Ok so i know I am going to get some flack for even having this idea but here goes. I have a 74 sb. I have a 390fe out of a 65 tbird in it with a c6 and a dough nash underdrive/straight drive in it. I am running a 9" with a 250 gear. The motor has plenty of torque to move the truck. The diff is open so in manual 2nd and in high range I can still light up the one tire so plenty of power. I went with the 250 gear trying to get some MPG and no matter what I do I cant get above 8-9 mpg. Also with I have tried a couple different carbs and find that my 750 cfm edelbrock gets about the best MPG plus the truck runs best with this carb. By the book the 390 has 325 hp and 428 ft tq.
Now is where i am thinking a little out of the box. Lots of people are putting cummings in there trucks which is very cool but I am to cheap to do that. So I have found a 95 infinity q45 that I can have. Just a little back ground to this car. The motor is a 4.5 liter v8. It makes 315 hp and 330 ft tq. It has a 4 spd auto and the motor turns 6900 rpms with out issue. Also the motor is aluminum block and heads so its very light. The car weights within 100 lbs of my truck as they sit now. The car gets 20+ mpg average. I know I wont get as good as a car but I would think 17 would be pretty easy to get if not better. I would change the rear gear to a 373 or 410 because this motor likes RPMs. Getting the hole car makes this transplant a bit simpler because I have the computer, trans ect.
Not saying this would be easy but I am a transmission builder so I have the ability. Now before I am asked why not put a 4.6 or a 5.4 and a 4r70w in so it stays ford. First off the 4.6 and the 5.4 are slugs. Sorry to say that but for the power vs MPG both of those motors are pretty bad IMO. I would love to get a new 5.0 but the cost to get a full car or truck to have everything I need would be very pricey. One more bonus is the q45 "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VH45DE http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V8_engine" will take a turbo very well. 6-8 Psi makes another 125 HP with out any mods.
Now someone might saw if its about power and MPG why not do an LS motor? Its been done to death. I dont like the idea of putting anything other then a ford in a ford but if I am going to do it then why not do something different and put something very reliable in it. I would have to do the timing chains and guides in the VH45 before I put it in as this is the biggest issue with this motor.
So I would like to hear opinions on this. I know mounts will be an issue but I am pretty good at fab work. Also I would never sell my motor and trans so if I needed to put it back i could.

 

Ford's DOHC 4.6 is no slouch in a car either - 320 hp/320 ft-lb naturally aspirated (more if you turbo/super-charge it; the bottom end is usually good for ~600 hp as-is), spins to 7000 rpm, and also gets 20+ mpg in cars. Timesert the spark plug threads in the heads before installing, and you've fixed the only real design flaw; will last half a million miles with proper maintenance. And many more aftermarket parts are available, since they used 'em in Mustangs.

Downside with either the DOHC version of the Ford 4.6 or the Nissan 4.5 in a truck is going to be the torque curve: they're cammed and calibrated for high-rpm power in cars, not low-rpm torque for trucks.

 

Bkaul. Thanks for the info. Yes your right the 4 cam 4.6 is a good motor but like finding a new 5.0 is the cost. 4 valves are pricey. Where this setup is close to free so it frees up cash to do the instal. If I could find a good deal on a 4 valve I would do it. Also yes your right the Tq curve is higher then a trucks but my trucks less then 4k and putting an aluminum motor would save another 300 lbs "Guess" making the truck about 3650 lbs so less TQ is needed. The truck is lowered about 3" also. Even if I went with 410 gear I would only be turning 2000 rpms at 60 mph. I really like the gearing of the Re4ro3a "Nisan trans" Its first gear ratio is very low so plenty of out of the hole power. Plus I am not going to tow much of anything then maybe my 17' aluminum boat or a small 4x6 trailer every now and then. More of a street truck.

 

I'd rather have a sister in a *****house than a nissan in a Ford.

 

Cool. It'll be an interesting build if you do it. There will definitely be some custom fabrication required to mount it up. Especially if your truck is already lowered, a Crown Vic front suspension swap + Ford modular engine is straightforward; this would definitely be more of a challenge.

I would advise a lower (numerically larger) rear end ratio if you do the 4.5L Nissan swap: as much higher a torque curve as that will have, you'll be bogging it all the time, and/or your top gear will be unusable below 80 mph otherwise.

Heck, even with a FE, 2.5:1 is a pretty high rear end. I wouldn't be surprised if your mileage improved a bit from changing that even with the current setup - you could very well be into the secondaries/power valve a lot more often with the likely shift schedule on the current setup.

 

I say go for it! The art of hot rodding isn't just building but building with what you have on hand.

