By stuffing a 5.0L V8 engine under the hood of a Gen 2 Raptor, Paxpower creates a truck whose mouth matches its trousers.
Your author is the first to admit he is a member of the old school who enjoys the deep and growly rumble of a finely tuned eight cylinder engine. The 3.5L EcoBoost is a marvel of technology, able to win races on the international level but also work its magic in everything from family haulers to the GT supercar.
It still sounds like a vacuum cleaner. Okay, in the Raptor it sounds like Marilyn Manson screaming into a vacuum cleaner. Still doesn’t sound like a V8.
The boffins at PaxPower, a company out of Houston, have set out to fix this. Their truck, called the V8Raptor has a 5.0-liter V8 engine, producing 758-horsepower from the addition of a 2.9L Whipple supercharger and a dual-exhaust system. Excellent.
The PaxPower prototype truck started life as a 2018 F150 Platinum FX4, with the new-for-2018 5.0L Ti-VCT V8 engine, 10-speed transmission, and a 3.55 ratio electronic-locking rear diff. The conversion is done using all new Ford OEM parts, from fenders to fasteners. The suspension is changed out to Raptor-spec upper and lower control arms, front axle shafts, steering links, brake lines, sway bar setup, leaf springs, hardware, and, of course, the Fox internal-bypass shocks.
Body mods include the entire 2017+ Raptor front clip: fenders, hood, grilles, trim, flares and accent lighting. The bed is rebuilt with Raptor aluminum inner and outer bed sides, fender flares, and accent lighting. Shown on this truck at 35-inch Toyo Open Country tires and FabFours Aero bumpers.
Pricing for V8Raptor conversion packages start at $7,500 for a complete Raptor-spec suspension upgrade. Full chassis, suspension, and body conversions start at $25,000. Conversions take about a month and are done at PaxPower’s Houston facility. Since the parts are OEM Ford, they carry Ford/Motorcraft’s 2-year unlimited-mileage warranty, which includes labor to replace defective parts at your local dealer.
Not bad at all, but the company makes a point to mention the conversion cost is further offset by potential cash on the hood from Ford on garden variety F-150 pickups. Factory Raptors, on the other hand, are often sold over MSRP. If a prospective buyer is willing slum it using an XLT as the base their V8Raptor, the company claims suitable new 2018 F150s are on dealer lots for as low as $35,000!
That’s the route I’d take, no questions asked. Be sure to check out the PaxPower website for more details and photos of the best sounding Raptor Ford never made.