Pit Stop with Marlan Davis: Boosted Ford Coyote turbo engine build advice, late-model Ford transmissions that can keep up the motor, and 1979 to 1995 Mustang Ford Coyote swap kits
QUESTION
I’m looking to engine-swap my 1994 Ford Mustang GT. My goal is to Coyote swap it and turbo-boost it to make 1,000 hp. What transmission would you recommend that will hold up that much hp? Where do you suggest buying the engine and trans from?
Adam Burch
Via email
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Boosted by twin Precision turbos, Ryan Hargett’s 2011 Mustang ran in the 7s at Drag Week 2019. Drag Week requires actually driving the car the car between tracks, so yes, the A/C still works. For more, see Dream Thriller.
Photo: Brian Hogan
ANSWER
1,000 hp on the street? No prob. When I got my driver’s license back in the 1970s, it was a big deal if you had 500 hp on the street. Now, the new normal is 1,000 hp. Yes, it’s totally possible to get that much or even more out of a boosted Ford Coyote 5.0L engine on unleaded pump premium gas and drive it around on the street. So says wiley Ford Coyote engine expert and builder Tim Eichhorn at MPR Racing Engines. Expect to spend around $15,000—give or take, as of October 2020—if you supply the block and heads. The price could rise over $20,000 for an MPR Coyote engine if it supplies everything. It’s possible to build late-model transmissions to keep up with that much power. And there are at least half a dozen outfits that supply Ford Coyote engine and transmission swap kits and parts.
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This MPR Racing Engines Coyote used E85 and a Vortech centrifugal supercharger to make 1,155 hp at 7,600 rpm on 24 psi of boost (see “Make Over 1,000 HP With Your Ford Coyote on E85!” or the June 2018 print issue).
Photo: Mark Gearhart
What It Takes for a Ford Coyote Engine to Survive 1,000 HP
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Tim Eichhorn and son Tyler routinely build 1,000-hp-plus pump premium unleaded gas turbocharger or supercharger street Ford Coyote engines all the time. We covered one of those builds back in the August 2017 print issue (“Bark & Bite”). They also build the those “other guys” late-model engines, too.
Photo: Mark Gearhart
At the 1,000-hp level, the Ford Coyote engine’s biggest issue is the production block. Whether 2011 to 2014 Gen 1, 2015 to 2017 Gen 2, or 2018-to present Gen 3—it’s a little weak near the tops of the cylinders. Although there’s no streetable (meaning, with full water jacket) aftermarket block available, Darton cylinder sleeves will fix this issue. You must sleeve all eight cylinders.
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The 2011 to 2018 Coyote blocks are weak near the top of the cylinder bores. For 1,000-plus hp, replace the thin factory sleeves with thicker, stronger Darton sleeves. 2018-and up sleeveless Coyote blocks have plasma-sprayed cylinder walls that can’t be honed for new pistons—so you’ll likely have to sleeve them, as well.
Photo: Mark Gearhart
All Ford Coyote engines come with a decent forged-steel crank, but good aftermarket connecting rods and pistons are mandatory at 1,000 hp. Belt-driven superchargers have been known to twist off the stock crank’s snout at high boost levels; Eichhorn says the most cost-effective workaround is adding a double keyway on the snout to better withstand the blower drive pulley’s induced forces. Cranks with a better snout are available from Callies, Bryant, and Winberg.
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You can get the job done through 1,000 hp with a single big BorgWarner or Precision Turbo, but smaller twins are better for street drivability. This is a Precision 62/66mm ball-bearing turbo. Two of them in a Hellion Turbo Systems Eliminator kit made 780 rear-wheel hp at 10.5 psi bolt-on a Boss Coyote engine. That’s at least 940 hp at the flywheel. Turn up the boost to 15 to 16 psi, and you’d be past a grand in HP.
Photo: HOT ROD Archives
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One of the secrets to run 15 to 16 psi of boost with turbos on pump gas is a big intercooler.