Is a 95 Q45 OBDII or OBDI? This will not be a show stopper but if it's OBDII there are a LOT more wires and you will probably have to run up to 4 O2 sensors.

Do you have power steering? If no then you'll just have to get a belt that can eliminate the ps pump on the Q45 motor. If you do have ps then there is a chance that the Q45 ps pump won't move enough fluid for your truck.

Good luck!

 

4v 5.4l FORD engines came in Lincoln navigators and are some of the best mod motors. 3v truck engines are the second best. They really are good engines for the bad rap they receive. Plenty of RPM and pretty good for fuel economy. 5.4's in an f150 crew cab will get 16-19 mpg.


Truck engines are cammed for low end torque as stated above and the truck intakes flow much better than the low profile car types.


Cams, intakes, headers, computers, chips, injectors, blowers, turbos and pretty much anything else is available.


Stock bottom ends can take pressure and are considered safe up to around 10psi. Factory blowers can be found in junk yards if you look hard enough for a lightning or blown mustang. Of course there are kits out there as well.


Heads can be swapped to bump up compression without going for an aftermarket head as well.

 

What about Fuel Injecting your 390fe?

might be way cheaper to get better fuel economy than swapping a whole motor with it's EFI...

 

This is something I have wanted to do for years but I dont really want just a TBI set up. I would want a multiport set up. I have not looked into doing fuel injection for a wile. Does anyone know if there is a kit for this? Or do I have to start from scratch.

 

the early 5.4 is not a bad motor and does ok on MPG but for the size I would need to do some moding to get more power out of it.
The 3V? I am sorry to say you could not give me one. I own a shop and at least every 3 weeks we are installing a reman motor in one. Its a bad design "IMO" oiling one head and then hoping there is enough oil for the second head just doesnt work for me. I did hear that the later 3V that they fixed this but its just left a bad taste in my mouth.
Getting a supercharger from a lighting or mustang is a good idea. I will look in to it

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I agree. This is what hot rodding is. OBDI or II I will look into that as I am not sure.
I do have power steering. Good point I did not think of that. This is why I made this thread is to get the pros and cons.

 

I started with a 3.0:1 gear and went down to the 2.5:1 I am not into the secondaries at highway speed. Not even close. My foot is hardly touching the pedal. I have a long way to go before the secondaries.
Also remember I am using a car motor already. My motor is out of a 65 tbird. Now I know the FE has a ton of power and mine does. The truck came with a 360 which moved it along just fine but I wanted more power. "Doesnt every 25 year old want more power" Oh and by the way i have had the truck for 21 years.
The 390 is built. I posted stock power numbers and my motor is not stock. But its no modified crazy. RV cam. headers. Ect. I think I am somewhere around 375 hp and 450 TQ But I have not had it on the dyno yet.
I think most of the idea of putting this nissan motor in my truck is about doing something different. I am using the MPG as an excuse. Yes 20 years ago when I was broke gas millage ment a lot. Also when gas is 4+ per gal it means more. but when its 2.30 per gal It really doesnt matter.
Changing out my gear is no big deal. I have another center chunck set with 5.13:1 that I used to go to the drag strip with. Now its more about smooth power. reliability. and having something different then everyone else. Old age will do that to you!
The reason for this thread is to get the pros and cons to doing something like this. Thank you for all your input

 

A year or so ago I would agree with you all the way. Every car show I go to and see a beautiful ford F1 sitting there and look under the hood and find a small block chevy in it I just walk away. I hated it. Yet today when you go buy a new car you get mazdas in fords or some other set up. Everything today is a global platform and parts are mixed and matched from most every company. I did a Jag transmission the other day and it is the same one that comes in an explorer.
Now it has become acceptable to put a cummins in an old ford truck! Why are they not putting 7.3s in these trucks? Because its easy to do and get good power out of the the cummins. So why not put a jap motor in a ford.
Its just an idea and I have not seen it done.

 

Did a search on Fuel Injecting a 390FE, and Ford didn't EFI these engines. TBI would be the easiest to do, but multiport is not impossible either. Can get Injector bungs one can weld onto an existing manifold and piece together the rest of it. Deal with the high pressure fuel pump and or fuel gauge resistance mismatch if you swap to a newer tank.

I lucked out with my 300ci I6 as Ford did update it with EFI, and '96's even had OBD II.

Megasquirt gets thrown around a lot, and I went with VEMS myself. Not sure what's available in the aftermarket from the likes of Holley or Edelbrock. But I do know for sure, that once you EFI it, you'll never want to go back to Carbs!

edit: searched this forum for 4.6L and found these two build threads:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-vic-swap.html
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...like-this.html

 

Ford used to own Jaguar and most of Mazda - that's why you see crossover there, from that time period...