4.6 3V Whipple - wants to swap Shelby Engine

I've had my 2007 Mustang GT for 9 years and 9 months. It has just over 103,000Kms and 7 years/57,000kms of those are boosted with a Whipple 2.3 supercharger. It has run a best of 12.4 at 114MPH on 555R 20's on a 3100 DA day.

I had intentions of installing a forged engine and supporting mods. I had a forged engine 9.3:1 Manley rods, JE Pistons, and a Cobra crank ready to install but decided to sell and go a different route as I figured the miscellaneous items would cost of nearly the same as a Shelby swap.

Initially I figured I would do a 5.4 Iron block with TR6060 as it appears to be the easiest swap. You can find a decent 07-09 GT500 swap including oil pan to supercharger/ front cover to driveshaft with electronics, pedals, misc. stuff for about $8500-$10,000 depending on mileage.

I figure straight swap the car should be as fast with a stock Iron 5.4 swap and TR6060 GT500 engine setup (maybe add an SCT, tune and pulley if it isn't). By selling my forged engine, Whipple, AE 1 piece shaft, MGW shifter, 3650 trans and 4.6 3V long block I figure it will only cost about $3000-$4000 to upgrade to an engine with more room to grow and I get a better 6 speed transmission at the same time (worth at least $2000 in my mind).

However I am interested in possibly taking it a step further by installing the 2011-2012 Aluminum 5.4 GT500 engine or even the 2013-2014 5.8 with TVS.

I see the aluminum packages around $12,000-$13,000 range and the 5.8's around $15,000. I also have access to Copart and IAAI auctions so buying a running salvage 2011-2014 is also in the cards.

Having read lots of threads it seems the 2011-2014 Model year swap is a lot more involved. I attached a screen shot of all the threads I've read.

Obviously the Iron is most cost effective (and would later be upgraded with a GEN 2 VMP TVS or Whipple). However I don't want any regrets with this build so I'm looking for as much information as possible before I go forward. I would also likely upgrade the M122 on the 11-12 but leave the TVS on the 5.8.

Looking for insight from anyone who has done the any swap and the additional difficulties/costs of going the 5.4 aluminum or 5.8 route.

Sorry for long winded post. Hope you guys can help get me pointed in the right direction.















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Subscribed to this. Let me know when you decide to part with your current engine. I live locally to you, and am researching whether building a spare 4.6l and boosting it and swapping out my 4.6l

Having put together multiple GT500s, get the iron block. The significant cost savings makes it a much much better value than the aluminum block ones. All the 5.4's will hold the same power so iron vs aluminum is just for bragging rights or an emptier wallet unless you're going W2W racing. Don't even think about forking over money for the 5.8, not worth it at all. Slap a TVS on a 07-10 motor and have at it.

Itll be a whole lot cheaper to just forge a 4.6 and turn up the boost.

palanza7 said:

Itll be a whole lot cheaper to just forge a 4.6 and turn up the boost.

Click to expand...

sound advice.
i have a forged internal 4.6 3V with a DOB intake and a ported 2.3TVS supercharger. i make 650 rwhp on pump 93 octane pump gas. with a much more experienced driver it has gone 9.98 @ 134. that run toasted my 3650 internals so i upgraded to a 6060 with cf driveshaft. honestly if i can hit 9's driving my car that's all the faster i really want to go.

if you go iron gt500 5.4 you should upgrade it to stronger rods. once you start adding power the rods don't like it if you rev past 6K and like to exit the block.

i myself would add cubic inches to your 4.6 when you forge it, really won't cost much more to go 5.0 than staying at 4.6. put a DOB intake with a 2.3 TVS or even better a 2.65 TVS when they release it soon. upgrade to a better trans and driveshaft then have fun kicking some demon ass.
once the 2.65 TVs is out the 2.3 take offs will be cheaper and easier to find.

whichever motor you run, the biggest limiting factor is really the supercharger and throttle body not the cubic inches of your motor.

Mustang dog said:

Subscribed to this. Let me know when you decide to part with your current engine. I live locally to you, and am researching whether building a spare 4.6l and boosting it and swapping out my 4.6l

Click to expand...

I am happy to let you know. I will have
- 2.3 Whipple HO kit
- Axle Exchange 1 piece DS
- MGW short throw
- 4.6 3V long block for sale

You want just the engine or the Whipple too?


