Having driven nothing but Fords for the last 50 years, I'd give the nod to the 302/5.0 engine, along with the 4.0 that was in so many of the Explorers and Rangers in the 1990 and early 2000 time period. As for the 300 inline that others have mentioned, I bought a new 1979 Ford truck that had one, and it was shot at 70,000 miles.
The new 300 inline I had developed piston knock early. The dealer gave me a new short block. After that it was a good engine. Great low end torque, but weak at high speeds.
My vote goes to the Gen 1 or Gen 2 Coyote engines.
Honda outboards rank very high also.
