Michael Accardi 
So you’re looking to drop one of Ford’s Godzilla crate engines into your project car or truck, but you’d really like your classic, or restomod, or track rat to have air conditioning. Well, thankfully Ford Performance now has you covered with a new A/C add-on kit for the 7.3L Godzilla V8 crate engine.
Listed in the Ford Performance Catalog as M-8600-SD73AC, the A/C kit is a bolt-on package containing the A/C compressor, belt, seals, and mounting hardware from the 2020+ F250 Super Duty. Unfortunately, there is absolutely zero mention of the evaporator, condenser, or subsequent lines that are highly integral to a functional automotive A/C system. Of course, if your project is custom then maybe that’s not a bad thing.
The $410 A/C kit is designed to plug and play with Godzilla’s M-8600-SD73 front accessory drive kit– which includes the alternator and alternator bracket, power steering pump, drive belt, belt tensioner, idler pulley, and the required installation hardware. The FEAD kit will run you a further $715 on top of the $7,000 Ford is asking for the Canadian-built M-6007-73 7.3L V8 crate engine.
Those interested in shopping for one of the 7.3L Godzilla V8 crate engines should note that you’ll need to contact Ford Performance in order to source the control electronics and throttle pedal if you’re not going to write your own custom mapping or assemble and rig your own harness. Oh, you’ll probably need a transmission as well, luckily the 7.3L V8 uses the same bell housing bolt pattern same as the old 4.6L and 5.4L modular V8s, and the contemporary 5.0L Coyote.
The engine does come fully dressed, including intake and throttle body, left and right exhaust manifolds, production oil pan/cooler, ignition coils, and wires, production flex plate, M-6038-73 shipping and storage cradle, and factory lift brackets. The engine also comes with a warranty.
In case you’re in need of a quick refresher, the 7.3L Godzilla V8 eschews Ford’s long-time DOHC V8 architecture in favor of a compact cam-in-block design. The block itself is cast-iron and is topped by aluminum cylinder heads. The crank is forged steel, and the piston heads are cast aluminum.
Stock performance is rated at 430 hp at 5,500 rpm and 475 lb. ft of torque at 4,000 rpm from a 10.5:1 compression ratio. But as we’ve already seen, the engine is capable of 1000+ hp with a stock crank.
