Modern Engine Swaps

[e21pilot]

I'm in the old school category as far as mechanical skills go and I had a general question some of the more tech savvy members of this Board may be able to answer. There is a low miles 2006 2v 6.8 V-10 engine in a damaged E-450 available to me if I want it and I know of an old F-1 farm truck that's been sitting in the weeds out on a road south of town for many years now.
It would be a fun skunk works kind of project to get that well weathered F-1 back on the road with a modern driveline and a few suspension improvements along with tires, brakes etc. I know there are lots of modern swaps going on and wondered if anyone on the Board knows if I could use the computer from the 2006 E-450 (that came with an automatic) to somehow run the same engine but in a vehicle with a manual transmission that originally came with no computer.

I know that I would have to find a modern 5 or 6-speed manual transmission to pair up with the modular Ford engine and also to be strong enough to handle the torque of the V-10. Sounds like an interesting combination of old and new. I just don't know how much complexity the electronics side would get into and how much $$$ it would take to find the people who could solve those problems. Would love to hear from someone who has done a modern swap. I am thinking my project would be somewhat less complex then most since I would be swapping into something that had no original computer so no incompatibility issues to deal with at the start. What do others think?

Could I make things work with some junk yard parts and beer and pizza money or am looking at big dollars in electronics and tech trouble-shooting time and I need to stop dreaming and get back to changing the oil on the Ranger!

 

[bobbywalter]

that is a fairly easy swap.

the v10 econoline is a pretty open deal....the harness not too bad as its made for commercial wide array of use also in stationary and cng/lpg and integration in mind.....most e series is decent stuff to work with in regards to making it live somewhere else.

that vintage may be more complicated than pre 2004 ish but i dont think its anything worth concern.

talking with hp tuners is a great place to start or mars over in ohio. they can pretty easily get you to a manual setup ect as far as the pcm goes

 

[rubydist]

Yes, you can do it. If you put the PCM from an auto trans vehicle in a manual trans vehicle, you will get check engine lights for the missing shift solenoids, and the lack of feedback that "yes, the trans is in the gear you have commanded" and those kinds of things. You can get rid of those with a simple tune.

 

[Shran]

Find a manual transmission from a gasser Super Duty and a computer to match - should be all set.

That would be a 2v V10 by the way, 3v V10's were never used in the Econoline chassis. Both are great engines, the 3v version just makes a tiny bit more power.

 

[e21pilot]

Thanks for the responses. I will look for said manual transmission ECU during my next junkyard trip. Can I assume the harness from the E-450 will be compatible with the ECU from F-350 with maybe a few extra connectors that aren't going to be used because of the transmission?

The check engine light is an interesting idea. I would have thought there is no way I would want a CEL on an F-1, but now that I think of it, it might be a good idea to see when the engine is trying to tell me something.

I noticed today that the 6.8 V10 also has a set of Banks headers on it which was a surprise. I don't know if those will give me trouble when trying to fit the motor in between the frame rails or not but I believe they should bump the HP numbers up a little and get this old 2V V-10 almost into Coyote territory HP wise and with pretty good torque numbers to match. Could be a cool project if I could get all the tech stuff to work.

 

[bobbywalter]

i would have to look at the actual harnesses.

the early style is easier to find the manual trans stuff...like 2002 down.

alot of the older units are cng or lp though...so make damn sure you are getting a gasoline setup.

i had some inquiries about these last year, and they were shockingly cheap...but high miles locally to me when i started to investigat what was going to be needed. guy wants to put one in a mark 4 lincoln with a t56 he has leftover from his wrecked mustang.

i think i had an engine and harness/ecm for less than 600 with just over 200k on it.


when he bought the t56 for the mustang....granted it was a new transmission...he had 6 grand into it installed.

it was behind a 429 that he windowed the block on and the resulting oil slick ended up rolling the car totaling it. big ass 72 mach clone with a lincoln 429 with a single 4bbl.

still has not decided....i told him to get a 521....

 

[e21pilot]

I guess I will take the time to remove the harness from the E-450 and study it a bit so I have an idea of what the harness looks like when I go to the junk yard.

 

[sgtsandman]

I guess I will take the time to remove the harness from the E-450 and study it a bit so I have an idea of what the harness looks like when I go to the junk yard.

It wouldn't be a horrible idea to take some pictures for reference. That way you won't have to depend on memory.