Table of Contents
The Factors That Brought About the 5.0L V8
After almost a decade of languishing in the “malaise” era, which began in 1973 with the crippling Arab oil embargo, Ford decided to resurrect the Windsor engine. Years of battling government fuel economy standards and emissions regulations had taken their toll on the company. Even though Ford had introduced the new “Fox” body Mustang in 1979 (the new model sold better than the Mustang II), it was not enough to convince Ford it was gaining traction in the marketplace. Ford had resorted to deep sales incentives to attract buyers, but it soon became apparent that they needed to do something fast to right the ship. When the Blue Oval saw its market share dwindle from 23.6% in 1978 to 16.1% in 1981, the company needed to grab customers' attention and move them back into the showroom.
Ford elected to breathe new life into the old 302 small block V8, and when it was released in the Mustang beginning in 1982, they offered it in conjunction with the new manual transmission equipped Mustangs. (The GT Mustang had been absent from the Ford lineup for 13 years). Ford anticipated that the new engine and model might just be the tonic its weak sales needed.
The 5.0 HO motor would go on to find its way into many other Ford and Mercury cars and trucks for the next decade or so and be offered as a crate engine long after that.
The Ford 5.0L H.0. V8 Begins
Initially, Ford had decided to offer the 5.0L H.O. (302 ci) engine as a mid-year upgrade for the manual-shift Mustang GT and Capri RS. Still, when news leaked about the engine, the company received a flood of positive feedback. Customers were flooding the mailroom, asking Ford to hurry up and build an engine that was fast and quick. The press kept asking about when the engine was ready. Ford was inundated with so much feedback that execs decided to move production up to Oct. 1, just two weeks after the introduction of the 1982 lineup.
The Boss Is Back
Ford trumpeted its return of the GT model like the archangel Gabriel blowing his trumpet. National advertising declared “The Boss Is Back,” although that was far from true since the initial engine only produced a peak power of 157 hp and 240 lb-ft of torque with a single barrel carburetor. The engine powered the Mustang GT down the track for a 6.3 second 0 - 60 mph time, which made owners salivate. (After years of driving weak, puny V8s, most owners jumped at the chance to drive anything, even a few ponies faster). When Road and Track reviewed the new Mustang GT as a first drive, they concluded that the car “was the best-balanced, most capable Mustang ever produced.”
Ford sold almost 25K GT Mustangs in 1982, which accounted for about 20% of the total (130,418). While the sales numbers continued to slide downward, Ford believed the GT was here to stay. They stayed the course to their credit despite another year of miserable sales. Ford began to see growth in 1984. (In 1986, Mustang sales topped 224k units, the best sales in several years.
The Features Of The 5.0L
The engine used a cast iron block for the base of the 302 HO Ford small block, along with cast iron heads, a bore and stroke (3.78 X 3.12), and a two-piece rear main bearing seal. Ford used the heads from the 4.2L V8 with smaller “high-velocity ports, which produced a compression ratio of a paltry 8.4:1. With an aluminum intake manifold and a camshaft borrowed from the marine version of the 351 Windsor, Ford used the firing order 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8.
In addition, Ford switched to more significant valve oil stem seals to improve lubrication and reduce friction. A double roller timing chain was installed rather than the single chain used in the standard 302 V8. While increasing the sized of the aluminum intake manifold, and using a 4 to 1 exhaust improved air flow, and with no muffler, that engine produced a deep, low growl that Mustang lovers couldn’t get enough of.
Ford recognized the need for increased power the following year, in 1983, and improved the performance by adding a four-barrel carburetor. Ford modified the block to use a one-piece rear main seal mid-year, bumping the horsepower to 175, where it stayed until 1985 when design changes were initiated.
Significant Changes For The 5.0L H.O. Engine
In 1985, Ford revised the 302 H.O. engine with hydraulic roller lifters, a new camshaft, revised heads, and new cylinder heads. Power output raised to 210 hp even though the compression remained the same (due to emissions regulations). Even though a year later (1986), electronic fuel injection would ease the horsepower to 200 hp, most owners embraced the newer, more powerful engines in the Mustang GT and Capri RS. When Car and Driver reviewed the car, they gave it high praise, comparing it to some of the finer German-engineered sports cars.
The 5.0L H.O. engine would continue to improve with electronic sequential fuel injection in 1987, which boosted power to 225 hp and 240 lb-ft of peak torque, where it would remain until 1992. Hypereutectic pistons were introduced in 1993, the last significant modification to the High-Output powerplant. Ford played with a Cobra R version in the mid-nineties for the Mustang Cobra (1993-’95) and later for the pre-1997 ½ Explorers and Mountaineers, but it was eventually phased out due to lack of sales.
The 5.0L Engine Makes The Rounds.
The 5.0L V8 was used in the Mustang until 1995. During that time, it found its way into other cars like the Lincoln Mark VII (1987), Ford Thunderbird (1991-‘93), Mercury Cougar (1991-’93), Ford Farlaine/LTD (1991- 2002), and both the Ford Explorer (1996-2001) and Mercury Mountaineer (1997-2001) among others. The Explorer and Mountaineer would be the last vestiges of the 5.0L H.O. V8 engine.
The End Of The 5.0L H.O V8
Eventually, Ford began to replace the 5.0L small-block with the 4.6L modular engine, and more than a decade later (2011), Ford produced a 5.0L version of the modular engine that it continues to use today. (In fact, Ford just announced that a new generation of the 5.0L V8 engine would be offered in the 2024 model year Mustang).
The 5.0L H.O. Engine Today
Ford continued to sell the 5.0L High-Output engine as a crate engine long after discontinuing its production in 2001. The small block is a favorite among classic car restorers and is still available from a wide variety of third-party vendors like ATK, Summit Racing, and others. Ford Performance continues to sell parts for the engine to support the large community of enthusiasts who continue to enjoy the engine. It is important to make sure than any crate motor you purchase has a engine dyno rating.
