Ford Repair: V8 Conversion, performance community, auto tranny

Question
Dear Mr. Steve,

During my search on the net to save gas I came across an article on www.howtoadvice.com that said you could convert a V8 to 4 cylinder with no special parts in order to save gas costs. After much pondering and no luck how do they convert a v8 to a v4? And, would it actually save gas money? The engine in question is a 94 Ford F150 5.0 V8 auto tranny 2wd.

Answer
Barton-

  In theory it's a great idea, but the problem is that no F-150s have ever come with 4 cylinder motors.  That means you would have to fabricate an engine brace (or K-member), motor mounts, and get all of the associated computer parts just to name a few.  The second problem is that an F-150 came without a 4 cylinder for a reason...it's just too heavy for most 4 cylinder motors to move it.  Plus I'm not sure I know of a 4 cylinder transmission that would hold up in such a heavy vehicle.  Now a V6 is a distinct possibility.  You might look around and see if you can find a good junkyard F-150 of the same year as yours and use the K-member, motor mounts, etc.  It won't be as efficient as a 4 cylinder, but at least the parts would be there and you'd still save a little in gas over a V8.  I don't know who wrote what you read on that website, but you will definitely need a good amount of parts (they would be factory Ford stuff, so maybe they're not "special") and it's pretty labor intensive.  The 4 cylinder-to-V8 swap has been a staple of the performance community for decades and, having done more than a few, I can tell you that even in a well equipped shop you're looking at probably 2 full days work at least.  Hope this helps.

Steve