I soon got on the phone with Ford Racing Performance Products sales, research, and planning guru Jesse Kershaw to discuss my wants and needs for the project. After an educational chat, he said they were going to start offering the critically acclaimed '05-07 4.6L three-valve SOHC V-8 as a crate motor. The only thing was that nobody had transplanted one into a non-production vehicle yet, and even Ford was unsure of how to make it run on its own. Now, Ford Racing has sold plenty of the '04-and-earlier SOHC and DOHC engines with great success, and you can even order up the same 5.4L DOHC supercharged powerhouse that comes in the Ford GT supercar if you have the bread; however, the new three-valve V-8s are a whole new animal when it comes to the wiring, computer, and EFI side of the equation. Despite this hurdle, Jesse said Ford Racing was looking for the perfect excuse to figure out exactly what they need to make to offer a universal "street rod" style wiring harness for the '05-07 Mustang GT-based engines, and who was I to say no-it sounded like the perfect motor for the '68. While the motor in bone stock form puts out a modest 300 horses and 320 lb-ft of torque, there are plenty of things that can be done to gain enough grunt under the pedal to have fun and maintain its driveability, reliability, and economy, which is everything I was looking for.
During the next six months there will be some degree of trial and error, so we'll start here with the physical aspects of mounting the engine in the truck. By the time the F-100 is running, the Ford Racing tech department will have everything figured out and ready to go in the catalog so you can order your own. Call Ford Racing today and discuss your needs with them, and be sure to check back here each month for the latest progress!
 ...and don't interfere with...  ...and don't interfere with the steering at this point either, which is nice. |  I set the motor back against...  I set the motor back against the firewall as much as I could while leaving a small gap, which tucked it up under the lip of the cowl nicely. The 4.6L SOHC motor is relatively short, and fully dressed it measures 28 inches long, which is 4 inches shorter than the 460 and just half an inch longer than the 302/351 measured from the bellhousing to the water pump snout. A complete three-valve 4.6L engine tips the scales at a mere 420 pounds. |  Once I had the motor and trans...  Once I had the motor and trans in the ballpark of where they needed to be in the frame, it was time to get out the tape measure and levels to make sure it was centered in the frame and level side to side with the frame. Being that the engine is fuel injected, the crankshaft angle isn't as critical as a carbureted setup, so I was more concerned with clearing the front crossmember and floors, which would probably be a slam dunk if I hadn't kicked the front of my frame up 2 inches, but I'll have to do some tranny tunnel work by the looks of it, which is part of the price you pay to be low. |
 I was waiting for the rest...  I was waiting for the rest of the accessories like the A/C compressor and starter to show up, so instead of just making my own motor mounts, I went down to the local Ford dealership and bought these stock Mustang mounts. At this time there are still no alternatives, and I wanted to make sure the passenger-side mount would clear the starter and A/C compressor. |  Sean Hyland Motorsport is...  Sean Hyland Motorsport is a well-known company in the world of modular Ford engines and literally has written a book about them. They offer these trick Prothane Bullet Mounts that replace the stock hydra-mounts that come standard in the '05-07 Mustangs to cushion between the motor mount and frame. Plus, it looked like they would be somewhat easy to adapt to my frame. |  Unfortunately, nothing is...  Unfortunately, nothing is ever easy, and when I went to install the Ford motor mount on the engine, my frame was just too narrow by about 1 3/4 inches on each side, but the matter was again compounded by the additional frame kickup. I would guess that these would work in many cases, just not mine at this point. |