Rebuild Gen 2 with V8 Conversion & 5-Link or Gen 3 for $25k-$30k over MSRP.........

[WillieFlo]

My Gen 2('18) is approaching 70k miles on it, and looking forward a couple years with the way supply is looking and the ridiculous ADM's out there on new and used Raptors, I have definitely ruled out buying a Raptor R at 25k-100k over the $109k MSRP, and to begin with, I'm still not sold on the Gen 3's looks. Seems a little neutered to me in the aesthetics department. My own personal opinion is that the Gen 2 looks more aggressive and appealing than the G3.

Given that mine sees most of it's off-road duty during hunting season and during vacation adventure excursions out West, I'm considering making my current Gen 2 Raptor my extra toy, and getting a sports sedan for my DD duty to/from work with the Raptor making appearances 1-2x a week to construction jobsites and the office. In construction I use my vehicle in and all around the Houston area, so for meetings a car makes more sense as a DD I think I'd rather have a lesser car depreciate than a used or new $90k+ truck because I will put anywhere from 100-250 miles on a vehicle daily.

So after looking around recently at Gen 3's for sale.....I've seen some used Gen 3's at $85k - 93K+ at dealers with low miles(7k-16k) with the ADM's on new ones at my local dealerships around $15k-$25k.........If that's what it cost for a new truck, why wouldn't I instead just recondition my truck into a much better version of the Gen 2 by doing the following in a couple years?

- 1. Foutz Motorsport 5-Link Conversion for the Gen 2 Raptor - $13k with Fox 2.5 shock Pkg and Fox hydraulic bump stops ($12,889.99 with Fox 2.5's and 2.5 bumps; keeps stock fuel tank and spare tire location)
- 2. Fox 3.0 Race Series Coilovers in Front (I'll chalk this as a Net $0 add because it's a maintenance item that needs replacing anyway, right? (Will complement my Icon billet UCA's)
- 3. Fiberwerx CF Front Fenders (I just want them for clearance of 37's)
- 4. New 37" tires (I'll call this a Net $0 add because it's maintenance as well every 40k, right?....lying to myself again, but it's OK)
- 5. Pax Power Supercharged Coyote conversion mated to my rebuilt 10-speed transmission........(because at my rate, my truck will have maybe
125,000 miles on it a couple years down the road, so replacing the tired TT V6 with a new SC V8 makes sense, right?!?!)
- 6. Big Brake kit with all new braided & extended lines (maintenance item, because replacing just the pads is half-ass)

New truck for maybe $40k-50k with much better quality parts, and significantly upgraded over a 2024-2025 OEM Gen 3....

 

[weimer]

The V8 conversion with the fenders, 37's and some mild suspension work would be my pick. Unless you're planning to do more intense off-roading.

 

[TheButcher]

I'm contemplating the same dilemma you are. Swap an SC V8 in my Gen 2, or get an R. I don't daily mine, and it's already got all the body and suspension mods done, so all it lacks in my eyes is 700HP. I like your idea of linking the rear end. I'll have to take a look at that if it doesn't go through the bed. There is certainly an argument to be made for doing a more extensive build on your G2 instead of getting a G3.

Have you looked into the Pax Power swap? In the past 2 weeks I have left voicemails and sent an email with zero response out of them. Not a great start to winning customer business in my eyes, but I'm willing to get past it if someone would reach back out to me. Can't recall where I saw it, but I thought I saw the SC Coyote swap was close to $50K from Pax Power. I'm hoping that is incorrect, as it starts to make an R look more attractive.

 

[Antho]

Seems like a lot of money to put into a Gen2 at this point. If you where going to be using it more often and lived in nevada maybe. Being in Houston and not being able to stretch the legs on the Raptor as often as hoped, I went Gen3 for the updated interior/tech. The 5 link rides really nice around town and I get to put it to use 2-3 times a year in nevada.

 

[Canuck714]

If you already had a bunch of suspension upgrades done, it would be easier to jump off the cliff of V8 conversion... I don't think you can do V8 and suspension for anything close to $40k
Unfortunately, I think there are only a couple places that do the v8 conversion and can keep all of the electronics working as they should.
Because of this, they want a shitpile of $$ to do the conversion.

If this is going to be a long-term play for you, I would probably send the truck to SVC for their DD link set-up with SVC mid-travel up front, then when the 3.5 starts getting tired you can work your way towards a V8 conversion. Maybe in a year or so, there will be some new sources for this.

