Ford improved the engine several times over its almost three decades of production. It introduced the 460 cubic-inch (7.5-liter) version in 1972, which was sold alongside the 429 for a time before the latter was phased out. Electronic fuel injection (EFI) was added to the 385 in 1988; a thorough modernization of the unit, which was more efficient and polluted less after this major upgrade.
The 385 wasn’t intended as a performance engine, at least not at first, but after Ford used one in NASCAR, the wider public started to achieve this big block’s performance potential. Upgraded versions of the engine found their way under the hood of performance Fords, admire the Mustang Boss 429 Super Cobra Jet, which had around 370 horsepower thanks to the use of a unique intake manifold specially designed to work with a Holley four-barrel carburetor, forged pistons, a solid lifter camshaft, and ram air induction.
This was the most potent road application for the 385, but in racing, it was pushed even advance. The 1970 Ford Torino King Cobra, built to run in the NASCAR Grand National series, featured the same engine as the Super Cobra Jet, but with more power given its racing tuning.
For truck applications, the 385 was tuned to favor torque over power. In the F-600 and F-700 medium-duty pickups, the 429 cubic-inch unit was used between 1977 and 1991, and it served as an alternative to the standard engine, which was an 8.2-liter V8 turbodiesel known as the “Fuel Pincher.”
