Car News TV’s countdown of Ford’s greatest engines opens with the flathead V8 and closes on a hard-pulling 428 Cobra Jet Mustang — but it is what got left out that dominated the comments. Viewers made the case for the 351 Cleveland, the long-running 300 straight six, and even the modern Coyote 5.0, each with their own specific ownership stories. Watch the countdown, then see what fans think should have made the cut.
Ranking anything as greatest is an invitation to argue, and Car News TV’s countdown of Ford’s best engines throughout history proved exactly that. The video opens with a sound that several viewers say still gets to them decades later, and closes on a 428 Cobra Jet Mustang pulling hard off the line. In between sits a list that left a surprising number of legendary Ford engines completely off the countdown, and the comment section ended up spending more time arguing about what got left out than praising what actually made the final cut, which turns out to be the more interesting story here.
Where the List Opens: The Flathead’s Lasting Sound
The countdown opens with Ford’s flathead V8, the engine that put affordable V8 power into the hands of ordinary drivers starting in 1932 and effectively created the American hot rodding movement almost by accident along the way. One viewer’s reaction to hearing it again says everything about its legacy: that flathead is still music to my ears, decades after Ford stopped building it entirely. Few engines in automotive history carry that kind of emotional weight purely from their exhaust note alone, and Car News TV clearly understood that starting the list here would set the tone for everything that followed after it.
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Where It Closes: A 428 Cobra Jet Still Pulling Hard
The video wraps with a 428 Cobra Jet-powered Mustang, and at least one viewer specifically called out how hard it pulled at the very end of the countdown. The 428 Cobra Jet arrived in 1968 as Ford’s direct answer to the horsepower wars raging across Detroit at the time, built specifically to be underrated on paper so cars equipped with it could compete in a lower class at the drag strip, then dominate once the green light dropped. Closing the list on that engine, rather than something flashier or more modern, signals exactly what kind of countdown this is: one built around real-world pull, not spec sheet numbers alone.
The 351 Cleveland’s Case for Inclusion
No single engine generated more disagreement in the comments than the 351 Cleveland, which multiple viewers pointed out was missing entirely from the list. One commenter went further, noting that the 351C powered the GTs and HOs that became legendary specifically in Australia, where Ford built a dedicated performance program around the engine for years. Another described owning a 1970 Mustang Mach 1 with a 351 Cleveland and a four-speed for forty-four years without a single letdown, adding that Bob Glidden used the same small block to beat far larger big-block engines in NHRA competition from 1978 into the early 1980s, before NHRA’s 1982 shift to a 500-cubic-inch limit forced him off the Cleveland and onto a different block entirely. For an engine with that kind of proven track record, its absence from a greatest-of list is not a small oversight.
The Straight Six That Refused to Die
A second recurring complaint centered on the Ford 300 cubic inch straight six, an engine multiple commenters argued deserved a spot purely on longevity and reliability rather than outright power alone. One viewer pointed out the 300 straight six ran in Ford’s F-Series trucks from 1965 all the way through 1996, an extraordinarily long production run for any single engine design to survive largely unchanged. Another noted it was reliable enough that UPS used it in delivery trucks for years, and that they would happily buy one today if Ford still built it new. Bulletproof durability rarely wins a horsepower argument, but it clearly wins loyalty across multiple decades of hard daily use.
A Modern Omission: The Coyote 5.0
Not every complaint in the comments was about a classic engine. At least one viewer pointed out that Ford’s modern Coyote 5.0 V8, introduced in 2011 and still powering current Mustangs off the assembly line today, was left off a list built around Ford’s greatest engines throughout history. It is a fair point: the Coyote combines genuine high-revving performance with daily drivability and modern reliability in a way few of the classic engines on this list ever managed simultaneously, and its absence highlights how a countdown built around nostalgia can end up overlooking genuinely deserving modern hardware in the process of looking backward.
What Made the Manual Transmission Era Different
One comment tied the whole list together with an observation about what actually made these engines memorable in the first place: pairing them with manual transmissions. Getting more scarce by the day, as the commenter put it, manual gearboxes forced a direct, physical connection between driver and engine that automatic transmissions of the same era simply could not replicate on their best day. That connection is part of why engines like the flathead and the 351 Cleveland still generate this much passionate debate decades later, long after most of the cars they originally powered have been retired from daily use altogether.
