| "Small Block" or Falcon six 144/170/200/250 |
| This is the falcon six. When the falcon came out in 1960, ford made an entirely new motor for that car. This family of motors is easily identified (at least in the US) by the cast on integeral intake manifold. This motor was also produced in Argentina & Australia (where it is still being produced, though much altered). All: Intake is cast integral to the head, valve arrangement: (front to rear) E-I-I-E-I-E-E-I-E-I-I-E, chain driven cam, '60-3 used a 1/4" oil pump shaft while '64+ used a 5/16" shaft, distributor front left on block, cast aluminum timing cover. Unlike most other inline sixes, these engines do not have a side/lifter cover. The head must be removed to access the lifters. Some of these motors were used in industrial applications. The 144/170 block codes were apparently an attempt at a cast-on block identification system & can be found on the road draft tube-mounting boss. They were in use at least till '63. After about '64, ford used small metal tags (similar to the ones found on a carburator) bolted to the engine block to identify the engine. These little tags usually dissapear during a rebuild. 144 (2.3L): 1960-1964 bore 3.5 X stroke 2.5" 4 main bearings, solid lifters '60-2, hydraulic lifters (?) '63-4, 3 freeze plugs on the blocks intake/exhaust side, some of the earliest had a stamped steel timing cover Blue valve cover & air cleaner cover, black block Door code; S Block code; N 170 (2.8L): 1961-1972 bore 3.5 X stroke 2.94" 4 main bearings, later motors may have possibly had 7 (�66+), solid lifters '61-2, hydraulic lifters '63-'72, 3 freeze plugs on the blocks intake/exhaust side Orange valve cover & air cleaner cover (some had orange oil pan), black block to '65, '65+ block, valve cover, air cleaner ford blue Door code; cars- U, trucks- '61-5: T, '66-'72: F Block code; T 200 (3.3L): 1963(4)-1983(4) bore 2.68 X stroke 3.13" 4 main bearings- '63-4, '65+ had 7, hydraulic lifters, all have 5 freeze plugs Orange valve cover & air cleaner cover (some had orange oil pan), black block to '65, '65+ block, valve cover, air cleaner ford blue Door code; cars - T, trucks � '64 S Extra info: - This motor was initially produced in 1963 & primarily offered in the Fairlanes & Econoline (?) vans, occasionally though, it showed up in falcons & comets. The earliest had 4 main bearings, though by 1965 they all had 7 mains. The last few years (1980-83) this motor was produced the starter was moved below the oil pan, much like the 250. The bell housing on these motors is 2/3 of the small block V8 (289/302/351 & 250 I6). 250 (4.1L): 1969-1980(?) Bore 2.68 X stroke 3.91" 7 main bearings, hydraulic lifters, 5 freeze plugs block, valve cover, air cleaner ford blue Door code; L Extra info: - Ford added 2" of deck height to the 200 to create this motor. The starter is mounted below the oil pan, as opposed to the rest with the starter above. Also, the water pump has 4 bolts (as opposed to the 3 used on the 144/170/200). The small-block V8 6-bolt bell housing (289/302/351) & flywheel bolt pattern was used. The flywheel is, however, balanced differently. All had 7 main bearings. |
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| The early 144/170 with solid lifters. Notice how the intake is cast as part of the head. |
| For some pictures of an early (1961) 170, my spare 170 page. |
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| Here is a very nice looking 200 painted in the earlier style. This is the original stock look for most of the 170/200s from 1961 to mid-1965 in falcons & mustangs (possibly comets as well). From this angle, it is virtually impossible to tell the difference between a 144, 170 or a 200. |
| There are also a couple of pictures of a 1963 170 on my falcon's picture page. |
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| These next 2 pictures are of a 1966 200 & help show the differences between the earliest & later blocks. If you compare the 1961 170 & this block, you'll see the 5 freeze plugs & the casting number on the right side. The left side of the block doesn't have the casting number, the draft tube hole is blocked off with a freeze plug & there are the 2 threaded holes on either side of the hole mounting boss. These are about the only major distingushing features between the '61 & the '66 blocks. This block is set-up for hydraulic lifters & has the larger distributor hole for the 5/16" oil pump shaft. |
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| Although the picture is kinda small, it shows the real internal difference between the blocks. - The 170 (lower) block has 4 main bearings supporting the crank. This is the set-up for all 144s, most 170s & the early 200s. The # 3 bearing is the thrust bearing. - The 200 block (upper) block has 7 main bearings supporting the crank. This is the set-up for some later 170s (export-only?), 200s & all 250s. The # 5 bearing is the thrust bearing. An inline six, 7-main block is a very stable set-up as every cylinder connecting rod has support on both sides as opposed to only one side (such as the 4-main block, or a V6 or V8 set-up). |
