Becoming a gas crunch trucker

Question:

The September 2007 article on gas crunch cruisers has confirmed my ideas of installing a late-model V-8 into my 1957 F-100 truck. This idea came to me while paying some very large credit card bills for the 1960 Starliner I’m building. The updates of motor and overdrive transmission were a significant cost so why not install a late-model 4.6-liter with overdrive transmission? My 2004 Marauder gets 22-plus mpg if I keep my size 13 foot out of the firewall.

My question is where do I start to get information to do this? I would like to not reinvent the wheel so using existing parts, such as plug and play wiring, makes a lot of sense to me. I have the entire donor car to salvage from so using all Ford parts would work well. I’m hoping someone has a kit so I won’t have to disassemble the entire Crown Vic.

Answer:

Wiring kits and engine control computers to facilitate the engine installation you’re contemplating are readily available from a number of different vendors, including Ford Racing Parts (www.fordracingparts.com). Another resource for late model fuel injected engine swap wire harnesses and other parts is Centech (www.centechwire.com). There are a lot of books that can help you to carry out the engine swap. Consider buying the Ford Multiport Electronic Fuel Injection Wiring Manual, available from http://www.vintagebronco.com and numerous other vendors, and the book “Ford Fuel Injection & Electronic Engine Control,” by Charles O. Probst.