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Speedboosted said:

Having put together multiple GT500s, get the iron block. The significant cost savings makes it a much much better value than the aluminum block ones. All the 5.4's will hold the same power so iron vs aluminum is just for bragging rights or an emptier wallet unless you're going W2W racing. Don't even think about forking over money for the 5.8, not worth it at all. Slap a TVS on a 07-10 motor and have at it.

Click to expand...

Appreciate the insight. I'll probably go Iron block. That swap seems reasonably straight forward.


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palanza7 said:

Itll be a whole lot cheaper to just forge a 4.6 and turn up the boost.

Click to expand...

I think but the time you include:
- clutch and flywheel
- bigger injectors
- 6 speed trans
- heads + cam
- long tube headers
- billet oil pump gears
- throttle body

You get pretty close to the same money for either build.

You are max effort 4.6 build at around 650 HP. All you need on the 5.4 is a tune, pulleys and air intake and you have 600HP.

I already sold the forged block, and want to be able to get up to 700-800 HP on the 5.4 build.


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mrt2you said:

sound advice.
i have a forged internal 4.6 3V with a DOB intake and a ported 2.3TVS supercharger. i make 650 rwhp on pump 93 octane pump gas. with a much more experienced driver it has gone 9.98 @ 134. that run toasted my 3650 internals so i upgraded to a 6060 with cf driveshaft. honestly if i can hit 9's driving my car that's all the faster i really want to go.

if you go iron gt500 5.4 you should upgrade it to stronger rods. once you start adding power the rods don't like it if you rev past 6K and like to exit the block.

i myself would add cubic inches to your 4.6 when you forge it, really won't cost much more to go 5.0 than staying at 4.6. put a DOB intake with a 2.3 TVS or even better a 2.65 TVS when they release it soon. upgrade to a better trans and driveshaft then have fun kicking some demon ass.
once the 2.65 TVs is out the 2.3 take offs will be cheaper and easier to find.

whichever motor you run, the biggest limiting factor is really the supercharger and throttle body not the cubic inches of your motor.

Click to expand...

I already have a Whipple, so I wouldn't go the DOB route.

Isn't the saying "no replacement for displacement"?! Surely a 5.4 will offer overall better opportunity for more HP and TQ if the same TVS blower or 2.9 Whipple was used.

I'm not worried if GT500 swap costs a bit more.

I don't have any local shops that I would trust to build my current stock 4.6 with a forged rotating assembly either.


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mrt2you said:

sound advice.
whichever motor you run, the biggest limiting factor is really the supercharger and throttle body not the cubic inches of your motor.

Click to expand...

The current supercharger offerings are big enough to max out 93 octane and traction available with streetable tires.

white_lightning said:

Appreciate the insight. I'll probably go Iron block. That swap seems reasonably straight forward.

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I think but the time you include:
- clutch and flywheel Stock flywheel will work fine. You don't want a light flywheel for a dragstrip setup anyway. However the stock GT500 clutch won't be up to the task for big power and it's usually one of the first things GT500 owners upgrade.
- bigger injectors GT500s come with 47lb injectors (and 55lb for the later models?) and neither are big enough for the 800hp you're wanting. That is 95lb/1000cc injector territory I'm pretty sure.
- 6 speed trans
- heads + cam It's nice to have bigger cams. But head work isn't necessary on a 3v from what I've seen. There are lots of fast cars with stock heads.
- long tube headers
- billet oil pump gears I think you'll need to do the same on the 5.4
- throttle body


Isn't the saying "no replacement for displacement"?! Surely a 5.4 will offer overall better opportunity for more HP and TQ if the same TVS blower or 2.9 Whipple was used.

That is true but boost is the great equalizer.

Click to expand...

See responses in red. Point is unless you buy an 800hp car off the shelf, it's going to require money and time with grief in between.

Hmm won't you have to tear down and strengthen the gt500 shortblock for that much hp?

This sounds like a pretty serious build though so maybe outside of my knowledge. Having the 10rib system from the gt500 is pretty sweet too

palanza7 said:

Hmm won't you have to tear down and strengthen the gt500 shortblock for that much hp?

This sounds like a pretty serious build though so maybe outside of my knowledge. Having the 10rib system from the gt500 is pretty sweet too

Click to expand...