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| The next 2 pictures are of a 1969 250 from a mustang. The 5 freeze plugs are easy to see, as well as the casting number below the 4th freeze plug (& block water drain). Although the engine is at an angle, if you look carefully, you'll see that the bell housing is the standard ford small-block V8 (289/302/351). Whats not as apparent in the pictures is the additional 2" of deck-highth. The second photo shows the non-adjustable valvetrain used after the mid-'60s. The earlier adjustable rockers can be swapped, but the pushrods must be swapped as well. The older, stock pushrods can be used on a 170/200, but the 250 needs aftermarket rods as Ford never produced any (aftermarket rods are avialable). |
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| Early to mid-'60s heads (a 200 & 170) side-by-side. This photo shows the easiest identifying feature of this engine family (at least for the engines sold in North America), the cast-on intake. For performance, this is one of the hardest things to overcome on these engines. The 200 head on the left has a 1 1/2" carb opening & the 170 head on the right has a 1 3/8" carb opening. Later heads have a 1 3/4" carb opening & the intake has a more squared-off (most common) or a hexagonal (kinda rare) shape. |
| Here is an additional website with more information on Ford's small block six family: The Ford Falcon SIX Cylinder PERFORMANCE HANDBOOK The 2 brothers who run the site & publish the book have done an extensive amount of performance "tweeking" & tinkering on this family of engines. While I'm not trying to endorse/advertise on this site, the handbook is VERY usefull for anyone who has an interest in the small six (or any inline six for that matter) & I would recomend getting this handbook. |
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| The blue circle is the location of the identifying "T" on this 170 (in this case, a 1961 170). At least till '64 or so 144/170s had a letter cast in this location. An "N" was a 144 & a "T" was a 170. I'm not fully sure when ford stopped using this form of ID, but it probably wasn't long after '64 when the 144 was no longer produced. I have seen a '64 170 block that did not have this "T" & I've also seen one that did. Go figure. 200/250s never had any letters cast on, though all blocks (144/170/200/250) have a stamped number in this area (if you look carefully, you'll see it just below the circle). I belive this is an inspector's stamp, but I'm not fully sure. |
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| The rear of the 1961 170. This is the early bell housing found on the 144/170/200, the gap on the right is for the starter. This bellhousing is different from all other Ford bellhousings. Interestingly enough, the starters used with these motors use the same 3-bolt pattern as the Ford FE V8 engines. |
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| This is an example of the tags Ford used on these engines from about '64 on. This is the tag from the 1969 250 in the above pictures. These tags are similar to the tags often found on Ford rear ends & transmissions.They are usually quite accuate & handy, but unfortunately lost during any rebuilding. Usually when still on an engine they are on one of the coil bolts. 250 is the displacement of the engine. 69 is the MODEL year of the engine. 1 is the change level. 8 - L is the year & month the engine was actually produced in this case, 1968, December. K45-S is the engine code number. The engine code number & change level are intended for rebuilders to help them aquire the correct parts, though in actual practice, few pay attention to these numbers as they rarely effect much when getting parts. |
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| From '66 on, 170/200s had a "dual pattern" bellhousing with additional sets of bolt holes above the upper 3. The '66 block in the above pictures does not have this pattern, but the example below does. All '67 & later blocks (till '80/81) have this dual-pattern set up. The older/inner set of holes was used for the C4 automatic bellhousing, while the news/upper set of holes is used for the manual transmissions. An older 2.77 3-speed transmission can be used with this block by simply using the older/inner set of holes. Thanks to Jeff Hill who contributed this photo. By '80/81, the 200s had the starter below the oil pan with a bellhousing that is 2/3 the Ford small-block bellhousing. (I don't have a picture yet.) |