DD - 4link Kit

SVCOFFROAD'S new Daily Driven 4-Link kit is the ultimate in suspension control for your 2017-2020 Ford Raptor. This long tavel Suspension kit offers over 20 Inches of rear wheel travel that dramatically transforms the capability of your Ford Raptor / F-150. When paired with SVC's front Mid...

svcoffroad.com

 

[Jonesky]

What I might do is the following:
Take super good care of it. Plenty of life left in her.
Goosetune
Deavers
Fox LW upgraded racing shocks series 3
So some good coin spent and liven her up but reasonable $$.
Drive the hell out of it. It’s really good as is. I use mine as a dd. Why I bought it. Love every minute of it.
Then use the saved cash towards some kind of fun car like a vette or stang or Porsche etc.,.

 

[WillieFlo]

Seems like a lot of money to put into a Gen2 at this point. If you where going to be using it more often and lived in nevada maybe. Being in Houston and not being able to stretch the legs on the Raptor as often as hoped, I went Gen3 for the updated interior/tech. The 5 link rides really nice around town and I get to put it to use 2-3 times a year in nevada.

You and I are in similar situations. I take it to Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Hidden Falls Adenture Park, and South Texas 2-4 times a year, for fun, and during numerous South Texas hunting trips on a 14,000 acre ranch during hunting season. I'm getting older, so my custom RZR 900XP hunting buggy doesn't get as much use anymore. I've gotten used to driving 14 miles on unimproved/caliche roads to my hunting area with heated seats, air condition, no dust in my teeth & throat to/from camp at 4:45 in the morning and evenings.....I take the off-road cadillac these days.........I've been contemplating a Gen 3, but the more tech and electronics are not pluses for me since I already have most of it on my Gen 2 and worry about increased chances of those failing with sub-par chips/processors being used these days. Hell, my IT guy even said my newer Lenovo laptop was produced with substituted chips, because the main chip vendor was experiencing a shortage, which is why I'm experiencing glitches now and then. I think the pre-2020 model electronics will probably be more reliable.
If I dump this much money into it, I'd definitely keep it at least another 10-15 years as my "hot rod/retirement/tinkering in the garage" project. In 20 years, I'll be 73 and need to levitate to get up in the darn thing.....so maybe my son would appreciate it(if you can still buy gasoline in 20 years).....

I'm contemplating the same dilemma you are. Swap an SC V8 in my Gen 2, or get an R. I don't daily mine, and it's already got all the body and suspension mods done, so all it lacks in my eyes is 700HP. I like your idea of linking the rear end. I'll have to take a look at that if it doesn't go through the bed. There is certainly an argument to be made for doing a more extensive build on your G2 instead of getting a G3.

Have you looked into the Pax Power swap? In the past 2 weeks I have left voicemails and sent an email with zero response out of them. Not a great start to winning customer business in my eyes, but I'm willing to get past it if someone would reach back out to me. Can't recall where I saw it, but I thought I saw the SC Coyote swap was close to $50K from Pax Power. I'm hoping that is incorrect, as it starts to make an R look more attractive.

I haven't reached out to PaxPower yet, but intend to do so soon, so I can plan for it. I like that they are local. I want to say it was a $30k conversion, but I don't know if that includes the tranny or not. I need more details. If I get a hold of them I'll post some details on here for everyone's info. $30k - $40k for a V8 swap with 770hp OR $25-$30k pissed away to a dealer for a bull$h!+ ADM, I know where most people would spend their money.......

 

[TheButcher]

@WillieFlo, yeah if you get ahold of PaxPower please post up pricing info. With all the $ sunk into my current build it makes some sense to keep it and just upgrade the motor/trans. If it's in the $30k-$40K range then it starts to be pretty attractive to me.

I'm with you on taking the off-road cadillac out to the blind. My buddy ended up in a rental buick crossover several years ago and he brought it out to the ranch. We were totally sold on having a heater, closed windows, and heated seats when it was 30 degrees out on the way to the blind at 5:00AM!!!

 

[BoostCreep]

I would get your new dd sports sedan, hold on to the Gen 2, and then take a look at Gen 3 prices in a couple years, but I probably wouldn’t put that much money into a Gen 2.

If you need more power just get bigger turbos.

 

[HOLLYWOOD 1]

If I were spending your money, I'd get the Gen 3. My truck is pretty well worked, minus the 8 and 5 link, and my reasoning would be:

Newer technology. Yes, more can go wrong, but still newer technology beats older stuff.
Dumping good money into bad. No matter what you do or spend, you won't recoup that money when you get tired of it.
Problems, no matter how good the shop / products it's not factory, so there will be problems / issues. Nature of the beast. Saying that Foutz makes some of the best stuff out there!
Gen 3 will have better resale value. And it's newer. Your 18 will continue to age, and 23s are coming so your truck is 5 years old.

Tough choices for sure, whichever way you lean. Good luck!!!