Not Ranked
I never said the 385 series was the best engine in the universe. I said it was hard to beat; power per dollar; especially when building something in the 600+hp range. FE's are fine, but spendy. Windsors are cool too; but I don't like the geometry when the stroke gets long, and the price starts to go up in a hurry as well. Most everyone stops the power budget when the money budget runs out. If you have a budget; a 385 series will end up giving you more power per dollar...and who doesn't want power? If you don't, OK, but I havn't met a cobra guy yet that bought the car for any other reason.
Sure, the 385 series was used in school busses. It was also used in NASCAR. The 351W was (and is) used for worse things that school busses. I sell EFI dataloggers to a company that uses cheap crate 302s and 351s for industrial pump stations, that doesn't mean they are bad engines.
And I agree; if you can't service the engine (tight bay), it's not worth it. My car (west coast cobra) happens to be designed for the 385 series. Easy to service; nothing in the way. If it's a shoe horn and you have to install the plugs before the engine goes in; of course not!
I'm not disrespecting any of the ford V8's mentioned. I'm just stating my perspective. If it offends you, sorry.
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