1988 Fox Body 7.3L Godzilla Swap

[ca_preston]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxELbnDCKgg&lc=UgxN6fQ1AmyREdWt_Vh4AaABAg

So my dad bought a fox body without talking to the crew. So here we are, getting geared up to put the Sema thrash on this 1988 Fox Body Mustang.
To be honest the car itself is in pretty great shape underneath with a small bit of rust in the engine bay.

The plan for this car is to use Detroit Speed suspension, use a wide body kit, put a 7.3L Godzilla motor in it, Forgeline Wheels, and refinish the interior to be a pro touring monster!
I'll post up more as we start to dig into the car!

[egoman]

More Fords makes for a better read!

[ryeguy2006a]

Very cool!! I've been waiting for someone to grab one of these motors and swap it. How well would it fit in a first gen, haha.

[813Demon340]

Cool project!

[qnitro]

Im dropping in a 427 LS into my 69 Fastback, wanted a Godzilla, but there is little to no support for them so everything had to be custom.. I think the 7.3 will have legs, once the aftermarket catches up..

[Jonathonar89]

I’ve been skeptical on this engine but it seems to be taking well to the Ford community as far as hype goes. I’m skeptical because that GM 8.1 did not do well in the swap community. The biggest issue was that big oil pan which doesn’t fit much else and no one made any retrofit oil pans. Hopefully this engine sees a better future than that GM engine.

Let’s see some progress!

[ryeguy2006a]

People are already figuring out how to get the cam/crank signals for Holley EFI, so it's a matter of time before they are everywhere. So cool you are blazing the trail. What is your plan for the oil pan and headers?

[ca_preston]

People are already figuring out how to get the cam/crank signals for Holley EFI, so it's a matter of time before they are everywhere. So cool you are blazing the trail. What is your plan for the oil pan and headers?

We're doing some development work with Indy Power Products. They will be offering an oil pan adapter to do a lower profile option. https://www.indypowerproducts.com/shop


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHPXikbOork&t=436s

[marolf101x]

We had it running yesterday on an ECU Masters BLACK unit. Sequential fuel, but wasted spark as the ecu only has 6 coil drivers.
Strangle enough the crank reluctor is a 60-2, while the cam is a 4 tooth (two long, two short). Fortunately we found the ECU Masters had a cam and crank profile already available that worked.
The only issue is the throttle body does not output a variable voltage signal. It transmits a SENT digital signal, which we’ve found not many support. So I’m printing an adapter to put an LS3 throttle body on it for initial testing.

[ca_preston]

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[ryeguy2006a]

Very nice! I was reading that there is a variable oil pump or something in the Godzilla motors that is electronically controlled. Is that something that the ECU you are running can handle? Curious if that could be made to work with Holley?

[marolf101x]

The motor going in the Foxbody has the Indy Power Products front drive kit and oil pan. It replaces the OE oil pump, which is located in the pan, to behind the front cover.
This allows the pan to be extremely shallow, and negates the need to control the variable pump.

[ca_preston]

https://youtu.be/iNfu-c5f6Ng

[ca_preston]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN4F71AIchg&t=5s

We're back and 9 weeks away from the SEMA Show.
We've got a buttload of work to get done on the Foxzilla before we get to pain.

[ca_preston]

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[ryeguy2006a]

Wow, you guys aren't messing around! This should be a beast!

[ca_preston]

We try to take everything we build seriously!
It should be an absolute unit on the track... thats if we can get traction haha

[pinebox]

Impressive build!
Interesting how you have used the front rails from the older car to get the DSE front suspension in there. Very cool! :drool:

[ca_preston]

That is one thing that is a bit interesting with the DSE kit, is we had to blend in the front frame rails to make it work.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5pDmgfV_3Q

[jaybee]

That's going to be a brutal car. I'd love to see Ford to a short deck version of this engine That would max out around 6L or so. Coyotes are great engines, but they're gigantic physically and very expensive to build.

[ca_preston]

The Brembo brakes for the Fox showed up today and good golly miss Molly! These are their latest GT-S Calipers which are an upgrade from their GT system. As next year rolls around I should be able to give a more in-depth review of the difference in feel between the previous brakes I've used on the race truck vs. these.

GT VS GT-S basic differences explained: The GT Systems are entry systems to their High Performance program, they come in a wide range of caliper and color options, these systems provide a significant upgrade over OE Brembo Brake Systems, and are suitable for daily driving as well as amateur HPDE events. The GT-S is a step up from the GT, with some added performance benefits. The main differences are the hard-black anodized caliper body, recessed dust boots, and stainless-steel piston inserts. While these differences may not directly increase braking power, the anodized finish provides improved heat rejection and reduced caliper flex by strengthening the base aluminum, while the recessed dust boots and stainless-steel inserts ensure that the internal hydraulics remain free of dust and debris. Spending more time on the track you will naturally encounter higher levels of dust and debris, as well as increased temperature demands. Even though the GT-S is geared for more performance-oriented vehicles, it still retains the same qualities as the GT system that prevents excessive noise and dust, which means Its suited for everyday road use as well as high performance.

