The Godzilla V8 is more than just another heavy-duty truck engine. It marks the return to pushrods for the Ford Motor Company, and as you already know by now, the 7.3-liter motor is rocking 430 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque as standard.
Fast-forward to June 2020, and that’s when the Blue Oval launched the gentle giant as a crate engine for a little over eight grand. One of those powerplants found its way under the hood of a strip-slaying Ford Mustang, the Cobra Jet prepped by Blaine Ramey and a go-faster shop from Jackson, Michigan called Paul's High Performance.
The factory-sealed unit sports very few modifications, namely an OBR Control Systems ECU and a software re-flash of the engine control unit. Connected to a Turbo 400 transmission with a 4,500-rpm stall, you can’t deny this combination is pretty darn perfect for going fast in a straight line. And it should be stupidly fast considering that we’re dealing with 500 horsepower and 500 pound-feet at the crankshaft.
Last month at the Milan Dragway in Michigan, the Cobra Jet posted 10.972 seconds at 122.47 mph (197 kph) on the quarter-mile run. Pretty incredible for a curb weight of 3,280 pounds (1,488 kilograms) and no hardware mods to the engine, don’t you think?
Approximately 540 of those pounds come courtesy of the Godzilla V8 because the cast-iron block is heavier than the all-aluminum block of the Coyote. Now try to imagine the engine with a hotter cam, stainless-steel headers, a billet intake connected to a bigger throttle body, and upgraded fuel injectors. With a bit of luck, the Cobra Jet may dip into the 9s without resorting to forced induction in the guise of a blower.
Speaking of which, the aftermarket has already responded to the need for more suck-squeeze-bang-blow. Whipple has recently launched a 3.0-liter supercharger designed specifically for the Godzilla. With eight pounds of boost and a 132-millimeter throttle body, you can expect roughly 700 horsepower and 750 pound-feet.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News