Ford 7.3L Godzilla Swap!

CaptainBuilt

Senior Member
Joined
May 15, 2017
Posts
227
Location
Lafayette, La.
Current rig, 2014 Ford E-350 12ft box truck RV conversion, 5.4L gas:



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I bought at auction a 2022 Ford E-450 w/ 2100 miles, 7.3L gas motor:


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Hopefully I can pull everything out of the 2022, and put it in the 2014. Worst case, just swap the cabs.



I'm thinking most things will fit into the box truck. I can use the front cross member / motor mounts, etc....


Right now I am in the process of moving 800 miles away. The 2022 was delivered to a storage unit where I am moving to.



Once I get settled in, the swap will begin. I plan on adding a cam when the engine is out, maybe even heads.
 
I'll be watching this one, good luck and take lots of pics.

Will do!

Very cool! Good luck with swap. Betting you'll love it.

Thanks!

It may be a couple months before I can start the swap.

I've thought of buying a new cab / chassis and putting my box on it. And I've been researching just doing the engine swap. But then this came up, for a lot cheaper than a pull out engine, and def cheaper than a new cab / chassis.
 
Ooo.. Definitely an interesting swap idea.

For the curious, can you share how much the parts vehicle sold for?
 
Hope it works. I know of a local guy that did the swap and it won't work cuz of ECU issues of some sort. He can't drive it and the fine folks at Ford who said it should work are of no help.
 
Ooo.. Definitely an interesting swap idea.

For the curious, can you share how much the parts vehicle sold for?



With all the fees from Copart.com, roughly $3500.



I've seen some go for the same, and some for a lot more. If it's a night online auction, you can get lucky.




Hope it works. I know of a local guy that did the swap and it won't work cuz of ECU issues of some sort. He can't drive it and the fine folks at Ford who said it should work are of no help.


The Infamous Project: https://theinfamousproject.com/shop/ford-7-3-godzilla-v8-motor-swap-package/


Has been selling pullout engine and transmissions from E-450's that are being turned into EV's from Canada. He has a ECU unlock service and sells a stand alone harness that will make the engine run with only a few wires.



I have both the 2022 and 2014 wiring service manuals from Ford.



If I have to, I'll send him the ECU. I will most likely just do a cab swap.
 
Wow... I'll love to watch how this progresses as well :)

Very interesting about the Infamous Project. Seems like a really solid deal, depending on how much labor it would be to do the actual swap on an older v8 or v10.
 
Thanks for the info. I've definitely pondered a 7.3G engine swap in my van. I would probably go with a reconfigured ECU since my '92 currently has no emissions controls. Definitely cheaper than the CTD 12V conversion I've been dreaming about.
 
225, I think what I wrote to you in response to your private message is relevant to the overall discussion so I'll repeat it here and add a little extra detail...

I've done a ton of research into doing the Godzilla swap and, as I see it, you have two options since you already have the donor vehicle... (actually 3 but #3 is pretty advanced and more for the extreme performance crowd)

1) Completely gut the donor vehicle of every module and wiring harness and transfer all of it over to your current van (including the dash). The two vans don't share the same electrical architecture so nothing will integrate in a "plug n play" sense. You can see many differences within the factory wiring manuals.

This method is probably the simplest because you're dealing with two Eseries cabs where mechanically/physically everything is the same, it's just the wiring and computers that are different. The drawback is, (to my knowledge...as of my research a couple months ago) none of the tuning companies support the 2021+ Eseries platform so you're stuck with factory tuning and no easy way to manipulate any modules if needed. Vans and trucks use some of the same hardware but (from the info that's been given to me) the OS is different on the commercial vans and it's not a direct 1:1 match in tuning tables or PIDs. So nothing that's been done in the exciting world of Godzilla swaps in the aftermarket will work on the Eseries hardware.

2) The second way is to buy a Ford Performance controls pack that supports the 7.3L and integrate that into the van's wiring. This allows you tuning access via HP Tuners should you want to upgrade the cam and heads. This would be the path I take if I were to do the swap but instead of the 6R140 trans that comes in the vans, I'd use the 10R140 from the trucks. A controls pack for the 6R140 exists I believe but if I were starting from scratch, personally I'd use the 10-speed.

Either method you choose, it's not an "easy" swap. You're definitely going to want to find factory wiring manuals for both vans and become very familiar with them. And find a tuner that knows swaps pretty well or be prepared to learn a lot about tuning software...