Time to take the idea of the "Ultimate" street car to the next level!

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[WideOpenThrottle]

Looking great. I can’t wait for the next video update. Awesome build and thank you for sharing.

[ca_preston]

Looking great. I can’t wait for the next video update. Awesome build and thank you for sharing.

Funny you say that! Here is our latest video update.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y-qWCVQTIs&t=1s

[WideOpenThrottle]

Funny you say that! Here is our latest video update.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y-qWCVQTIs&t=1s

Thanks! That made my day. :)

[WideOpenThrottle]

I saw some new pics of this build on one of my feeds (looks like she is rolling around now)... Looking great. Any chance another video or some more pics coming anytime soon? :)

[qnitro]

Hey, whos oil pan you using? Indy?

[ca_preston]

Hey, whos oil pan you using? Indy?
For this application we're making a custom pan to keep a minimum of 8 qts of oil. We're working on making it so we can get a bit more oil in... Will be an Indy Power Product most likely post SEMA.
Last Friday we took a trip to Ohio and visited Forgeline to pick up our FF1 Wheels! Another crazy part that we are working on for the car is a billet intake with built-in intercooler. This intake will drop the overall height about 2-2.5 in of the motor. Should have it off the mill tomorrow, this will also be a new product for Indy Power. Bob's currently working on customer headers an exhaust to fit through the trans tunnel, to then exit out each side of the car... Should be pretty rad. Will keep you guys updated with our next video most likely next week!

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[qnitro]

This is an INSANELY bad ass build... love the updates



For this application we're making a custom pan to keep a minimum of 8 qts of oil. We're working on making it so we can get a bit more oil in... Will be an Indy Power Product most likely post SEMA.
Last Friday we took a trip to Ohio and visited Forgeline to pick up our FF1 Wheels! Another crazy part that we are working on for the car is a billet intake with built-in intercooler. This intake will drop the overall height about 2-2.5 in of the motor. Should have it off the mill tomorrow, this will also be a new product for Indy Power. Bob's currently working on customer headers an exhaust to fit through the trans tunnel, to then exit out each side of the car... Should be pretty rad. Will keep you guys updated with our next video most likely next week!

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[qnitro]

Sorry to bug you in the crunch to Sema, but I assume its got a pilot bearing located in the crank? Or a space to press one in?

[ca_preston]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyVAnOXhXDI


Probably the last video before SEMA! A big thanks to Jim Ryder from Indy Power Products for coming out to help on the engine build! We're thrashing away on the build and it looks like we will be burning the midnight oil the next few days to get the car finalized and packed to head to the south west.

[WideOpenThrottle]

The new video they posted up on you tube, I guess they took it back down.

[ca_preston]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSwnE8QEEbE
Unfortunately we ran into some issues at start up that pushed us back a few days on the foxbody build. When you lose 2-3 days when 7 people are working on the car it equates to a serious loss in man work hours. With that said, the car is still going to be finished and raced in 2022! There is a lot more content to come as we finish up the project now that sema is over and we can get our heads freshened and read to rock.

[ryeguy2006a]

This car is amazing. So were you able to make it to SEMA? I can't wait to see the finished product. If I had a Ford, I'd be looking pretty seriously at that Godzilla crate motor.

[ca_preston]

This car is amazing. So were you able to make it to SEMA? I can't wait to see the finished product. If I had a Ford, I'd be looking pretty seriously at that Godzilla crate motor.


Unfortunately not, we had some motor issues that held up the rest of the build for 2-3 days. When that happened and we couldn't get it started and diagnosed we thought it better to not bring it as a roller. It needs to start, stop and steer for it to be at-least presentable in our eyes. We will get it finished through the next month and half and we will definitely give updates along the way! It's going to be an absolute unit on the street and track.

[dhutton]

Curious what the motor issues were?

Don

[ca_preston]

We're looking into that this week. We had some issues with it starting and we had changed some of the variable timing so we're wondering if in the rush of the moment something got assembled in the wrong setting. When we got back from SEMA the motor was able to turn over again which is a good sign.

