Through the 1990s and early 2000s, Ford phased out its pushrod small-block V8s in favor of the Modular engines, a family of V8 and V10 engines sharing common parts. Honing in on the V8s, Ford offered production versions in 4.6 or 5.4-liter displacements, with two-, three-, or four-valve heads prior to launching the Coyote. As you can imagine, the top-dog 5.4-liter engine with four-valve heads was reserved for performance flagships. We’re talking about the Mustang SVT Cobra R, the Shelby GT500, the Ford GT, and the … Lincoln Navigator? Hang on a second.
Could you drop the engine from a Lincoln Navigator into an older Mustang and go quickly? Well, people have done just that, although the motor itself is going to need a few changes to both fit under the hood of a Mustang and make some seriously solid horsepower.
Still, if you want an interesting all-Ford way of making an older overhead-cam Mustang go fast on a reasonable budget and don’t want to just drop a Windsor V8 in it, a Lincoln Navigator engine swap could be one enticing solution. Hell, it can even make 1,000 horsepower with boost. How’s that for bang for the buck?
An Unlikely Donor
Alright, so the 1999 to 2004 Navigator did feature a 5.4-liter four-valve V8, but it wasn’t the same as the one in the Ford GT. With an iron block and natural aspiration, it actually shared more in common with the engine in the 2000 Mustang SVT Cobra R than anything else. Same iron block, same forged steel crankshaft. The differences kick in with pretty much everything that’s bolted on, but the flipside is that while an SVT Cobra R engine is expensive, it’s pretty easy to find a good four-valve 5.4-liter Navigator V8 in a junkyard for peanuts. Now, keep in mind that for 2002, the block casting changed to one with additional ribbing for strength and quietness, and if you’re looking to make big power, that’s probably the one you’re looking for.
Either way, the Navigator variant of this V8 cranked out 300 horsepower and 355 lb.-ft. of torque bone stock. That’s on par with what you’d get out of a three-valve 4.6-liter mod motor and a handy upgrade over the 260 horsepower and 302 lb.-ft. of torque that a two-valve 4.6-liter New Edge Mustang GT could kick out with Ford’s Performance Improved cylinder heads and intake manifold. However, thanks to the added displacement of the 5.4-liter V8 and the flow of four-valve heads, handy individuals can make this engine go a whole lot further than that.
From The Junkyard To The Drag Strip
Alright, let’s say you’re looking to make some fairly serious power from a junkyard 5.4-liter four-valve Navigator V8. Well, if you’re interested in digging deep, the first thing you’re gonna want to do is strip the engine down and buy some new pistons and rods. See, the stock connecting rods are the weak point on this engine, and if you’re tearing it down that far, you might as well bump the compression ratio up from the stock 9.0:1 to something spicy, like 10:1. A set of forged H-beam rods and flat-top pistons will run you in the neighborhood of $1,500 once you factor in all the hardware, but that’s cheaper than ventilating a block.
The stock Navigator cylinder heads are actually quite good, and with a port and polish, will handle just about everything you throw at them. However, you will want a quartet of aftermarket camshafts, and that’s where things get expensive. Something like Modular Head Shop’s Stage 2 camshafts can be run with stock valve springs and offer 0.425 inches of lift on both sides, 226 duration on the intake side and 222 duration on the exhaust side, but they’ll run you $1,799.
Now, for the final big piece, a new intake manifold. See, the Navigator V8 came with a tall cross-ram manifold that just doesn’t fit under the hood of most cars. However, performance solutions exist, including those from Ford. If you’re lucky surfing the second-hand market and want a sweet showpiece, you can pick up a sweet intake manifold from a 2003-onwards Falcon XR8. Not only will it say “Boss” on it, which is cool as hell, it should fit under the hood of a Crown Victoria or Mustang. However, if you’re looking to stick to a budget, MMR has an adapter set that’ll let you bolt a stock five-liter Coyote intake manifold onto a 5.4-liter four-valve motor. It lists for $189.99, and a Boss 302 intake manifold will run you $264.99 brand new from LMR. Add in a big-bore throttle body and bam.
