[DanEC]

The 4 hour plug change story for an FE probably dates back to when the 390 first appeared in the Mustang in 1967. I remember all sorts of horror stories on trying to reach a couple of the plugs due to the spring towers and other stuff. Seems like the passenger side was the tightest. I had a friend with a 69 390 Mach 1 and he ran around for weeks with a loose plug in the thing because he claimed he couldn't figure out how to get in there to tighten it.

Except for the driver side back plug being a little tight - they are pretty easy to get to on my ERA. A flat tappet hydraulic or roller hydraulic cam FE that's properly assembled should be a good reliable and low maintenance motor.