Hey all-

So I've been kicking around the idea of building an engine for my 2001 SD, and when doing so, I came across a Facebook Marketplace ad for a guy selling an early 1999 7.3 long block. It, of course, is rusty and looks to have been sitting a long time, though I've been told its been indoors. The current owner of the block says it has all forged internals so it would make a good starting point if everything is OK in it, which is impossible to see by the photo he has of it. I plan on taking a closer look sometime in the coming week to see if its in any way decent in person.

The questions... I am MUCH more familiar with the later build 7.3's, so please excuse my ignorance, but is it possible to build up an E99 with parts from another, later donor motor with otherwise good parts? I plan on doing extensive modding for it (throwing around the end goal of going to ~500hp/1000lbs of torque when complete) and I'm in no massive hurry- especially given current fuel prices- to get it done and on the street in the short term. I know the turbo, intake and injectors are smaller than the later builds, but other than that, are there other considerations I should think about before taking the plunge? His price is reasonable (he's just looking to get it out of his garage) so its not the price I'm worried about, but more the compatibility of parts that are out there for these engines. Is the e99 engine that much different than the later builds? I was considering it mostly because of the forged internals, as I keep reading horror stories of making higher HP builds with the PMR engines, which I'm passingly certain that my truck (2001 F250 crew cab short bed) probably has in it.

Any opinions? Am I about to make a massive mistake or is this a decent idea and starting point for what could be a pretty cool power plant?

Thanks in advance-

 

Probably better luck over here:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum31/

 

Rusty dismantled engine…not even for free

 

Yes, any block back to at least 97 can be used in a 99.5-03 SD. You would need the 10 bolt intake plenums, turbo, pedestal, intake spider, HPOP, Injectors, etc from the 99.5+ SD. basically all exterior items. You wouldn't need to do anything with front cover but may use different gaskets for the HPOP res.

As long as the engine is complete with valve covers on and any openings protected; it should be fine. When you say rusty, I'm guessing from the rust belt area. Can you post a picture of it.
I would make sure you can rotate the crank. What's a good price considered to you? Here in Colorado, they can go for anywhere from $1200-2000+ for a running engine. builders I've seen for $400-500 iirc.

Pushing 500HP, you will have to at least do head studs, springs, rods and I'd inspect the injector cups. Factory forged rods is not a guarantee over PMR's. I ran 250/100's on my PMR's for yrs. it finally sent a rod through the block around 2018 after different tunes and a 369SXE. If you are pushing a lot of torque down lower, it's more likely to fail sooner. In theory factory forged rods should hold up better but not necessarily.

 

The rust will be throughout the engine block IMO, so the block would have to be taken completely apart and rust removed. i.e. gone through

Again, in my opinion.

 

Before beginning do you have a well known competent engine machine shop that you have used or can trust? Many engines end up in machine shop jail or hell never seeing the light of day again or improperly machined.