Of course, while you’re in there, you’re going to want to replace all the common consumables that can wear out on a high-mileage engine. A new timing set, new timing cover, cylinder head, oil pan, and valve cover gaskets, to name a few. Mustang Cobra headers and a Mustang oil pan will also be necessary for clearance. If you’re hooking this motor up to a manual transmission, you’ll also need a pilot bearing, and a flywheel, and a clutch to handle the torque, and the list goes on. If you do all the work yourself and source a junkyard motor, expect to spend in the neighborhood of $7,500 to complete this engine build with some serious power mods. Not super cheap, but still thousands of dollars less than a five-liter Coyote V8 crate motor, and a four-valve 5.4-liter motor will be a bit simpler to tune. No variable cam timing, for example, and you likely won’t even need aftermarket engine management if you’re dropping into a Mustang of the era. Plus, these engines with forged rods and pistons are known to be good for four-digit horsepower once you add boost, and that’s where things get really spicy.
A few years ago, dyno legend Richard Holdener threw together a fairly similar package, added twin 67-mm turbochargers and fueling, and hit just over 1,000 horsepower on a reasonable 18 psi. Now that’s some serious jam, especially once you consider that fairly flat torque curve. This is a junkyard Ford motor build that could really hurt some feelings at the drag strip.
The Original Coyote?
While building a 5.4-liter four-valve V8 isn’t especially common in the era of the Coyote V8, it’s an engine steeped in tradition. People have been doing this swap for years, and some of the best bang for the buck is dropping one of these motor builds into a dirt-cheap V6 fourth-generation or early fifth-generation Mustang. The end result is a fast and unique period-correct Ford that won’t cost an absolute fortune to build, provided you’re willing to get greasy and do it yourself.
It’s an engine that sounds damn good, is a little left-field by today’s standards, offers a ton of streetability, and can be built from mild to wild. Just check out this full-on 5.4-liter four-valve Fox Mustang drag car pulling the front tires. How cool is that?
(Photo credits: Lincoln, YouTube/Victor Montero, Cars & Bids, LMR)
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I wonder if one of these would bolt right in to my 98 Continental? It already has the 4v 4.6. I would guess the FWD layout would cause issues.
Area Man asks:
Can I put this in a Volvo wagon?
How cool is that?
Meh. It’d be actual “genius” if those engines used gasoline more efficiently.
Yeah, but who out here is modding a 20 year old Mustang with fuel economy on the mind?
So mod something else. I think 100 mpg is a lot more useful than 1000 hp to most folks. I’m sure there are other autopians *cough* toecutter *cough* who would be interested in such content.
Ford folks feel free to chime in, but wouldn’t a better swap be the 4.6 4v from the Aviator? All aluminum construction, and made some appearances in serious performance cars including Koenigsegg. Then again maybe the extra displacement is worth the ~100lb weight penalty
I’d say so as in that application and the Marauder it made 302 HP , but the torque is less than the Gator’s at 318. Plus it is shorter and narrower too so it will fit in with less massaging or unique parts. Of course if you are going for crazy hp the old saying is there is no replacement for displacement.
The 4.6L 4V from the Aviator does get some love, though from what I’ve seen it has largely been overshadowed by the 5.0L Coyote. For a bit you could find reasonably nice Aviators in the junkyard without engines because they got cheap enough that people would buy functional vehicles just to pluck the engine and harness out of and then scrap the rest.
This is old news. Hell, I had a Lincoln Mark VII 4.6 4v I was building to shoehorn into my last Mustang II with a TR3650, but I sold both when I got behind on bills. 5.4 swaps are somewhat common in SN95 cars because, well, who wouldn’t want 49 more cubic inches of displacement that bolts right in? Even the 5.4 2v from an Expedition or an F-Series makes power with a power adder. Hell, there was guy on Stangnet named Sal that put a supercharged 5.4 from a wrecked Lightning into his Mustang II Cobra II.
