TECH: FORD GODZILLA V8

> A NEW BIG-INCH, PUSHROD PRODUCTION MOTOR FROM FORD IS HERE TO HURT FEELINGS

Blue Oval fans rejoice! Ford’s new 7.3-litre bent-eight is a legend in the making

WHILE Barra and LS sycophants fill the internet with incessant bleating about which junkyard engine is best, the rest of us got properly excited when Ford whipped the covers off its 2020 F250 Super Duty pick-up truck. The Blue Oval walked away from traditional cam-in-block V8s in the late 90s, but its latest pick-’em-up has gone back to an overhead-valve pushrod design and big cubes. Say hello to Ford’s ‘Godzilla 7.3’.

Named after the fabled King of the Monsters, Ford’s new engine should have street machiners excited. While the 5.0-litre Coyotes and Mod motors have been increasing in popularity of late, the sheer size of their overhead-cam cylinder heads and expense make them less appealing to punters repowering cars.

In production trim, the 7.3-litre, 90-degree V8 spits out 320kw (430hp) at 5500rpm and a stump-pulling 644Nm (475 lb-ft) of torque at 4000rpm. That may not sound like a whole lot, but remember, this is in bone-stock production trim for use in giant workhorse pick-up trucks, vans and commercial vehicles, where reliability and longevity is key.

Going by online sources, the Godzilla tapes up very close to a traditional small-block Ford at 730mm long (timing cover to rear of block), 585mm wide (across valve covers) and 635mm high. This means it is approximately 5cm wider across the rocker covers than a 351 Windsor, and approximately 3cm longer. It weighs in at a hefty 263kg (580lb), thanks in part to the iron block, the upside of that being enhanced durability and longer life expectancy.

With a 107.2mm bore and 101mm stroke, the Godzilla spans 7.3 litres, or 445ci in the old money, yet Ford considers the engine a smallblock due to the 245mm (9.65in) deck height and tight 11.53mm bore spacing. The iron block is skirted for increased strength and features extra external webbing for improved rigidity.

With six-bolt mains and a forged steel crank, the Godzilla looks to be a stout package, especially as Ford claims that much of the design of the 10.5:1-comp cast aluminium slugs carries over from the twin-turbo Ecoboost performance motors. Additionally, pistoncooling oil squirters help cool the back side of the slug and prevent detonation under heavy load, and this is all controlled by the variabledisplacement integrated oil pump.

Chain-driven off a crank-mounted sprocket ahead of the timing chain, that variable-pressure oil pump could provide issues when it comes to fitting the engine into cars with lower ride heights, as it affects clearance around the factory 7.5-litre aluminium sump. Similarly, the Godzilla comes equipped with an integrated oil cooler on the oil pan, sitting on the left-hand side.

Michigan-based Team Z Motorsports fitted one into a Fox-body Mustang back in January 2020, and it apparently dropped in place

with a Mustang 10-speed auto once the factory oil cooler was removed. Team Z stated its intention to produce a kit to relocate or delete the oil cooler, which Ford had intended more for heavy-duty towing applications.

The variable-pressure oil pump and factory variable cam timing mean that ECU choice will be key. Nearly every Godzilla we’ve seen running in the USA is wired with an Oe-style computer from OBR; however, Haltech is keen to do R&D, and Holley has also indicated its desire to work on an ECU that will control all the factory features.

While General Motors has moved its pushrod engines to direct injection, the Godzilla uses more traditional port-style fuel injection and also features an 80mm drive-by-wire throttlebody on the composite intake manifold. The intake sits above a dry valley and mounts on a flat surface to improve sealing to the aluminium cylinder heads, which include steeply angled intake ports and progressive-rate beehive valve springs, with 55mm intake valves and 42mm exhaust valves.

Ford claims the wedge-shaped combustion chamber and centralised sparkplug location allow a higher compression ratio for improved efficiency and performance, while the heads boast a shallow valve angle to keep valves away from the cylinder wall, which improves flow.

IN PRODUCTION TRIM, THE 7.3-LITRE, 90-DEGREE V8 SPITS OUT 320KW (430HP) AT 5500RPM AND A STUMPPULLING 644NM (475 LB-FT) OF TORQUE AT 4000RPM

Godzilla wears forged aluminium rockers using nitrided roller bearings, which work with the hydraulic-roller lifters and single-phase variable valve timing, while the cam uses nine 60mm bearing journals to reduce deflection.