Photo: HOT ROD Archives
Or don’t worry about the snout and go the turbocharger route. “A turbo is the best way for a Coyote,” Eichhorn says. “They’re more linear than a supercharger.” On the other hand, a turbo and all its associated parts is more expensive. Other than the supercharger’s snout issue, the stock crank with good aftermarket rods and pistons is good through 1,200 to 1,500 hp. The stock four-valve heads flow so well, Eichhorn says all they need is better heat-resistant valves, bronze valve guides, and upgraded valvesprings.
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A 1,000-hp Coyote assembly needs good rods and pistons. This MPR build used Wiseco rods plus JE pistons with strength-enhancing electroless nickel coating, but Eichhorn says Manley, JE, or Mahle all have good stuff, too. Lately, MPR has had good luck with Manley’s strong (but relatively affordable) H-beam H-Tuff connecting rods with ARP 2000 bolts.
Photo: Mark Gearhart
You can even slide by with the existing OE camshafts, which with better springs will run to 8,000-plus rpm. Boost-optimized aftermarket camshafts will help over 15 psi where a little more overlap is generally beneficial to relieve backpressure when running a turbo. On the street, Eichhorn recommends retaining the Coyote’s VCT (independent variable cam timing). “That’s the benefit of a factory cam.”
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The powdered-metal gears in stock Ford Coyote oil pumps can fail on high-horsepower engines. Livernois Motorsports is one source for replacement billet steel gears.
Photo: Mark Gearhart
Ford Coyote Engine Management
Using a Ford Coyote engine/trans takeout “pair” from the same car allows using an all-Ford engine management system to integrate both the engine and trans and tweak everything to your heart’s content just like a brand-new factory car, including tuning VCT characteristics and controlling the late-model transmissions. For emissions-exempt retrofit use, Ford Performance Parts (FPP) sells various retrofit control packs that include a wiring harness, an unlocked ECU, and a drive-by-wire accelerator pedal that manage both the engine and trans without all the extra “garbage” functions found in a locked-down-tight OE computer keyed to the individual vehicle. Be sure to check Ford Performance’s website, as there is now broader coverage—including supporting the new 10R80 auto trans—than shown in its 2020 printed catalog. Whether the ECU and harness is out of a production car or if you’re using the Ford retrofit “hot rod” harness and computer, SCT is one source for a computer tuner program, but there are others as well (but not Acme).
Power By The Hour (PBH) also offers a variety of wiring harnesses for all Coyote transmissions and generations, as well as the 2007 to 2014 GT500 5.4L DOHC modular engine. It also offers retrofit Coyote aluminum radiator and fan packages, and crossmembers for late-model transmissions, including the 10R80. Baumann through its US Shift Division has a standalone controller for the 6R80 if you are using an aftermarket computer.
Woah! Can late-model OE transmissions take 1,000 hp? While no out-of-the-box stock or even big-name aftermarket street transmission can routinely handle that much power reliably, believe it or not, the modern stock late-model transmissions Ford installed behind the Coyotes are up to the task when properly beefed up. Yes, today it’s possible to eat your street cake and have your electronic transmission, too—complete with drivetrain management. But you’ll need to decide if you want to go manual or automatic.
What It Takes for a Late-Model Ford Coyote Automatic Trans to Survive 1,000 HP
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Ford’s 6R80 six-speed automatic transmission can do the job at 1,000 hp with a Circle D 300M billet steel intermediate shaft and upgraded clutch packs.
Photo: Baumann
Looking at an automatic first, Circle D transmission’s David Dolejsi builds both the 2011 through 2017 6R80 and the 2018 and later 10R80 automatics. Dolejsi says the 6R80’s intermediate shaft becomes marginal above 550 hp at the tires. Circle D offers a billet 300M steel replacement that solves that problem. Around 600 hp, the stock clutch packs start to fail. First to go will be clutch-pack E (sometimes called the 3-4 shift clutches), followed by clutch-pack B (3-5 reverse clutch). Circle D recommends and uses Exedy clutch packs that have better friction materials and more modules. When everything is torn apart, some valvebody mods will be in order, as well. “We sell kits for all of this,” Dolejsi says. Or you can send the trans to Circle D and have its experts go through it. Expect to spend around $3,000 for a Circle D-built, 1,000-hp-capable 6R80 (as of September 2020).
