355 ft/lb-tq from the get go). Navigator engine, GT500 intake, Magnuson MP112 (Carbureted) Supercharger, MMR Distributor drive...

Oh yes. That would be very cool...

Some pictures to fuel the fire:

 

That right there is exactly what I meant by "cool factor". Nice pics!

 

That's cool all right. Looks like cubic dollars too.

Anyone know the comparitive weights between the 460, the 4.6 and the 5.4?

 

Not sure of exact weights, but I do know the 4.6L DOHC "Teskid" is ALL aluminum. The 4.6L SOHC and 5.4L are not.

 

Those are definetly some bad lookin engines. As far as torque im not too concerned (if i need to tow or haul anything ill use my 71 that has a 460) im more or less only gonna use the truck as something to drive and take to shows so i can watch people scratch there heads or possibly give them ideas for there own projects. The truck may occasionally got o the strip (to shut a friend of mine up about how bad his camaro is, haha) but thats about it. Im just doing the swap mostly cause im bored and also cause im tired of the same old thing. As far as the thunderbird motor having the windsor bellhousing it didnt so im gonna stick with the all aluminum licoln motor.

 

I do hope it works out well for you. I hope to see it completed one day, as I still think it'd be really cool.

 

460 is between 680-720lbs according to the various specs I've found on the web...

Following taken from Sullivan Performance website:

4.6L SOHC - 500 lbs.
5.4L SOHC - 525 lbs
4.6L DOHC Aluminum Block - 425 lbs
5.4L DOHC - 540 lbs

I believe these to be long block numbers, without accessories. I should have weighed my 5.4L when it was out of the truck to check...

 

im goin over today to discuss when i can get the truck in and start workin on it. cant do much outside cause the wheather cant make up its mind. snow, sunshine, back to snow, rain, ice, more rain, again back to snow. haha hard to get stuff done in that.

 

here is a pic of the truck from a couple of months ago. Hav the place to do it just gotta wait till i can get it out of the field. too muddy right now.

 

Really good looking truck; going to be a sweet swap project. I'm digging the '69 hubcaps too...

 

how do i fix the front bumper so that its not leaning upwards or do they all do that? That is the biggest issue i have with the looks of the truck.

 

ok so its been a while since i posted on this. ive been busy up till now. ive decided if im gonna do this motor swap i might as well go all the way. ive got some irs out of a 1991 thunderbird sc and i was thinkin about putting it under the rear of the truck. has anyone ever done this swap under the rear of any ford pickup? if so is there pics somewhere so that i can get some ideas for how to do it? i was thinkin about just useing the lincoln stuff but i dont wanna deal with all the air suspension so the thunderbird seemed a better option. the whole rear end assembly bolts in using 4 mounts and then the spring buckets so it seems pretty straight forward but i want to get some ideas before i get in over my head with it. the motor swap is already gonna be a hard enough job.

 

Yes a number of people do that swap. Most of the ones that I noticed were in the older trucks, pre- 1960. Do a search in those forums, I'm sure you will find som good detailed installation threads with pics too.