Realized i probably posted this in the wrong category, so im reposting it here!

Hey Guys
I have a 2000 Excursion Ex-FBI Field Vehicle, still has the search lights on it, and a front bumper that looks intended for ramming things.

For Reference, this is a 2WD, not a 4x4.

I am looking at modernizing it a lot, planning to send it off to get a 2016 facelift to the front end, keeping the interior as is because its somehow damn near immaculate, this thing must have been used by high ranking because its more spotless than i can imagine unless its been redone fully at some point.

Anyhow, along with the facelift i have been formulating a grand plan powertrain wise and wanted some people to bounce ideas and provide input, and yes im sure there will be some negatives and hate so bring it on.

1st up, I would like to swap over to a 3V V10, YES i know they are different from the block up, im familiar with 3V engines intimately as i built the engine in my 07 Mustang GT, and i also know the 3V V10 does not have phasers.
My idea was as i saw someone else discussing, get a 3V engine longblock and modify the intake to take a cable driven throttlebody, such as one of the twin blades like the Cobras used to use. And as for the variable manifold, just set it to a fixed position and use some trial and error to dial it into a happy medium.

2nd up, A better transmission, US Shift has some neat TCMs that can control a bunch of different Ford transmissions allowing you to swap a lot of stuff over to 6R80, 10R80 and other modern transmissions, my thought was whether my engine plans happen, or even if they do not, to swap over to a 6R80, or 10R80 transmission to get a lot more gear and make either one of the V10s much more efficient and help keep them in their power bands better. The process is rather simple, you load a tune that disables the transmission functions on the ECM, and then install this little box from US Shift, and it runs the transmission itself, just tapping a few wires such as TPS, etc so it can see commanded throttle, etc.

Im not sure of the length differences between the 4 speed trans mine has, and the 6R80/10R80 transmissions, but im expecting i would likely also have to make some driveshaft modifications as well. To my knowledge those two transmissions are an exact match bolt pattern wise to the Modular V10s since all the modular's share a common pattern.

As background to save some of you from blowing too much hot air at me here are some things to consider.
I built a 4.2L Stroker v6 build for my first Mustang, a 2004 that came with a 3.9L, with headers, ported heads, lightly ported intake, etc. and had it tuned to run properly.
I rebuilt a 2V NPI V8 for my 1996 GT from the heads up when a head gasket failed.
I built a frankenstien build for a 2000 Hyundai Sonata, that ended up being a 3.5L V6, mostly parts from a santa fe SUV, and made it all fit in the sonata(MAN it had takeoff!) it prevously had the 2.5L V6 so harnesses matched up close enough~
I rebuilt the 3V 4.6L's top end in my 2007 Mustang GT after a coolant line in the manifold developed a leak, figured since i was already that deep why not do the head gaskets since it was at 150k, installed the new revised design phasers.
Growing up I also helped by dad build a Ford 390 V8 for his 67 F100 Ranger truck, a 460 for another truck, and we built the shortblock of a Ford 400 that we ended up selling when he got bored with it.
I also rebuilt a Essex 3.0 V6 for a ford taurus with a friend but that was not really noteworthy, no taurus ever was.

Also, before you call bull**** on the 6R80 and 10R80 being controlled by a third party controller, heres the link: https://www.usshift.com/silverbullet.shtml

 

subscribed- love my Excursion but I have the 10R80 in my Mustang and the wifes Explorer- if there was a way to make this work in the Excursion I would be in heaven

 

My thoughts exactly, all that V10 torque, and that big giant power band, with all those gears to fly through, i have a feeling the thing would be a rocket ship.

 

Not trying to be a negetaive Nancy, but wouldn't a "big giant power band" play well with a box with fewer gears where an engine with a more narrow power band would see more benefits from having more gears to keep it in that narrow band?
Sign me up as an interested spectator if you dive into this project, I have only ever seen one owner start a 2V to 3V 6.8 swap around here and he gave up on it prior to completion. It would be great to finally see one finished. It's not something that I would ever do to my EX, as I need it to remain as super reliable as it has been as our dedicated tow rig but I do have a lot of respect for folks that are in a different situation and have the talents to pull projects like this off.
Oh, and we will require lots of pictures and regular updates on the project.

 

First things i need to do is decide if I want to do the Front End Conversion now, or sometime down the road, because it needs headlights badddd....

If i decide to wait then i want to get some new headlights that are 100% clear, and some new LED bulbs because right now with all that sunburn on the headlights they are almost completely useless at night.

 

Its funny because I would have thought the same thing on the power band before driving my Mustang......if you are ever bored I highly recommend driving a 10R80 equipped vehicle ...I also thought from a drag racing perspective having the transmission shift 10 times would slow the car down compared to a more traditional well built 6 speed auto...after driving the car the first time ....well I was wrong (married so I have some practice saying that lol) I have since driven a new F250 with the 6.7 and the 10 speed- HUGE mistake on my part as when I jumped back in my Excursion it was kind of like ohhh this is my truck.... that being said new F250s are everywhere- and a damn fine truck but I like the fact you dont see many Excursions and I just like the way Excursions look.....they just look bad a@@

 

Once they have the updated controller in full production i plan to find a transmission shop and a rebuilt/working pulled 10R80 and git er dun, I have 3 SCT handhelds for various vehicles, so i can just call up 5 star and have them send me a tune that turns off the transmission controls in the ECM, and when its all assembled, load the tune to the ECM, load the baseline TCM tune, and then take it for a spin and adjust shift points as needed solely on the TCM which is literally just like changing values on a SCT Xcal 3, check the video its fricken cake to tune the transmission.

 

Sounds like a great project, you’ll be famous here on FTE when completed. Looking fwd to pics.

 

Feel free to respond back, but strictly speaking of the transmission swap and nothing of the engine here.

The only gotchas i see that should be any difficulty are:
1. Finding a 10R80
2. The driveshaft situation, as i am not sure what the difference in length is between the 4R100 and the 10R80.
3. The tune for turning off the ECM trans controls is trivial, people do it all the time during manual swaps.
4. The Trans Mount, Not sure if there even close.

The new trans controller comes with the harness it needs so other than a few splices for inputs that should be no biggie.

References i have found say the 4R100 is 27.25 inches long, can anyone confirm or deny, or speak to the 6R80 and 10R80 length?

EDIT: i found a reference that says a 6R80 is 23.75, but not 100% certain.

 

With the task you are set to under take the driveshaft is probably one of the easier things to deal with. It will likely need to be a custom made one.

 

These might be easier to find with the shift issues?

https://www.torquenews.com/9539/anot...-transmissions

 

In my 09 Police Interceptor Expedition i have a 6R80 and it hasnt had a peep and its at 170K now. So even if i settled for a 6R it would be a big step up, but i also suspect some of the shifting issues might be tuning related, and more easily adjustable on a standalone controller.