Australians can now buy Ford Performance’s bonkers 7.3-Litre Godzilla crate motor

Step aside General Motors’ LS... there’s a new engine swap kid on the block.

Melbourne-based Herrod Performance has announced that the first shipment of Ford Performance 7.3-litre Godzilla crate motors have landed locally, with more on the way.

While the first shipment is already entirely spoken for, head honcho Rob Herrod stresses that there’s another shipment already inbound and selling fast.

Orders can be lodged through Herrod Performance with an expected lead time of six to eight weeks before landing on local shores.

The 7.3-litre Godzilla motor’s natural habitat can be found under the bonnet of the 2020 Ford F-250 SuperDuty, and yields 320kW at 5500rpm and a stout 644Nm at 4000rpm.

5

While peak power may seem modest for its size, the Godzilla motor is designed to be a torquey workhorse powerplant capable of towing and hauling with ease and reliability in its OEM configuration.

Dig a little deeper, however, and the Godzilla motor begins to look like a hot-rodder's dream.

With a durable six-bolt cast-iron block and aluminium heads, the 7.3-litre mill boasts a forged crankshaft from the factory with 107.2mm cylinder bores, a 101mm stroke and 10.5:1 compression.

An ingenious cam-in-block design makes this package far smaller than traditional overhead-cam V8s.

The result? The 7.3-litre package is physically smaller than a 5.0-litre Coyote under the bonnet of the Mustang, despite weighing 61kg more, and more closely akin to the dimensions of a traditional Windsor.

5

Variable cam timing and an innovative variable displacement oil pump allow for improved fuel economy in low-stress situations, bringing modern tech to a traditional pushrod design.

All Godzilla motors are assembled at Ford Performance’s engine plant in Windsor, in Ontario, Canada, and include a composite intake manifold with an 80mm throttle body, left and right exhaust manifolds, 7.75-litre aluminium oil pan/cooler, ignition coils and wires, production flex plate and factory lift brackets.

An impending Ford Performance Control Pack will allow Godzilla to be fitted in virtually limitless applications and will include throttle and airbox assemblies, powertrain control module and wiring.

The first Control Pack will be configured for Ford’s 10GR 10-speed automatic gearbox, which Herrod expects to be released before the middle of this year.

5

A manual-compatible Control Pack is also in the pipeline and is expected to be released later this year.

Herrod quotes a landed price of around $14,000, taking into account shipping and applicable duties.

As an official Ford Performance authorised dealer, the Melbourne outpost will also provide welcome local technical and warranty support for buyers, and have direct contact to Ford Performance development engineers such as Mike Goodwin (below).

With full access to Ford Performance’s catalogue of products, Herrod also fully expect to have their hands on the high-performance ‘Megazilla’ version when it’s available, as well as a race-oriented cast-iron block 5.0-litre Coyote, which are expected to arrive later in 2021.