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Baumann Electronic Controls (also known as US Shift) is famous in Ford circles for its electronic standalone Ford transmission controls. The new Quick 6 Gen2 supports Ford 6R80 transmissions, allowing the user to directly adjust shift points, firmness, torque converter engagement, and more.
Photo: Baumann
The 10R80 is the new kit on the block; it’s Ford’s implementation of the joint Ford-GM collaboration on a new high-tech trans. (GM’s version is the 10L80 and 10L90.) Few, if any, performance hard parts are available yet for either manufacturer’s version, but so far it seems to be a pretty stout piece under most hot rod scenarios. Dolejsi reports the only broken 10R80s he’s seen are out of heavy four-wheel-drive trucks that (paradoxically) were lowered on drag radials, turbocharged, and subject to a full spool-up “hot launch” at the drags. “But only under that extreme boost-building condition—and only in trucks. Starting at the 600-hp level with power-adders in a car, the 10R80 only needs better clutches so far, which are available. Clutch failure starts with the F clutch pack; the E-clutch is next.” If the trans is in good shape with low mileage, going through it for performance at the 1,000-hp level costs around $2,500 parts and labor.
Naturally, any automatic trans will require a torque converter that best matches the engine combo’s torque characteristics.
What It Takes for a Late-Model Ford Coyote Manual Trans to Survive 1,000 HP
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The Gertrag MT82 six-speed is used behind most manual-trans-equipped Coyote Mustangs. Calimer Transmission’s offers a Stage 3 MT82 rated at 1,000 hp and 900 lb-ft.
Photo: Calimer
The manual transmission installed in nearly all 2011 and later Ford Coyote-engined Mustangs is the Gertrag MT82 six-speed. It has proven durable, but like any trans it needs enhancement to reliably live at 1,000 hp. Calimer Transmissions specializes in bulletproofing the MT82. For 1,000 hp, you want the Stage 3 version. “With aggressive ceramic clutches and high-shock engagement, a stocker tends to break third and fourth gears,” says owner Ben Calimer. “Those gears will literally disintegrate.” Replacing the internal gears and input shaft with his own proprietary billet gears solves the problem. Most stock MT82s came with 23-spline input shafts that may snap under aggressive driving conditions. Calimer says a Calimer 23-spline replacement input is good over 700 hp; otherwise; step up to his 26-spline billet input on 1,000-hp monster motors. Other Stage 3 upgrades include bronze shift pads, a billet shift-rail stop, cryo treatment, REM super-polishing, and new synchros, seals, and bearings.
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Calimer’s exclusive billet gears are the key to making the MT82 live at extreme power levels. Both 23-spline (stock Ford) and (recommended at 1,000 hp) 26-spline input shaft options are available. Clutch spline-count must match the input shaft splines.
Photo: Calimer
Although not quite up to it out of the box, the legendary Tremec T56 Magnum six-speed transmissions and their 6060 production relatives can be toughened up to withstand 1,000 hp. As a Tremec distributor, Calimer builds and distributes brand-new versions of these transmissions, too. Unfortunately, Calimer says that Ford hasn’t used the Tremec T56 or 6060 in any Mustang with a Ford Coyote engine. The last stock 6060 Mustang application were 2011 through 2014 GT500 Mustangs, but they still had DOHC Modular engines, not a Coyote. Nevertheless, the Modular and Coyote rear block-face mounting patterns are the same, so a production-based Ford-pattern 6060 used behind Modular motors bolts right up. The advantage of the 6060 compared to an aftermarket T56 is that the 6060 has an integrated bellhousing so in theory there should be no bellhousing alignment and dial-in issues. On the other hand, unlike a late-model factory trans, the T56 Magnum (700 lb-ft rating out of the box) retains provisions for both a VSS and conventional gear-driven speedo hook-up if you need to run an old-school speedometer. But if you prefer a more “conventional” aftermarket Ford-pattern T56 Magnum that works with a separate bell and don’t mind dial-indicating the trans and bellhousing to the engine, use a Quick Time SFI 6.1-certified bellhousing (PN RM-8080).
