Ford F150 - First 2004 F-150 Powered by 100-Millionth V8

Source: Ford Motor Company Press Release

FIRST 2004 FORD F-150 PICKUP POWERED BY FORD MOTOR COMPANY'S 100-MILLIONTH V-8 ENGINE

NORFOLK, Va., June 10, 2003 - Underneath the hood of the first all-new 2004 Ford F-150 that rolled off the line today at Norfolk Assembly Plant was another special milestone of Ford’s truck leadership – the roar of Ford Motor Company’s 100 millionth V-8 engine.

A new 5.4-liter, 3-valve Triton™ V-8 engine, produced on April 29th at the Essex Engine Plant in Windsor, Ont., was used to commemorate the occasion and the more than 70 years since Ford’s first mass-produced V-8 was built in 1932. The powerful new engine will be optional equipment on all 2004 Ford F-150s.

“As we prepare to celebrate Ford’s 100th anniversary in less than a week, it is quite fitting that this milestone engine is placed in the very first 2004 Ford F-150,” said Roman Krygier, Ford group vice president, Global Manufacturing and Quality. “Ford’s rich heritage and legendary list of V-8 engines will continue with production of the new Triton V-8.”

The new 5.4-liter, 3-valve Triton V-8 will give the all-new 2004 Ford F-150 300 peak horsepower and 365 foot-pounds of torque – significant improvements over the previous award-winning 5.4-liter Triton.

Henry Ford revolutionized the auto industry with the moving assembly line in 1914 and again when he introduced the industry’s first affordable, mass-produced V-8 engine in 1932. The engine featured an innovative “flathead” configuration – a side-valve engine made possible by industry-first engine block casting techniques developed by Ford engineers.

The new overhead-cam 5.4-liter, 3-valve Triton engine incorporates technologies that make it the company’s most advanced V-8 engine ever. In a striking similarity to its ancestor, the original flathead V-8, Ford today uses an innovative new flexible manufacturing method to manufacture the all-new 3-valve cylinder head. That process is similar to the flexible manufacturing process Ford is incorporating in its vehicle assembly plants and which was used to produce the new 2004 Ford F-150.

New 5.4-liter Triton V-8
With Ford Motor Company’s 100th anniversary being celebrated on June 16, technology and innovation remain at the forefront of its powertrain engineering. The 5.4-liter, 3-valve Triton V-8 is the newest member of Ford’s modular engine family. It is the first modular V-8 Ford engine to use variable-cam timing to optimize intake and exhaust valve operation across the rev range, generating both lower-speed torque and high-speed horsepower while minimizing exhaust emissions.

The new Triton features three valves per cylinder – two intake and one exhaust – for better “breathing,” which enhances power and efficiency. The three-valve design also allows for a central sparkplug that allows complete, even combustion. New charge-motion control valves in the intake runners enhance air-fuel mixing at low rpm, improving low-end torque. A host of detail improvements contributes to quiet, refined operation.

AWWWWWW, i want 3v 5.4.

I want one too...if all goes well with the new job hunting maybe sooner than later i'll have one...if not then deffinately 05'....

humm........

3 valve OHC engine. The 2 valve engine takes extremely well to supercharging, I wonder how this new 5.4 will react to forced induction

Very very well as i understand it. That 2005 lightning is making 500 hp stock. If you just do percentages (not accurate but a general idea) people have pushed their 380 hp lightnings into 800 hp lightnings, roughly doubling. So, 1000 hp Lightnings maybe? Could be, but street driving em is gonna take effort. I think 580 hp is the highest daily driven lightning, roll cage and all.