The Ford 4.9 That Never Gets Its Due
Beyond the 300 straight six’s F-Series run, one viewer specifically called out the Ford 4.9 liter inline six by its metric displacement name, describing it as bulletproof and packed with tons of torque despite rarely showing up on greatest-engine lists built around horsepower alone. Another commenter agreed, calling it their die-hard pick over flashier V8 options. That kind of loyalty tends to come from people who have actually put hundreds of thousands of miles on the engine in question, in a work truck or a farm vehicle, rather than admired it from a spec sheet, and it is exactly the perspective a countdown video aimed at broad appeal is most likely to leave out.
A ranking that leaves out the 351 Cleveland, the 300 straight six, and the modern Coyote 5.0 is, by definition, incomplete, and the comment section made that case forcefully and repeatedly. But an incomplete list that generates this much detailed, specific pushback is arguably doing exactly what it set out to do: getting genuine Ford enthusiasts to argue passionately about engineering history, cite production years and racing records from memory, and defend the specific engines that shaped their own ownership experience. That kind of engagement is worth more to a channel like Car News TV than a perfectly balanced, universally agreed-upon list would ever be.
Watch the full video and tell us what you think — comments are open below.
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All of them not even a question
351m , 400 & 6.0 weren’t so good
429 Cobra Jet
390
300_6cyl. Was the best Ford ever built. !!
I know a feller that had a van with one, at like 150,000 miles never ever changed his oil, always used and added mobil#1 asked me to change his oil filter”he did every 3000 miles,at around 175,000 miles I opened engine to repair a rocker arm, and that engine looked new, any other 300 I opened rockers had groove’s from sludge.(funny what you do remember )
My industrial work vehicle can tow 60,000-lbs and it has a single barrel carb Ford 300ci 6-cyl and a C-6. I hauled 26,400 with it just a few hours ago.
BOSS 429
The ones that start with LS.
Lost S..? 😂
LS= Loser Setup
I’m with Acosta and Cook
427 side oiler
In cars the 428 cobra jet and 351boss. Trucks 360, 390 and 460.
302 original
351 Windsor . Fast and tough , loud and proud .
The Cleveland was much better
I’ll take my 408 over a Cleveland anyway. Ford just didn’t make enough c so parts cost to much
The 351C.
428 s c j
Personally, I liked the 400 small block.
Fu and the big motor 427 S O H C
351 Cleveland, the Boss motors
none
428 Cobra Jet
Hemi :)
none of fords
352 and 302 more power n more durability under pressure!
He ones that start lol
I would pick but that kinda a contradict of terms you said ford and good motor in the same sentence MOPAR RULES!!!!!!!
I have both and honestly the mopar is a boat anchor compared to the ford
Whatcha smoking Joel Odegaard
So Joel, you think the 426 HEMI, 440 Commando and a 383 are just good for boat anchors? Show me a stock Ford that could outperform a 426 HEMI!
The evolution of the 302
429 cobra
390.
Boss9
427 cammer, then 383 stroker. Mopar guy but those are my picks
The ones built by the dodge brothers
HEMI!
I raced a lot of ford’s in my life and saw a lot of snapped rods at high rpms, in the 6500 range.
You,,,didn’t polish them…right.??
the fords snap a lot of rods. I had at the time a 440 duster, I never snapped a rod at those rpm’s. I am a mopar guy. But I like a lot of cars
and yes mine were polished. I miss that duster.
I have a superbee currently. 440 some head work and a high duration cam. 4 speed, dana rear 456’s. Solid tappet cam. I do get sick of lashing valves but I love solid lifter cams. I race it once a month down here in southern florida. Only thing that sucks is I miss living in NY can cruising in cold dry winter days. I would get at least 5 -20 more horsepower in those conditions.
Funny ever one is posting Eng from 1967 to 1971 nothing Present day
351 cleavland
428 SCJ
Flathead v8
429 CJ !
300 six can be strong also and is pretty damn tuff and never under estimate a mopar
429 boss was nice but a bitch to work on just no room dam near had to pull fenders off to change plugs lot of busted knuckles but good times
Yeah, that engine should have gone into a Torino.
