Sometimes, eight cylinders just isn’t enough. The Ford Modular 4.6-liter V8 powered the Mustang through the late 1990s and into the new millennium. It’s capable of big power with the right modifications, but Ford itself experimented with a V10-powered Mustang in the form of 2004’s Boss 351 prototype. One Mustang owner who runs the Overused YouTube channel has since replicated that setup, and I have to say, it’s too good not to love.
A video first spotted by Engine Swap Depot covers the details of this build. The Millennial Boss 351 was the inspiration, but that car used a bespoke aluminum 5.8-liter V10 that was essentially a V8 with added cylinders. For those without a dedicated engineering department, the alternative is Ford’s 6.8-liter Triton V10, in this case sourced from a 2001 F-550 with a rusty frame. It’s a bigger engine, though because it’s still part of the same Modular family as the Mustang’s original 4.6-liter V8, swapping it in was relatively easy.
The Modular motors share several parts and specifications, including engine mounts and transmission bolt patterns. That eliminated the need for a transmission swap, and meant the Triton engine could be installed with a bit of hammering, but not cutting. The lower-profile oil pan from an E-350 van was substituted for extra clearance, and the motor mounts were flipped around to do the same for the driveshaft.
However, the fit was too tight for a brake booster, so this Mustang’s Brembo brakes (a Cadillac setup installed with a kit from S&S Engineering) are actuated manually. And while the wiring solution—essentially transferring nearly everything from the F-550 over to the Mustang—was straightforward, it requires two keys: one switches on the ignition, the other handles other functions of the ex-F-550 harness, such as diagnostics. The F-550’s relative lack of emissions gear and the Mustang’s manual transmission helped simplify things as well.
V10 Mustang – Behind the Build
It may have 10 cylinders, but the Triton engine was designed for work, not performance. New internals, including sportier cams, help tilt things in the latter direction, while a new exhaust system with BBK shorty headers provides a decidedly un-truck-like sound.
Ford teased V10-powered production cars a few times in the early 2000s. In addition to the New Edge Boss 351, it built the Shelby GR-1 coupe and the 427 sedan concepts. Another YouTube channel, Build It Yourself, replicated the sedan’s 427-cubic-inch, four-valve V10 and stuffed it in a Lincoln Continental. Overused also credits that build as inspiration for this Mustang.
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