| Ford I6 Identification |
| I love the I6 engine design. Mostly because of the simple stupidity of these engines makes them so easy to work on. I don't hate the V8, but I think that too many people simply count the number of cylinders when they think performance. While I'm definately not an expert & don't know everything, this page will hopefully give the novice an idea & simple identification of the various I6s that ford has made thoughout the years. Hopefully if you've got a rig with one of these motors you'll keep this engine & try your hand at something different, instead of just ditching it for the usual V8. |
| This page will always be under (major!) construction as I add more info. Any more info/pictures are always welcome (though I may not be able to post right away). |
| The 144/170/200/250 OHV six. |
| The 240/300 OHV six. |
| While I'm not a real expert, I do have some links to sites with people with a TON of experiance with the I6. Here's a great site called Inliner's. These guys drive/race inlines exclusively. Its mostly chevy stuff, but there is a ford section & the guys area really cool & have a lot of knowlege. Another site is the ford I6 performance forum. You'll mostly find stuff for the falcon six there, but there's a truck section & even an "other inlines" area. |
| I am currently in the process of re-doing this page for easier viewing. Each engine family now has its own page. |
| Ford's first inline six: Ford's first inline six was produced in 1908 for the model "K." It was a luxury model & was a failure with less than 1000 produced. I do not have any pictures, but I do have the basic specs: Displacement 429.2 cu in. / 7 L. Valves 12 valves. 2 valves per cylinder. Horsepower 40.00 HP Bore 4.50 in / 114.3 mm. Stroke 4.25 in / 108 mm. |
| The 226/254 "G, H & M" |
| The 215/223/262 |
| This page is intended as a simple VISUAL identification of the various inline sixes that Ford sold in North America over the years. I try to update information & pictures as I can (& as people send in), but this is NOT a comprehensive guide. In the information below & my Links I've tried to have sites that could give more in-depth information. Ford did a number of things over the years & I can't hope to have all of it on this site (such as experimental heads, etc.). I would recomend that anyone wanting to work on their own vehicle to find/purchase a shop manual, factory or otherwise. A lot of information can be gleaned from these sources. Much of this information is gleaned from the manuals I have as well from postings on the sites listed below. I have also been able to walk through several wrecking yards over the years & get visual confirmation of some info. Currently I have a few 170s, 200s, 300s & a 250 that I'm slowly pulling appart, fooling with, photographing, etc. As time goes on I intend to add more of this info. I do not (unfortunately) have any of the flathead six or 223 series engines on hand, so most of this info does not come from personal experiance. I do hope that the information on this site is of some value & most of all, that you have fun with your inline six! |
| Here are a couple of links to some performance site for the inline sixes. These are NOT advertisements, but if you're interested in performance for your inline six, they are usefull. Classic Inlines These guys have stuff mainly for the ford "small & big-block" sixes. They are continuing developement of products, including aluminum heads. Clifford Performance Speed parts for Ford, Chevy/GM, Jeep, MOPAR & even Hudson inline 4 & 6 cylinder engines Stovebolt Tom Langdon's Stovebolt mainly has stuff for the chevy/GM inline sixes, however he has a few goodies for ford, mainly the 240/300 six. |
| A few notes about Ford engine casting numbers. I have included a few here & there through-out this site, but am not going to go into great detail about them. Why? Well, unlike GM, or chrysler, these cast-on numbers are NOT serial numbers, they are DESIGN numbers. As when the part (in this case engine block or head) was originally designed & what it was originally designed for (falcon, mustang, truck, etc.). It is possible & common to have, from the factory, a "falcon" engine in a fairlane or vise-versa. It is also possible & common to have a block or head that is "older" than the vehicle (a '61 engine in a '62 vehicle for example). Also, ford had (still has?) an "empty-bin" policy. As long as a part can be used, it is to be used. A rather well known example is with the '68 302 V8s that had "289" blocks. The "serial numbers" on the blocks were an older year, but the internal parts of the engine were newer. For this reason, be very carefull when someone is selling a "numbers matching" ford car. Just because the "numbers match," does not nessesarily mean it is original. A very good explanation of Ford part numbers can be found on this page part number page, on a classic mustang site. |