Ford Performance Parts recently announced its plan to release a control pack for the Godzilla, which will simplify the process of swapping the motor into an older car. In much the same vein as Chevrolet Performance’s highly successful Connect & Cruise packs, the kit is slated to come with an ECU, wiring harness, drive-by-wire throttle pedal and airbox assembly.

The first iteration of these control packs will cater to auto transmissions, with a manual variant to follow at some stage. The hot-up arm of the Blue Oval is also developing front drive-assembly options for Godzilla swaps, along with bare blocks and head castings, crankshafts and individual componentry. Ford Performance Parts’ Mike Goodman also confirmed the existence of a far spicier Godzilla engine that will be coming, codenamed ‘Megazilla’.

So far Whipple and Procharger have both released blower options for the new 7.3-litre. The Whipple Stage 2 Gen 5 is a water-to-airintercooled, 3.0-litre top-mount unit, and is claimed to inflate a Godzilla from the 430hp touted in the user manual to 700hp at the flywheel and over 1000Nm. Meanwhile, Procharger’s P-1SC-1 side-mounted to a similarly stock Godzilla made “over 600hp” on a claimed 6-8psi.

As the aftermarket race to develop parts for the new engine intensifies, at least one shop in the USA has broken the 1100hp barrier with two turbos strapped to a largely stock Godzilla (see sidebar, pp 110-111), and more are promising to push this motor hard.

Australia’s Herrod Performance enjoys close ties to Ford Performance in the USA, and bossman Rob Herrod confirmed there’s a 7.3 Godzilla crate motor on its way to the company’s Melbourne facility at the time of writing this story.

We can’t wait to see these bad boys start popping up in the junkyards and through crate engine resellers, as they are sure to make huge juice with the right parts bolted on!

Aspirated Godzilla combos with a mild cam have made up to 600hp on an engine dyno, while a spicier aspirated combo went 790hp. Running on C16, that engine featured Wiseco 12.5:1 pistons and MGP aluminium rods, a Charlie Westcott mechanical-roller cam, billet intake, Jesel keyed lifters, Trend pushrods, 90mm drive-by-wire throttlebody off a GT350 Mustang, upgraded rockers and titanium valves. And that’s before they fitted the Whipple 3L blower! Godzilla sells for US$8150 through Ford Performance Parts in the USA, coming with an 80mm drive-by-wire throttlebody, plastic intake manifold, exhaust manifolds, ignition coils, 7.5L aluminium sump and a factory flexplate

As the OE variable cam timing has up to 50 degrees of movement in the cam, punters wanting highlift-and-duration cam swaps will need to flycut the OE pistons for clearance to the intake valve. Cam timing lockout kits will likely hit the aftermarket soon, as these products already exist for overhead-cam Mod motors and GM pushrod engines The cylinder heads flow a healthy 320cfm on the intake side and feature super-high intake ports for improved flow. Their flat flanges avoid bore distortion, as do the deep-threading 1/2in cylinder head bolts, while four-layer steel gaskets provide excellent sealing The Godzilla runs a 1-54-8-6-3-2-7 firing order. There is no keyway on the crank for the balancer, and the bellhousing bolt pattern is a carry-over from the 4.6/5.4L Mod motors and 5.0L Coyote

Engine designer Brian Wolfe feels the Godzilla’s capacity limit is around 470-480ci due to the compact design of the pistons not leaving a lot of room to move the pin up. Similarly, he pointed to the powdered metal rods (with Torx-bit fasteners) as another area where serious builders want more strength With the similarities of the pistons to Ecoboost slugs and the big end of the Godzilla rods the same size as a Coyote rod, Wiseco has pistons and Callies has forged pistons and rods already on the shelf to handle 1400-1500hp With injector bosses cast into the cylinder head, punters wanting to carby-swap the Godzilla will have issues. Interestingly, the front drive accessory idlers (and water pump housing) are all part of the onepiece aluminium timing cover, while one of the radiator hoses faces downwards off the left side of the water pump