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Hot-rodders just can’t get enough of Ford’s Godzilla V8. Since it launched in the 2020 Ford Super Duty, the engine has found its way into lots of go-fast projects. We’ve featured our fair share of 7.3-liter Mustangs on this site, but this machine built by Ben Strader is different. It’s a 2001 Ford Ranger, which sported a 4.0-liter V6 as its largest engine from the factory, and rather than swapping in a stock Godzilla, Strader bored one out to 511 cubic inches. As you might imagine, it’s a hoot.
I saw the Strader family’s truck come across my Facebook feed not too long ago. See, Ben may have done a lot of the mechanic work, but his daughter Ally Strader is the one running nine-second quarter-miles in it. The Ranger scoots down the drag strip with 800 horsepower and 721 lb-ft of torque on tap, and it does that with no boost of any kind. Just cubes, baby.
Ben Strader
When you increase the displacement this much, you have to come correct with the rest of the hardware. That’s why it has a 4.5-inch crankshaft to go with the .030-over bore. The heads are magnificent pieces of art with CNC ports and valve springs, done up by Strader’s own company, 10K Technology. You can tell from the name that they know plenty about high-rpm engines, so if anyone is qualified to build such a thumping, naturally aspirated V8, it’s him. And while the Godzilla doesn’t rev all the way to 10,000 rpm, he explains that it does get up to about 7,300 rpm.
The engine is striking even when it’s sitting still. NXTGEN Engineering from Australia made the billet valve covers, and you can’t miss the 59-millimeter individual throttle bodies. It sits up super high in the engine bay, which explains the cowl hood that slides on over top. But don’t miss what’s underneath the engine, either.
The truck ran a Brian Tooley Racing intake once upon a time, but that has since been switched out for the ITBs. Ben Strader
Given the heft of the engine and the power it sends to the rear, the Strader family’s Ranger needed some extensive suspension work to keep it happy. Kinetic Engineering valved the front Penske 7500 shocks, and they also sprung for extended ball joints to provide about five inches of travel. You can see that at work when the truck launches off the line; the front wheels pull off the ground just slightly, but it finishes its run with solid control as the tires return to the asphalt with the nose high in the air.
In all, the truck weighs around 3,000 pounds, complete with a carbon fiber front bumper.
The big Godzilla has no problem moving that down the strip with a Powerglide transmission running a Gear Vendors under/overdrive. Interestingly, as Strader explains in a video posted to the REVan Evan YouTube channel, they have it tuned to run as a four-speed. An electric Motion Raceworks shifter enables the truck to leave the tree in low gear, and from there, it shifts into overdrive. Next, it kicks into high gear and disengages the overdrive. Finally, to reach its top speed, it re-engages the overdrive. The setup works great for now, although Ally is itching to swap it for a manual.
511-Cube Godzilla Stroker Makes 800 HP NA and Runs 9s! Ally Strader’s Ford Ranger Rips!
This is one bad truck, and at least for now, it’s uncommon. More people have swapped 302s into Rangers than I could ever count, but this has to be one of, if not the first Godzilla-powered examples I’ve seen. And because the Strader fam didn’t leave it stock, you can bet it’ll be the baddest one around for a long time coming.
Here’s the slip for proof. Wow! Ben Strader
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From running point on new car launch coverage to editing long-form features and reviews, Caleb does some of everything at The Drive. And he really, really loves trucks.