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MGW specializes in CNC short-throw shifters for late-model cars and transmission, including this one for the Shelby GT500 with the Tremec 6060 trans. Also good if you’re putting a 6060 in an earlier ‘Stang. Yes, the MT82 is covered, too. Parts are all precision aircraft-grade. Different length sticks are available, as well as made-to-order custom jobs.
Photo: MGW
Apart from the aftermarket-pattern T56 Magnum and T56 Magnum XL, any of these late-model transmissions, whether automatic or manual, use a companion flange-style output shaft, not a conventional yoke. They will therefore need a custom driveshaft and/or driveshaft adapter.
Ford Coyote Engine Swap Kit Availability and Options
AJE, Hooker Blackheart, Maximum Motorsports, Team Z, Stifflers, and UPR all sell Ford Coyote engine swap kits or parts to swap a Ford Coyote engine into earlier Mustangs never equipped with a Coyote. The 1994 and 1995 Mustangs are a little tricky because their layout is sort of a hybrid design that has characteristics of both the traditional small-block Ford-equipped 1979 to 1993 Fox-body Mustangs and the later 1996 to 1999 SN95-bodied Mustangs that came stock with Modular motors. Holley’s Todd O’Neill explains, “The 1994 and 1995 models basically combine the K-member and front suspension from the Fox-body with the body, transmission mounting, and exhaust system from the 1996 to 1999 cars.”
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AJE Suspensions’ kit includes a new tubular No. 2 crossmember. AJE owner Anthony Jones says PN MU-40-UM fits 1979 through 2004 Mustangs and “accepts all factory suspension pieces and 99 percent of aftermarket suspension pieces.” AJE offers mounts and brackets to accept just about every Ford engine in existence. You can run coilovers or even the stock springs and lower control arm with available AJE parts.
Photo: AJE
The various aftermarket kit makers deal with these idiosyncrasies differently. Looking at AJE’s offerings, for instance, its front (No. 2) crossmember (PN MU-40-UM) fits the 1994 to 2004 Mustang SN95 chassis, whether originally equipped with the traditional 5.0L Windsor small-block (1994 and 1995) or the first Modular engines (1996 through 2004). Engine mount plates that fit this crossmember are available from AJE for the 4.6L Modular, the Coyote, the Ecoboost four-cylinder, the V-6, the FE big-block, the 385 big-block, and (gasp!) the General’s LS. Mount plate kit PN AJE-20 is the one to use for Modular and Coyote motors. If that’s not enough, “We’re working on mounts for the new Ford 7.3L Godzilla motor right now,” AJE owner Anthony Jones adds.
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To mount a Ford Coyote or Modular engine to the AJE tubular crossmember, use its PN AJE-20 barrel-style mount plates. “If the poly bushings ever wear out, they still can’t come loose,” says AJE’s Jones.
Photo: AJE
AJE’s engine mount crossmember is tubular for added clearance, and it saves about 70 pounds over stock. You can keep the stock lower control arms and even use factory springs—or use AJE’s tubular lower control arms and/or just about everybody’s coilover shocks. Transmission crossmembers are available for most legacy and modern transmissions (not just Ford). Custom and universal crossmembers are available.
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Hooker Blackheart Coyote swap brackets (PN 71221025HKR) fit stock 1984 to 1995 Mustang front No. 2 crossmembers using modded Prothane red or black polyurethane engine mounts (PN 6-504). Due to different engine perch top hole mounting geometry, these brackets don’t fit stock 1979 to 1983 K-members. Note how the driver-side bracket clears the original steering.
