Looking for a consensus on crate engines. I hear a lot of fanfare on the Coyote crate engine. What other crate engines fit and perform well in the 1953 - 56 F-100?

I realize there's allot more to this question, but looking for a decent option without taking second mortgage on the house?

Best

 

How big is your house ? LOL

 

My house is 400 square feet…should be appraised at a cool 1.5 million now in Orange County CA….

 

Coyote is big power and big money. Is the rest of the truck up to big power?

For easy moderate to medium power, the later roller 302s are light, small, easy to work on, reliable, abundant, well known, and fairly cheap.

 

I would consider buying a totaled donor vehicle, while a brand new engine would be great with a donor you will get all the wiring harnesses, ecm and all the accessories and brackets that would be very expensive to buy a piece at a time.

 

I went with a 6 month old F-150 Coyote engine and 10R80 transmission. It had very low mileage and was significantly less expensive than just a crate Coyote engine.

A factory frame from a 53-56 F-100 will not handle that horsepower and torque without modifications. I figure an unmodified F-100 frame is good for about 300 hp.

 

I am running a 347 Stroker in mine. 360 HP and 400 ft lbs of torque. it is quick and will smoke the tires on demand. I like the old school look when I pop the hood. But when I hit the lotto I will be visiting Fat Fender Garage in AZ for a PorterBuilt chasis with a Coyote.

 

When I was figuring out my build, I checked the price of buying an old school engine and transmission and then paying to having them rebuilt.
For about the same price I could buy a rebuilt engine and transmission from a reliable supplier.

The price for my like new F-150 Coyote and 10R80 transmission was $8000 delivered. That is not much more than the above listed, old school power train. There are deals out there.

 

The choices are almost endless. Do you want a Ford in a Ford, Chevy in a Ford? How much power do you want? What are the build plans? What is the end goal? And what would you like the motor to look like, old school carb type or modern injector type?