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The swap no one asked for....godzilla EDIT: voodoo in a 66 coupe

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47K views 201 replies 56 participants last post by  66ivygreencoupe555  
6
#1 ·
Back in sept of 66 my grandfather bought a new leftover 6cyl ivy green coupe to be their family car, over the years they drove it all around the country and it served them well, eventually becoming a high school car for my mom. They kept it for over 40 years after that until I turned 16 and they gave it to me as my first car. I rebuilt the 6 cylinder/rear end and drove it around until college, overall the car has been garage kept its entire life in south Florida. The paint was acceptable but not great, interior was still in great shape and original, and overall the car has very little rust aside from a couple floor pan patches which I will be fixing here soon.

The car has sat in my parents garage since 2013 mostly undriven, now fortunately I am at a place in life where I have the time to tackle a full restoration. My goal for the car was to make a nice driver I can enjoy with my family while having some fun and bringing the car into the 21st century tech wise. I have seen many coyote swaps but I wanted to do something a little different that isn't common on these cars. Plus I am a fan of keeping pushrod motors inside pushrod cars, so enter the GODZILLA and 10R80 automatic trans.

I contacted the guys at Mustangs to Fear who recommended I should start out with their coyote subframe since it offers the most clearance for the motor. With that said I ordered their front IFS kit with QA1 coil overs, 6 piston willwood brakes and power rack/pinion.

So far the build list is as follows but I'm sure will grow as time goes on.

Godzilla (new take out from a e350 van)
10R80 auto (f150 donor)
MARS godzilla/10r80 control pack
417 motorsports low profile oil pan
Godzilla swap headers from Ultimate Headers
MTF subframe with 6-piston willwoods and coil overs
MTF frame stiffeners for the front end
Explorer 8.8 shortened to factory width with trak-lok and 2.73 gears (yes that tall)
Subframe connectors for the unibody underneath
Torque boxes (obviously lol)

Below are some pictures of the progress so far starting from the pullout of the original 200 i6, the front shock towers being removed, and the coyote subframe welded in. Once the motor and trans are set in place with the motor mounts built and the rear end mocked up I'll disassemble everything for prop paint and body prep. She will wear her original color and still sport the black vinyl top. Inside will also be kept mostly original minus a center console and modern shifter for the 10r80.

The plan for this week is to swap out the factory pan and flex plate on the Godzilla and get it test fit into the car. I will post pictures as well move along. There's a lot of unknowns piecing this together but so far its been a fun challenge.
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#4 · (Edited)
I can hear the movie trailer...
"In a world -- where Grandma's grocery getter no longer cuts the mustard in freeway traffic -- an engine swap of epic proportions -- that will strike terror in the hearts of environmentalists -- and put an evil grin on the tire dealers' faces-- just when you thought it was safe to hit the skinny pedal-- comes-- STANGZILLA !!!
This car is not yet rated. Coming soon to a gas station near you."
 
W
#7 ·
Well the good thing is it's all been kept in the family . The car in your family ,the motor for the car in it's family . All Ford,all fun after it's done. After driveing my F150 after I put a 6R80 in it I don't think you will even notice that tall gear in the back .

It might even get a little scary if you get to stretching it out .
Have fun & keep posting pictures, especially when you get on that trans tunnel .
 
6
#8 ·
Wayne clark said:
Well the good thing is it's all been kept in the family . The car in your family ,the motor for the car in it's family . All Ford,all fun after it's done. After driveing my F150 after I put a 6R80 in it I don't think you will even notice that tall gear in the back .

It might even get a little scary if you get to stretching it out .
Have fun & keep posting pictures, especially when you get on that trans tunnel .
Click to expand...
Thanks that’s the actual reason behind the 2.73 gear. The ratios on the 10 speed are so close together and short that with a 3.55 gear or something similar I’d run out of rpm at like 20mph the 2.73 gear is very similar to a 3.55 ratio in say a normal 4 speed auto
 
C
#22 ·
I'm planning to do the same on my falcon. Interested
 
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#27 ·
I'm in

John
 
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6
#28 ·
Godzilla fits pretty nicely in the engine bay. The coyote engine mount pedestals look like they will actually work just fine for the Godzilla motor mount plates with just a little fab work. All the factory accessories clear and I've got engouh room for the electric fan setup fwd. Ignore the clutch fan on the front of the WP for now. Need to get the tool to remove it.

I see one Maine at the moment, the trans tunnel is likely going to have to be raised as the top bell housing bolts are pretty high and I don't have more space to drop the engine. My issue is not on the subframe but rather the rack and pinion. I might look into some drop bushings to see if I can get the rack a little lowers without messing up geometry

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#30 ·
That's a lot of engine. Wouldn't take much to make a bunch of power. 438 cubic inches or so? Better buy some sticky tires:)
 
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#31 ·
I was thinking with the torque potential of that engine, doing whatever you can to stiffen up the chassis should be on his list of things to do.
 
6
#38 ·
Yea I have frame stiffeners which will link the front frame to the firewall. Then of course torque boxes and subframe connectors

Russstang said:
I’m sure it’s just an optical illusion but it almost looks like that would have fit between the shock towers, at least notched ones.
Click to expand...
Def not with the stock ones, notched 67-68 style or heavily notching these would work. But for all that work to still have a tight engine bay I’m glad I removed them lol lot of room now

Dan Babb said:
Very cool build. What are you going to do for exhaust....stock manifolds or custom long tubes?
Click to expand...
Ultimate headers which makes the headers for coyote swap is sending me a custom set tacked up for fitment. 2” stainless primaries and a 3” collector. The stock Godzilla manifolds hit the frame Rails as the protrude out fairly far from the block. I actually had to remove them to drop the motor in
 
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