Photo: Hooker Blackheart
Hooker Blackheart’s Coyote swap kits take a different approach. Its engine mounts and adapters for the 1994 to 1995 Mustangs are the same as those called out for 1984 through 1993 Mustangs and are solely for use with factory-stock K-members and Prothane polyurethane engine mounts. For transmission crossmembers in the 1994 to 1995 models, use the ones called out by Blackheart for 1996 to 1998 Mustangs (they vary by trans). The engine and trans mounts and trans crossmember position the motor at the same exact height and offset as an OE Ford Coyote installation, about 1 inch toward the passenger side.
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To keep the stock engine offset and elevation, Hooker Blackheart swap kits require using a Holley PN 302-50 oil pan. This photo shows Holley’s 1999 Mustang development car. Behind the Coyote is a 4R70W automatic, which is supported by Holley’s Terminator X Max and Dominator EFI engine management systems.
Photo: Hooker Blackheart
Hooker Blackheart’s upside is that as stock Ford rearends and transmission crossmember are also offset from center, everything lines up as original. Complimentary Hooker headers, full 3-inch exhaust systems, and even a special oil pan (Holley PN 302-50) are also available. Other options are available to complement various aftermarket on-center engine and trans crossmembers. As Hooker’s Todd O’Neil puts it, “When you go with Hooker Blackheart, you are buying matched parts from the same place. And if you’d rather have an aftermarket EFI setup, Holley’s Dominator EFI has you covered.” As of October 2020, Holley EFI’s ability to control the 6R80 or 10R80 trans is still “in the pipeline,” though as of now it can control the earlier 4R70. Hooker Blackheart regularly updates its extensive range of options (and ever growing) parts compatibility list with other companies’ engine and trans crossmembers on its website.
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Stifflers tubular trans crossmember with adjustable bolt-on mounting brackets installs the 6R80 and 10R80 automatic and MT82 manual transmissions into 1979 to 2004 Mustangs.
Photo: Stifflers
Never fear. Today there are plenty of parts to ease swapping a Ford Coyote engine into an older Mustang. It’s almost as easy as going to a cafeteria and choosing your poison. Come to think of itthese days, even easier.
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1,000-hp Streetable Ford Coyote Engine and Trans
- A streetable Ford Coyote engine can make 1,000 hp with a turbocharger or supercharger on 15 to 16 psi of boost running pump premium unleaded gas.
- Ford Coyote specialist MPR Racing routinely builds 1,000-hp Ford Coyote engines.
- A turbocharger is easier on the crank compared to a supercharger, but more expensive.
- 2011 to 2016 Ford Coyote engine blocks must be strengthened with Darton cylinder sleeves to routinely handle 1,000 hp.
- Linerless 2018 to 2020 Ford Coyote engines have a special plasma-sprayed coating on the cylinder walls so they can’t be honed; they’ll likely need sleeves, too.
- The stock Ford Coyote engine four-valve heads can do the job on a boosted 1,000-hp engine without porting; just add better heat-resistant valves, bronze valve guides, and better valvesprings.
- Ford Coyote engines have forged cranks and are fine with a turbo at 1,000 hp, but the snout can twist off with a supercharger.
- Better forged rods and pistons, and billet steel oil pump gears are needed when running 1,000 hp in a Ford Coyote engine.
- A 1,000-hp boosted Ford Coyote engine can slide by with the stock cams, but boost-optimized cam timing is preferable.
- Ford Performance Parts and Power By the Hour are two sources for retrofit wiring harnesses that permit controlling and reprogramming both the Ford Coyote engine and late-model Ford transmissions. SCT is one source for tuners.
- Built Ford Coyote 6R80 and 10R80 automatic transmissions can take 1,000 hp. Circle D Transmissions is one source.
- Manual six-speed transmissions including the Ford Coyote MT82, GT500 Modular engine Tremec 6060, and aftermarket Ford-pattern T56 Magnum will take 1,000 hp when upgraded by trans experts like Calimer Transmissions.
- Ford Coyote retrofit engine and transmission swap kits and parts are available from AJE, Hooker Blackheart, Maximum Motorsports, Team Z, Stifflers, and UPR.
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