For anyone pondering a Godzilla swap, the good news is that the engine was already fit in an Eseries so mechanically, placement is just a matter of buying the parts (motor mounts, radiator, etc...). The bulk of the effort to do this swap is in the electrical integration. In the 2008-earlier vans, I think this would be relatively easy since much of the van was still hard-wired rather than CANbus. For 2009+ vans, integration is still possible (I did it with the Cummins) but you'd have to think about things like aftermarket gauges and some lost functionality unless you reeeeeeaaaaaallllly dive deep into the electronics.

Currently you can buy a brand new 7.3L crate engine with a new 10R140 trans and the controls pack for ~$18-20k. I've got nothing against buying a salvaged rig, I've done it with great success but for those who would want brand new with known history, you can get a complete package directly from Ford now.

https://performanceparts.ford.com/part/M-9000-PM73A

For the last 2 years at least I've been trying to justify doing this swap for myself but since I don't have a van to do it in and I have two other engine swaps in the works (2.8L Duramax for one rig and a L83/6L80 for another), I'll have to wait for a willing customer to have my Godzilla fun.

To be clear about something above...I'm not saying it is impossible to tune Eseries vans...what I am saying is that the Eseries isn't a large enough market to devote tuning resources to, to the point where you could do the same amount of manipulation as you can on the truck version. There's no market for whipple charged delivery vans. If you want to use the Eseries pcm and do a swap, I'm sure someone could do it but you're going to be limited in what you can do for upgrades/tuning/reprogramming modules. The point is, there isn't going to be anyone (or very few someones) to help. You're on your own, forging new ground. If you use the truck PCM, there's a pretty substantial aftermarket going after this...not as substantial as the LS scene but there's enough going on in the Godzilla world that you'll find some good support no problem.
 
225, I think what I wrote to you in response to your private message is relevant to the overall discussion so I'll repeat it here and add a little extra detail...

To be clear about something above...I'm not saying it is impossible to tune Eseries vans...what I am saying is that the Eseries isn't a large enough market to devote tuning resources to, to the point where you could do the same amount of manipulation as you can on the truck version. There's no market for whipple charged delivery vans. If you want to use the Eseries pcm and do a swap, I'm sure someone could do it but you're going to be limited in what you can do for upgrades/tuning/reprogramming modules. The point is, there isn't going to be anyone (or very few someones) to help. You're on your own, forging new ground. If you use the truck PCM, there's a pretty substantial aftermarket going after this...not as substantial as the LS scene but there's enough going on in the Godzilla world that you'll find some good support no problem.

MG, thanks for making it public.

The route I am going is gutting the donor cab, and swapping everything into the 2014.

I guess there is no way of knowing if a truck PCM would work on the van engine without trying it, since no one ever has.

The only saving grace with Ford is, if you have a Ford J2534 (J box) and the Ford software ($1k a year subscription), you can change a lot of stuff. Like VIN # in the PCM, model type, etc. You can do A LOT.

I have a J2534 Ford VCM3. And have used the FDRS software before. I'm not sure how far that will get me with the truck ECM, but maybe it's worth a shot?

I would really like to add heads and a cam. And like you mentioned, the 10 speed transmission would be nice too.

If I have all the wiring from the 2022, adding the Ford wiring harness for the 7.3 and 10R140 can't be too bad...

They give full pinouts on the website: https://performanceparts.ford.com/download/instructionsheets/IS_M-6017-73A_V5.PDF
 
If it were my project, I'd want to start off down the path with the most known adjustability and the most support. Personally, I think the controls pack directly from Ford is the way to go if your long term intent is anything other than a bone stock van engine.
 
Made my trip from Asheville, NC. to Lafayette, La., which was 786 miles to be exact.

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The U-Haul I used was a 26ft. w/ a car dolly pulling a 1983 Jeep CJ-7. The U-Haul was fully packed.

The truck I rented had a 7.3L Godzilla motor backed by the 6 speed transmission.

I know the gearing was different, but considering I was in a 26ft box truck completely loaded to the gills, AND pulling a Jeep, the engine did it almost effortlessly. The only struggle was in the mountains on I-40 between Asheville and Knoxville. But not enough to complain about. All I could think about is, if this engine can do this, a 12ft box truck, probably a 1/4 the weight, will be a dream.

I haven't looked at the donor yet, but plan to in the next couple days.
 
I sold the RV donor a while back. After moving and having too much going on, I decided to let it go.

I have been thinking about getting another engine / transmission lately. Like @mgmetalworks said, 7.3 w/10R140 transmission would be ideal.

I am worried about losing cruise control more than anything. But I think I can figure that out. If I can get c/c, at least it will be a drive by wire pedal and not that difficult to use for hours on end.
 

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