I figured out how to post pictures on here so I I will repost the write up on the thread:
I have done a lot of research trying to find out exactly what the difference is between the F150 and the mustang 5.0 Coyote. And what I found is a lot of inconstancy. So the only way to know for sure is to find out exactly for myself.
For those of you who have done or in the middle of doing a 5.0 coyote swap in your mustang know that these swaps are not cheap. But there are some ways to save a few bucks with this swap. You can find the coyote motors everywhere. They are is definitely a large supply of these motors going in every GT and 5.0 F150’s since 2011. The average price for the GT pull outs are around $5k. Some may be able to find them cheaper. 5.0 F150 motors are significantly cheaper; half the price at $2500 on ebay and LKQ. If you are thinking about a coyote swap I would definitely consider using an F150 engine. There have been several write ups that have explained some of the differences but as I have been doing my own f150 swap, I found a few more that have not been mentioned in write ups that I read. So here is what I found. Below is a list of the major block components and differences between them.
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For my 68 Fastback pro touring / Resto mod build, my plan is to apply boost to the motor. So taking that into consideration, I had to make changes to my F150 block. Being on a budget, I wanted to make the least amount of changes while still keeping reliability in mind. The crank is different, but there are a lot of people running over 600HP on the stock block with no issues. In fact the weak link for the mustang owners running boost has been either the rods (same as F150) or the oil pump; both I will go into more detail later. So with my 600-650 CRANK Hp, the crank is ok.
Next pistons, the pistons are different and the F150 motor has lower compression at 10.5: compared to the mustangs 11:1. But, being that I am running a blower on it anyway, the lower compression although relatively negligible, is better anyway.
Rods… this is one of the weakest links in the 5.0 Coyote. These powdered metal products have been known to fail around the 600 RWHP mark. For me, I will be slightly under that and my car will not be a weekend racer. Most of my Saturdays will be spent at car shows and the occasional (1-2 days/year) on a road racing track. So the Rods will stay where they are.
Heads are the same, no need to talk about them
Intake cams are different and in the F150 intake cams are designed for torque, not HP. So I bought a pair of intake cams from Fordparts.com for $360. I had them sent to a local ford dealership to avoid shipping costs.
Exhaust cams are the same but I wanted a little more exhaust flow so I picked up a pair of Boss 302 exhaust cams from MMR for $280 and a set of Boss 302 valve springs for $60. Not a bad price for a more than a 20% increase in lift.
Water pump is the same and I left it the same
Oil pump is another weak link and they are different. Both are powder metal, but the F150 oil gear and the oil gear housing are smaller than the mustangs (see Figure 1). I found out this the hard way by installing MMR’s oil gear into an F150 oil gear housing and as I torqued it down, I cracked the housing. So I replaced the housing with a mustang GT housing from fordparts.com for $107. MMR’s oil gear (rated for 1500 hp) came to $335.
Oil Filter housing – these are very different. I don’t see one being more superior to the other. I actually like the way the F150’s housing is designed better than the mustang. I am running a TCI Mustang II front suspension conversion and the front sway bar interferes with the F150 housing (Figure 2), so I had to switch to the mustang oil filter housing. I bought this on ebay for $55 with shipping.
Here is the cost breakdown structure of what I have invested into an F150 engine that I is essentially a Boss 302 engine for a fraction of the price, minus the intake cams which are only a difference of a 1mm lift for an $800 price and the intake.
So a grand total of $3,700 into my 5.0 coyote which will be a little more stout than a stock GT for $1300 cheaper than your average price. The savings are enough for me to buy the Ford Racing Control Pack. This does just cover the block components. The only other major difference is the air intake manifold which the GT allows more air flow, I picked one up on craigslist for less than $100 and the exhaust manifold (which doesn’t matter anyway because they don’t fit with the TCI front suspension conversion). The throttle body, wiring harness, fuel rail, fuel injectors, coil packs are all the same.
Hope this helps some of you. If I am missing anything, please share.