From what I know 600-650 wheel should be okay. My 12.4 just doesn't cut it anymore, tons of street cars doing 9's and 10's


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white_lightning said:

I am happy to let you know. I will have
- 2.3 Whipple HO kit
- Axle Exchange 1 piece DS
- MGW short throw
- 4.6 3V long block for sale

You want just the engine or the Whipple too?


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Click to expand...

Get me a price for the whippe, and one for both.
1 piece d.s.

Thanks!

I'm pretty sure some people have cracked the 700 rwhp mark with the 4.6 on pump gas. I take it e85 is not an option?

Gotta admit though having the 5.4 in there has a "cool" factor build in.
If money isnt a real big issue go for it!

I know I wanted that cool factor several times and I've priced swaps I saw on ebay etc and it was always way more expensive to do a swap than to just build the 4.6 and apply more boost.

Actually if money isn't an issue, forge the hell out of the 4.6, put a DoB R-spec on it, a magnum XL trans yuge injectors fuel pumps etc and break the 1k hp barrier BOOM haha

There are lots of ways to get to your goal I think. But in the end its your car, rock it like you want.

palanza7 said:

I'm pretty sure some people have cracked the 700 rwhp mark with the 4.6 on pump gas. I take it e85 is not an option?



Gotta admit though having the 5.4 in there has a "cool" factor build in.

If money isnt a real big issue go for it!



I know I wanted that cool factor several times and I've priced swaps I saw on ebay etc and it was always way more expensive to do a swap than to just build the 4.6 and apply more boost.



Actually if money isn't an issue, forge the hell out of the 4.6, put a DoB R-spec on it, a magnum XL trans yuge injectors fuel pumps etc and break the 1k hp barrier BOOM haha



There are lots of ways to get to your goal I think. But in the end its your car, rock it like you want.

Click to expand...

No E85 at the pumps. Just sold the forged 4.6 short block I had, looking forward to going 5.4 route.


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You can send me a PM if you are serious about selling your whippel with the motor, and how much without?.

Then how much for your 1piece DS?

Mustang dog said:

You can send me a PM if you are serious about selling your whippel with the motor, and how much without?.

Then how much for your 1piece DS?

Click to expand...

Sent you a PM.


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OP Here is what I'm doing. If you have any questions feel free to pm me.

BTW this use to be a 2005 3v.





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richman said:

OP Here is what I'm doing. If you have any questions feel free to pm me.

BTW this use to be a 2005 3v.

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Click to expand...

That's awesome, thank you. Which engine did you opt for? EDIT - based on blue valve covers I think it's the aluminum engine - where did you source your engine?

I'm leaning towards 07-09 Iron for straight swap-ability into my 07. I read 05's are a bit more work due to the difference in electronics on the 05-06 cars.


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white_lightning said:

That's awesome, thank you. Which engine did you opt for? EDIT - based on blue valve covers I think it's the aluminum engine - where did you source your engine?

I'm leaning towards 07-09 Iron for straight swap-ability into my 07. I read 05's are a bit more work due to the difference in electronics on the 05-06 cars.


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Click to expand...

Yeah it's a 2012 GT500 engine. Sources it off of SVTPERFORMANCE for a good price. Yeah I'm doing a full nut and bolt build from chassis up. So electronics will be sourced as well.


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I do all of my own work on my 2007 and putting in a GT500 5.4 is the best way to go. I recently swapped back to a 4.6 3V based engine and instantly regretted it (huge hp and torque loss). If you want to run great numbers and beat up on Challengers and Camaros, the 5.4 is a much better starting point (way better heads, more cubes, no VCT bs, rocker arms don't pop off with big cams, many tuners and parts available, etc).

Aluminum block vs iron is a cost vs purpose issue. Both 5.4 blocks are good for whatever you throw at them at street hp levels. My 2007 chassis was a V6, but it doesn't matter (engine swaps are plug and play). For your 2007, you swap the PCM computer, the engine harness and battery-to alternator wire from a 2007 thru 2009 GT500, that's all the wiring. Your gauges and everything work (get an aftermarket boost gauge- no need to get the whole dash swap just to have a GT500 boost gauge). Get your keys entered into PATS (5 minutes at dealer or a locksmith).

What did you do with the GT500 power plant?