| The Ford 385 engine family (also code-named "Lima"[2]) is a series of big block V8 engines designed by Ford Motor Company. Produced from 1968 to 1998, the Lima engines replaced the MEL engine entirely, along with multiple engines of the medium-block FE engine family; in truck applications, the engines succeeded the much larger Super Duty family.
The Lima engines were used across multiple applications in North America. In cars, the engines saw use by all three Ford divisions in full-size cars, intermediates, personal luxury cars, and muscle cars. In trucks, the engine family was used in full-size trucks and vans, along with medium and heavy-duty trucks.
Produced in Lima, Ohio (Lima Engine), the engine family was the final big-block V8 designed and produced by Ford during the 20th century. After 1978, the engines were phased out of Ford cars as its full-size cars underwent downsizing (intermediates last used the engines in 1976). Following its shift to truck use, the Lima engines were joined by multiple diesel-powered engines.
In 1997, Ford introduced the overhead-cam Triton V10, which replaced the Lima V8 engine family after the 1998 model year; the next overhead-valve large-block V8 produced by Ford is the 7.3L "Godzilla" V8 introduced for 2020. |
