We got a unique version of those Modular Ford V8's in Australia.
The 4.6 was just too small for the Falcon in either 2V or 4V form. The 5.4 3V with 300hp ended up being the base V8 but was not seen as raunchy enough for the high-performance modes (the 3V was all about low end torque).
The solution was to import iron 5.4 blocks and 4V alloy heads from the US and assemble the engines on a small, largely handmade production line in Australia. The inlet manifold was unique to Australia, locally cast as a high-rise trumpet style manifold with a large open plenum chamber bolted on top. From memory, the camshafts were locally made, along with a variety of other components.
https://i.postimg.cc/gjRsg7X4/boss54.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/L8SCbmVP/BF-FPV-BOSS-290.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/rw9n67hP/BF-FPV...TS-DISPLAY.jpg
These engines debuted for the BA 349hp Falcon XR8 and 389hp GT in 2003. Over the next 7 years, the engines had a few updates culminating in the 2008 FG Falcon XR8 with 389hp and 422hp GT. The engines were named BOSS 260, BOSS 290, BOSS 302 and BOSS 315, the numbers denoting their power figures in kilowatts.
The 5.4 BOSS engines were not universally liked and often derided. See, the larger 5.4 version of the Ford Modular had a very long stroke at 106mm, which worked really well on the 3V versions to bolster low rev torque. However, the 4V heads were designed to improve top end performance. See where I'm going with this......... .........The rev limit on the earlier versions was set at 6,000rpm, but the engine really only came on song at about 4,000rpm. So, the driver only had a 2,000rpm band where the engine was at its best. Later versions, with the Ford GT crankshaft, increased the limiter to 6,500rpm. Combined with the hefty weight of the Falcon, these engines didn't provide the performance many expected. But............
Those BOSS V8's sounded absolutely awesome, either stock standard or with a big ass exhaust system fitted. And with that huge intake plenum, they had a luscious intake note too. I have driven a few of these and the on-paper specs do tend to play out in real life, the low-down torque is somewhat limited, but when "on cam", they run hard. And they ran so smoothly too, right out to the rev limiter.
6 Speed Auto BOSS 260 -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g38pwKEmxFU
Manual BOSS 290 -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDvXxd-dpwk
Modified BOSS 260 -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TIQkgxsdi0
Modified BOSS 315 -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSieoqVXku8
With apologies to Mattmann for hijacking your thread! :xyxthumbs: