Right now I'm debating several things, as I posted in a different thread on Sunday my Mark VIII was totaled by a drunk driver, however I think the powertrain is ok.

I'm playing around with the idea of swapping the powertrain from that into my '56. First off, yes I know it's a 4.6L, and everyone seems to agree a 7.4 or a diesel is what it needs, but this is more of an opportunity swap.

For those curious this isn't a standard 4.6L, it's an aluminum block 32 valve, DOHC that puts out 280 hp and 285 lb·ft from the factory. These engines where used in Mustang Cobras, so there is a lot of power potential as well. It's hooked up to a 4 speed automatic with OD ( 4R70W).

Now I've seen Mark VIIIs been used for a lot of things on these old trucks. Anyone have any idea what all is involved to swap that engine into my truck? Right now the 272 in it, despite sounding great, only gets 5mpg and takes a long time to warm up. It's a slow truck. And I'm saying it's a slow truck in a town that doesn't have a speed limit over 30mph. It's to be my daily driver, but as is it's not practical for daily driving, when it takes twice as long to get up to speed and you only have a mile to your destination, or 8 minutes of driving at most (you can get anywhere in this town in 8 minutes. seriously. small town), having it be difficult tends to make it not be picked to drive. And it's going to be worse in the winter.

The downside is I'm sure it will require a bunch of wiring, lol.

I'm just looking at my current options right now, like I said the car was totaled just a couple nights ago and we don't even know what we're going to get or if it would be worth buying back, ect. Just trying to figure out my options and could use a few opinions. I just don't know if there are things I need to be especially aware of, like it hitting the steering column or something. I figure someone on here is bound to know the specifics on putting one of these in a '56. (I do believe they are wider than a normal 4.6, btw., least thats what I had heard from people who put them into their vintage mustangs, maybe I miss heard though and he meant wider than a 302, which I know it is, lol)


Thanks

 

They are great donor engines for your truck. I put one in my truck, got it wired and started and it sounds great. But then I took the cab off of the frame to repair sheetmetal and now I'm in a full blown frame off build.
The wiring can be intimidating at first. I got an original wiring diagram from ebay for my vehicle '94 Mark VIII. I spent plenty of time studying the diagram and reading about others "modular conversions" over at ModularFords

Here's a link to my early progress. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...its-alive.html

 

anything can be done but the only hurdle i can see is the small car transmission output shaft yoke might be a bear to find one that would adapt to a big 3 ton drive shaft.

 

Ahhhhh...why not? Go for it!