Video: Can A Running Ford V8 Withstand A .50 Caliber Bullet?

“Built Ford Tough” has been the slogan for the Ford F-150 for about 37 years now, and it’s hard to imagine a Blue Oval truck commercial without hearing that impactful phrase. More than just a marketing gimmick, Built Ford Tough is a challenge to the men and women responsible for designing Ford’s best-selling vehicle, and generation after generation the F-150 seems to get better and better.

fullmag-1As tough as the F-150 is though, can the old SOHC 5.4 liter three-valve V8 withstand a direct hit from a .50 caliber rifle? That’s what the guys at the FullMag YouTube channel set off to find out, but the results should come as no surprise to Ford fans.

The host of FullMag, Richard Ryan, isn’t just using standard .50 caliber slugs for this mission either. Instead he’s loaded up with armor piercing incendiary rounds specifically built for taking out the engines of vehicle-borne explosive devices, and normally all it takes is a couple of rounds in the block to incapacitate a vehicle. In the pursuit of entertainment though, Ryan instead puts two holes into a cylinder of the running engine via the heads, and high-speed cameras reveal the explosive results of his well-placed shots.

Yet the Ford just keeps on ticking away, the stout 5.4 liter engine refusing to just die and even absorbing the massive bullets, which would tear right through a lesser engine. While the F-150 refused to go into gear after taking two direct hits in the cylinder head, that it was able to be immediate restarted is a testament to the Built Ford Tough slogan. FullMag plans on finishing the F-150 off in an even more spectacular fashion, giving this trusty truck a proper warrior’s sendoff.

Even so, it’s a little sad to see any vehicle reach the end of its useful life, and you can hear it in Ryan’s voice before the second shot.

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About the author

Chris Demorro

Christopher DeMorro is a freelance writer and journalist from Connecticut with two passions in life; writing and anything with an engine.
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