427 without a doubt. Boss 429 was stout also.
They forgot the 427 shoc
289-271 HP
429 Super CJ.
428 crank in a 427. Easily streetable 700hp
427 FE side oiler
Boss 302
Boss
This was great but you forgot the 427 shoc engine probably one of the best engines all those on the 429 SVT
The one that I use as a mooring.
289 was a strong little motor, Carroll Shelby loved them
Cobra jet
The,,Cleveland,,,After,You build it,,,just a little better..!
302
427 SOHC
Hypo 289 had one that would crank up to 11000 rpms in my 68 sport bronco
460
Chevy 327!!!
Flathead
427
Cammer!!! Mickey Thompson ruled in 69 the Boss brought the end to Ford power in funny cars shame they stopped developing the awesome Cammer
Yep, cammer.
Wesome video, but should have had the 390.it over the years had many high performing combos! Luv those fords
Ls swap
BOSS 9 and you can SOHC it to me
427FE
300 six
429 hemi
SOHC
Clevelands Rock!
0
A functional one…
351 Windsor
A Chevy engine…
428 Cobra Jet or the 5.0 HO EFI. The Boss 429 had a vast amount of potential with a larger carburetor, more aggressive camshaft and free-flowing exhaust. BOSS 302 was a bad ass engine as well.
Boss 429
ZERO
The boss 429
Boss 351
351 Cleveland
351 Cleveland
May Guinea..
5.0, 435 crank hp off the showroom floor and over 650 possible with a supercharger and still can be a daily driver.
boss 302 ha ha ha ☺☺☺
Ford 3.0L V8 Cosworth Formula 1 engine dominated the sport for 25 years.
Ford 3.0L V8 DFV Formula 1 engine dominated the sport for 25 years.
427SOHC
It’d be interesting to see how many blue lemons (ford) have had an LS (Chevrolet) engine put in them vs how many blue lemons have had blue lemon motors as far as hot rod/custom cars go.
Has nothing to do with quality it’s all about expense and availability. Chevy basically puts the same engine in everything for years and years ford is constantly changing and improving so the aftermarket can’t keep pace in a cost efficient manner. Ford makes a way better engine always has always will. But Chevy guys confuse quantity for quality.
A well built 351C can blow the SBC 350 off of the road.
427SOHC
Connie Kalitta became the first to try and sort out the mystery that was the SOHC. Connecting-rod problems dogged development from the start. But Ford’s hunch about Kalitta might have been right, as he became the first person to hit 200 mph at an AHRA national event in 1965.
427SOHC 2,500hp
Pink told us the problem with the Cammer was not the chain—a problem he fixed with chromoly links—it was with the block. “[This engine] was meant to handle maybe 750 hp, and we were getting 2,500 hp out of it,” Pink says. “We would be lucky to get four runs for qualifying and four for eliminations from a block. If we did, the crank would be laying in the bottom of a broken-up block.”
427 CAMMER
Cleveland
The one in my car of course
They didn’t mention the 390!
No Cleveland? Of these I’d have to choose the little work horse 289
Ken Houck,Dom Houck,
FYI:…
Shouda’ had a V8…
ts
289
Boss 429 and boss 351
Ford FE 427 Top Oiler
The one in the junk yard
The 4.9 liter inline 6 cylinder, it almost will never die….
Alex Claassen
I would say my favorite engine is a 351 Windsor. I had one in my ’76 Ford F 250
Is that big block a 429?
428 cj or 427 sohc , I’d even take 429 boss!!! Not picky any of !!!
1969 429 hemi heads
Trick question right?
302 Boss
302 boss
Ok I’ve got to be honest the ford 390 hands down all around
289.
1969 428 Super Cobra Jet
The 427 Cobra Jet .
Ford was told to tone it down , State Troopers couldn’t catch it .
That’s how it got replaced by the 428 Cobra Jet .
The 351 C – Cleveland was good engine .
Best were the Ford’s powered by the Dodge Brothers .
With more development the Boss 429 could have been something pretty good