A Mod motor, particularly a 4v must be a very tight fit in a MII engine bay.
Probably a much better use of the engine than in a Navigator. I had one. I sold it after towing a big load a couple of times because the only way it could tow was revving the piss out of the engine at highway speeds with any kind of incline (like a bridge over another road.) It did perform better than the 351w in my 88 F-250. But the Hemi in my Ram 1500 loaf along at 2k rpm towing the same load that would take 4k rpm in the Navigator.
Let’s be honest, Ford spent tons of money on manufacturing costs for a complex engine design that barely (?) kept up with the LS and Hemi. They eventually got the message and went back to simple reliable cheap pushrods for the truck 7.3. You don’t need a 4 valve DOHC to make good power and torque and fuel economy, just good head ports and cam profile design.
This is definitely a take. I mean, it’s wrong, but hey, you said it, not me.
I’ll bite. Modular engines pre-dated LS and HEMI engines. Of course those two would come with improvements in power over a 2V modular. But a Mustang Cobra R could give you a good idea of what a Modular could reliably get from the factory without needing Turbos.
Chevy had to tune the larger displacement LS1 into the LS6 to match those numbers when they released the C5 Z06. So did the HEMI which wouldn’t surpass those numbers until they released the 6.1 variant in the late 2000s
As long as it still spits out spark plugs from the heads and develops biblical exhaust leaks I’m in.
(parents had a 1999 Expedition that did both many times)
Totally different head design between the 4v and 2v.
And 3V, which was the real problem child, so to speak.
Nah, the only actual problems with the 3V were a crappy spark plug design (really Ford, a two piece spark plug?) and Ford lying to the owners about being able to go 10,000 miles on an oil change. Every single high mileage 4.6 and 5.4 3-valve I see at the shop that hasn’t had an engine replacement or cam phaser failure has the same thing in common, 3,000-5,000 mile oil change intervals.
I concur.
I meant – but admittedly didn’t say – that the 3V is where the Mod/Triton got its less than great reputation, mostly purported by those who want to throw shade at Ford with weak propaganda. And yeah, the 2-piece plug is a head-scratcher.
Manufacturers pushing LOF intervals has been the death of far too many otherwise acceptable engines.
Those spark plugs man, holy cow. I took the oringals out of my 06 3v after the car was already 9 years old. Luckily the car was garage kept and only had 20,000 miles on it, but there were a few pucker moments for sure. Blowing out debris and shooting some PB Blaster down the tube for a 30min soak made it mostly painless though. What a dumb ass design.
The hate for the 3v is something I always try to dismiss when people ask about my 2006 modified GT. I personally love the motor. Cheap to mod, been bulletproof (for me at least) as I do 5,000 mile oil changes (car is a weekend toy so it’s about 6k a year on it to C&Cs & other fun things). And the best thing, the sound. All I did to my car was longtubes, off road H pipe (not a fan of the raspy X) and Borla mufflers. Basically straight piped (in PA, 15+ years old, NO Emission tests anymore) with a CAI & 93 dyno tune. 350/375 at the crank.
It sounds like a small block 60s Mustang. Everyone compliments how it sounds. People I don’t even know. And my car will turn 63k this weekend (owned since new) and NOT ONE ISSUE! And I did the plugs at 30k (that was a PITA) and put OEMs back in, (2-piece) but added anti-sieze. They should come out easier this time (????).
But overall, I love my car and the motor that’s in it. But I also get it where people were mad. Coming after the 32v modular in the Mach1 and before the Coyote. It should have had more than 300hp. Would have loved it if they developed the Mach1 motor some more. But it is what it is and there is nothing else I would do to my car. Well, maybe, 1 thing. I would LOVE to find the Ford Performance Boss 302 side exit exhaust kit (long discontinued). It can be added to any S197 as long as you tap in threads. Would love to add that for the sound only. THAT would be the cherry on the sundae with my car. ????