Ok guys here it is "My Pretend Lightning" as my sister and some friends like to call her. She started life as an Ebony Black 99 F150 4x4, extended cab 4.6 with the Off Road package. Flareside of course. Since day one I've always thought the 4.6 was a bit under powered (although for daily driving and light towing it was just fine) since I came from a 98 5.4 truck as my first 150.

So rewind to this past fall when I got a brilliant idea to take apart a good running truck to do a swap it seems everyone is scared to do. This kind of all happened one night by accident when I was sitting stalking Craigslist and came across a lower mile (116k) totaled out 2001 Navigator with a Salvage title. It was about 2 hours away so I called the guy for fun. Long story short I ended up 2 hours away towing home my new donor vehicle just on a whim. It had what I thought was a good engine, which of course ended up having stuck rings that I couldn't un-stick, causing low compression in one cylinder.

The plan was, take the under powered 4.6 and weak 4R70W out and put the monster of a 5.4 DOHC and 4R100 in. So I did my research, figured out the direction I wanted to go and started ripping the Navi apart. I then realized the Navigator had 3.73 limited slip axles and realized I did in fact hate my 8.8 drum brake rear. Guess what, Supercrews came with posi 3.73 disk brake axles. My swap just got more complicated, but more awesome.

The road ahead won't be easy, but if I plan it out, take my time and research first, everything will work out just fine. Right? Right.

Here's my girl lurking in the background towing home her own drive train; the day she changed her own life.

 

That's awsome!! I've thought about similar builds. It nice to see some people actually act on this type of stuff.

What are your plans for induction,bottom end ??

More pics please!!

 

So some background on what I've been doing. Leave me in a garage all winter and anything could happen. The Navigator is completely torn down and the engine is stripped and at the machine shop. I'm just waiting to hear back from them about how how far out it has to be taken. I'm hoping for stock bore, but we will cross that road when we get there. She will be using of course the stock Navigator FORGED crank. That's right gent's Navigators got Forged cranks. Mounted on top of that will be Manley H beam rods and flat top pistons.

Why such a stout bottom end you might ask? I ask why not? Maybe some boost in the future? Who knows. For now NA to get her running and bugs irons out. Going to do a mild port on the exhaust side of the heads, with Gibson headers and possibly a nice true duel exhaust. Heads will be completely rebuilt and refreshed to go on top of this beast.

I'll be moving the Navi out of my garage and pulling my 99 in probably this week to put her under the chopping block. New radiator support to replace the rotted out one, and some rust and body cleanup will be an order. I'll keep you guys posted as the project moves forward.

My biggest hurtle now is making sure my 4x4 is going to work with my 150 GEM and the Navi PCM.

I'm also trying to find some 5.4 F-150 driveshafts, as well as front and rear Supercrew axles. All on a budget of course (parting out as much as the Navi as I can to help pay for itself), hoping my local pick and pull has some Supercrews soon that I can rip the axles out of.

 

Check this out this out man. You might be able to ****** that blower up for dirt cheap.

http://www.lightningrodder.com/forum...d.php?t=207345

 

Wow that's a hell of a deal. If I was closer I'd probably go take a look at that. No intercooler though and it doesn't look like the best intake design. I'm also more of a Whipple fan.

That being said if he was closer to me I might go buy that. The engine is certainly not a Ford GT engine and the Navigator heads although amazing heads, are also not ford GT heads. The guy doesn't seem to know much and I'm wondering why hes abandoning his project and why he's selling so cheap. Seems fishy to me.

 

10-4!! Seems to be a little 2 good of a deal. I'm sure that blower gets the iats hotter then hell with out an IC. But man the price lol

I'm just a cheap skate

 

There's one on ebay too looks like, maybe the price isn't too far off. They only cost $4,000 new when they were still being made and that included everything needed to make it work. The intake design on that thing is kind of a bad design, and yeah the IAC is going to be off the charts when I start pushing 5-600hp. That would be my goal for the truck if I was to boost it. So I see problems with that kit. I would also dynotune the thing, no way I would use a chip that just plugs into the PCM.

That being said thanks for the link, I'm doing some research and maybe I'll pick that kit up even if it's only an 82 HP bump. I'm sure it will be more once I dyno tune it. Plus if I keep it mild, I can probably get away with a stock trans with just a nice valve body for now.

 

Nice build. There was a guy selling a RegCab 5.4 4v will full Navi interior. Totally custom truck on ebay a couple years ago. Thought about doing something similar over the years

 

Thanks. I'm not going too crazy with custom stuff. Was debating the Navi climate control and upper dash though, and maybe an overhead console down the road. Was going to remove the Navi clock and install a boost gauge there possibly.

But for now I'm going to get it mechanically going. I don't want to overwhelm myself. That's how projects fail and or never get completed in a reasonable amount of time.

I am doing a complete suspension rebuild as well. Going with either number 8 or possibly 7 torsion bars. Anyone in the NJ area have a 7700 package truck that wants to take me for a ride? haha. I've got the number 8 bars in my 98 and I love how it rides and handles, not too stiff, not too soft but was debating stepping up to the 7700 bars in my 99. I just don't want to completely destroy the ride comfort.

 

Did some research on that KB setup and direct from a KB reps mouth... well I'll sum it up. The kit sucks. It was meant for a bone stock vehicle and never meant for a high HP build. So I'm going to pass on that setup, plus I'm not really a KB fan, Whipple all the way.

 

Hey there. I may have just become a good friend of yours

Dont know if youve seen yet, but im doing a 4v navi swap on my truck right now. Just got the block back from the machine shop, bored .20 over, stock forged crank, manley h beams, and manley flat top pistons. Seems like you got the better end of the deal being as you have a complete donor vehicle and all I got was a broken engine. Shes slowly coming to life though. Good luck with your build and ill be awaiting some updates

 

You are a brave soul, there is no way I would attempt a swap like this without a donor truck. What are you doing for your 4x4? Or is your truck 2wd?

 

Idk what you mean. Im not touching the 4x4 im just swapping engines. Using the stock pcm and wiring harness so my 4x4 isnt going to be affected. Ill post some pics tomorrow.

 

The 4x4 may work, but the truck won't start. The Navi PCM has PATS, so you'll need to have the PCM custom tuned to remove it.

I think If I were doing your swap, I would use all the Navi electronics and wiring harness inside the dash and under the hood. I guess that would mean converting it to AWD and using the Navi front axle too. I have never seen the inside of a 'gator, but I assume it's the same as my 01 Expy EB in every aspect but the DOHC.

I have gathered a lot of wiring diagrams and such during my V10 project, so if you need something, shoot me a PM. FYI, the V10 has a forged crank too

 

why not swap the navi rear end and add the coil overs to the f150??