Finally, Ford Performance prices 615-hp Megazilla crate engine
After waiting almost an entire year since it was first announced, Ford has put a price tag on the 7.3-liter Megazilla crate engine, and it’s a heavy one. With an MSRP of $22,995, Ford’s 615-hp pushrod powerplant will cost roughly half of a new Super Duty truck, but the engine does come with some interesting parts.
The burly engine will use the same forged steel crankshaft as the 7.3-liter found in Super Duty pickup trucks and will pack forged rods and pistons from Callies and Mahle, respectively, but it uses CNC-ported factory heads as well as a low-profile intake manifold that will help it fit into tight engine bays. Ford also noted that the engine comes with a performance camshaft (part number M-6250-SD73A) but did not specify lift, duration, or lobe separation angle. With 615 hp at 5750 rpm and 638 lb-ft of torque at 4650 rpm, the cam can’t be too rowdy, and the engine certainly sounds like it will be a brute, with plenty of usable power low in the rpm range.
We’ve already seen a few Godzilla swaps, and this new offering from Ford Performance will give builders of restomod muscle cars another viable option for modern pushrod power. Its 10.5:1 compression ratio, the same as the factory truck engine, should also keep it happily chugging on the same 87 octane the trucks use. That price tag will be tough to swallow, however, as the engine doesn’t come complete and ready to run. It lacks any kind of engine management, a starter, and a front accessory drive. Those items will add up to more than $3000, pushing the total cost to get a running Megazilla into the realm of a complete Ford Maverick.
To compare, Chevrolet Performance Parts offers a 7.4-liter, iron-block, pushrod engine that produces 627 hp and comes with an ECU, for around $16,000. Over at Mopar’s Direct Connection, $21,807 will score an 807-hp Hellcat Redeye crate engine. Of course, if big Ford power is your goal, Ford Performance’s own 572-cubic-inch, 655-hp big-block will set you back $19,750. The Megazilla, however, is narrower than the Hemi and shorter than Ford’s 385-series V-8, so it will likely swap in easier than either of those alternatives.
This crate engine is still good news for die-hard Blue Oval fans, as the bigger the aftermarket becomes, the more competition there will be to develop even better parts to make swaps easier and to pull even more power from this compact powerhouse of a V-8.
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Sounds like a cool motor, but Ford says it’s for off road or comp use. So why buy it if you can’t put it in to a say 70 Thunderbird or 72 Gran Torino or any car you intend to drive on public roads?
Who follows silly laws?
@Steven Jump Just an FYI most states will emissions exempt any vehicle more than twenty five years old. CA will not exempt any vehicle produced after 1975 regardless of age. The offroad use disclaimer simply means Ford has not certified this engine to be emissions legal. That’s to protect them from a litigious customer who can’t get the engine to pass emissions. On a 70 Tbird or 72 Gran Torino this precedes the 1975 and later introduction of catalytic converters so those models are already exempt from emissions requirements even in CA.
Thanks for the info. I thought cars built before ’76 were not emission controlled but wasn’t sure.
Technically, there is no “exemption” to modify any emissions equipment for any vehicle that came with emissions equipment. In California 1966 was the first year of emissions requirements. For 49 state cars it’s 1970. While pre 1975 cars are exempt from biennial smog checks in CA, its still technically illegal to remove the smog pump from your 1966 Mustang.
It is also a violation of federal law to modify the emissions equipment on ANY vehicle certified for Federal emissions. Currently, there’s no federal enforcement of this law for end users, but the epa has gotten much more aggressive recently enforcing emissions laws that were previously uninforced for decades. For example, diesel tuners sold their tunes for decades until a few years ago, when epa started fining them hundreds of thousands of dollars and shutting them down.
So while the majority of people who don’t live in California can install an “off road use only” crate engine in their car today, that doesn’t mean the epa won’t start enforcing laws already on the books that make it illegal. It also means Ford can’t market the engine for road use since it is illegal – even though that’s where 99% of these will end up
From https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/about/history :
The nation’s first tailpipe emissions standards for hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide (1966)
From https://www.epa.gov/transportation-air-pollution-and-climate-change/timeline-major-accomplishments-transportation-air :
1970: New cars must meet EPA emission standards for hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NOx)
Well all I got to say is move out of those crappy money hungry places to reserve you freedom then you can do what you want
Looks like a good motor. Is this price competitive with the various LSX motors?
There are tens of thousands of backyard $400 junkyard LS engines with very minor mods and cheap turbos- putting out 1500 hp and down-running around. Google Richard Holdener Big Bang, he does the treatment on 4.8l and up.
Or heads, cam, headers,intake and 550 hp for not a lot of money
I haven’t seen a $400 LS that wasn’t total scrap metal in years. LS engines can still be great value, but they are hardly as cheap as they once were.
It will not work well on a motorcycle Gary Kodak