Ford 385 engine

The Ford 385 engine family (the name coming from the 3.85 inch crankshaft stroke of the 460 V8) was the Ford Motor Company's final big block V8 engine design, replacing the Ford MEL engine and gradually superseding the Ford FE engine family. This design was a departure from the paradigm utilizing thinwall casting methods and a skirtless block to reduce weight.

It was available in three sizes in production vehicles; 370 cu in (6.1 L) in medium-duty trucks only, 429 cu in (7.0 L) and 460 cu in (7.5 L). A 514 cu in (8.4 L) crate engine was also available from Ford SVO.

The engines were sold between 1968 and 1997. It was introduced in the Lincoln Continental (460) and Ford Thunderbird (429) in 1968 and replaced the FE in Ford's full-size cars in 1969. Production ended with the ninth generation Ford F-Series truck in the 1996/7 model year. They were manufactured at Ford's Lima Engine plant at Lima, Ohio. This manufacturing line replaced the Ford MEL engine line in the Lima plant. The FE engines, manufactured in Dearborn, continued in production but saw reduced applications and volume as the 385 engine gradually took over in the Ford line up. The FE went out of production in 1976, leaving the 385 as the only big block. The 370 replaced the 361 FE in 1978 and the 429 replaced the Super Duty (401/477/534) engines in 1982.