[ca_preston]

https://www.facebook.com/506970949/videos/4572444282821428/

The Fox is ALIVE! Some of you may know we had some hiccups making it to SEMA and with us also competing in the OUSCI event with the race truck we decided to pull our attention back onto it to make sure it was ready to race. Now that we're back home and refreshed from our near 2 weeks in Vegas were chugging along on the foxbody. Again this beast is powered by a 7.3L Ford Performance Godzilla motor with a FX series Procharger. She definitely needs some tuning and we should be taking it over to the dyno this week!

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[ca_preston]

Curious what the motor issues were?

Don

It seems that alot of the issues came from using ethanol fuel on the initial start up. With the motor being pretty tight and not being really broken in yet she just was wanting to be a pain. (we had originally wanted to start on just gasoline but the tuner wanted to start on ethanol) Once we got it switched over and made some adjustments we got her up and running. Again we should have the car to the chassis dyno this week and will post some videos/numbers!

[ca_preston]

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The pops has been making wheel tubs and fitting panels for the Foxzilla. Thankfully he enjoys me enough to think about how close everything really is to the back of my head and closed everything in rather than just saying **** it and sending it.

He used 1/8” aluminum, trimmed the stock plastics and added some sheet metal backers. The triangular holes in the inner fenders will be inlayed with carbon fiber sheeting similar to how we did the trans tunnel, then we will powder coat the wheel tubs and leather wrap the plastics to clean everything up in the back!

[ca_preston]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ayIIDJL5YU&lc=Ugzn41EIcXUR9rmrjvZ4AaABAg

The Fox is finally getting some base tuning done!
fter getting the remaining small mechanical items done on our list we took the Foxbody, otherwise known as Foxzilla, over to the dyno. Thanks to our buddies at Off the Line for letting us use the dyno for the evening, and also thank you to Sam for the tune!

We did encounter a couple small issues so we weren't able to go for big power during this session, but we will make a couple changes to our setup over the holiday week and come back to the dyno later to see full power numbers.

[ca_preston]

https://youtu.be/LfdF-BTAmBs

Well, we decided if we're going to build the craziest foxbody in existence we probably should have all the sensors in the world. In this video we give an overview of the motor package, some of the neat wiring setups we have, our change over to the Emtron ECU and a few more details.

What do you guys think?

[LERM]

Hot damn! If this isn’t just the most wonderful thing I’ve seen today…

[ca_preston]

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Fresh paint is ELECTRIFYING!

[thumper877]

That is a very nice blue!!

[wfo guy]

Very interesting! :)

[MassMalibu]

This is an incredible build! Fantastic blue. Keep the updates coming.

[ca_preston]

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[andrewb70]

Awesome build!

Andrew

[WideOpenThrottle]

Very nice! It's awesome to see it coming together. Thank you for sharing the build with us. I have a question about the carbon doors and carbon roof, which vendor are they from?

Thanks,
~Max

[ca_preston]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNZtFDVYbck&t=340s
For those that really want that in depth look at nearly every inch of the car!

[ca_preston]

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We've had some ups and downs on the build. On the dyno we were making over 1000 WHP then we broke two lifters and had to build a new motor. Now that we have that motor apart we're trying to understand exactly where the failure point was. It’s an epic pain in the ass, when the lifters failed it spun a cam bearing, and broke the cam gear.

So more or less don’t spin the stock lifters or cam gear above 6,000 rpm based on our testing. The motor had Brian Wolfe’s stage 2 heads and cam, VVT lockout and Indy Power products oil system.
Due to parts availability we now have stage 1 heads and everything else the same. Also note, when the cam sprocket broke it takes out the valves.

Brian had the same combo making 1400 at the crank, on our chassis dyno we were spinning the tires and still made over 900 on the dyno jet…. Fuel flow and other data shows we made about 1100 at the tires…

On an equally good note we just finished up getting our new 7.3L Godzilla Intake with built in intercooler ready to rock! Check it out here:https://creativewerksinc.com/godzilla-lo-pro-intake/



https://youtu.be/NitDHR77gic

[ca_preston]

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Another photo dump from the last few days as we are starting to button up final assembly on the fox!
We ended up utilizing the OEM panels and reworked + wrapped them in leather. Bob, (my dad) created an entire sheet metal cover for the back, custom wheel wells with carbon fiber inlays and we plan on adding the sub and Orion Amp to the back to finish it off.

Inside we made a custom dash piece in our CNC out of billet, Inlayed our Kicker stereo, A/C Controls, USB + Data ports.

The car itself is being used as a test mule primarily for these Godzilla parts we are working on, but additionally we are working on some new fan controllers + Fuel controllers. The car runs off of the Emtron ECU, and utilizes a dash from ECU Masters + Blink Marine Can Key Pad.

[Josh@Ridetech]

Dang it.... I was going to start building my other fox body soon but after seeing this one I think I may just push it back in the corner, I can't compete with that lol.

Looks great guys!