I just bought 62 ford f100 with an inline 6 engine. Acording to the Vehicle Identification code, this truck came with a 223. Problem is, when I bought the truck it had a notebook under the seat with detailed maintenace info writen down about the truck starting in 1974 and continueing thru the late 80's. In it the whoever owned the truck during this time referanced the engine as a 262. By looking at the rest of the notes, he didnt seem like the kind of guy who wouldnt know what kind of engine was in his truck so my question is, is there an easy way to tell if its a 223 or 262?

 

262 (4.3L):
1961-1964(7)
bore 3.718 X stroke 4.03
Gear driven cam, distributor in front right of block, '61 - 64(7) 8 bolts holding down valve cover, early/big truck models had a fuel pump driven by an eccentric on the timing gear, later models ('64) had the fuel pump driven by an eccentric on the cam, exhaust manifold didn’t have a heat riser as the carb used a water heated spacer.
Truck only motor ('61-4 C550 & C600 tilt cab trucks, F600 trucks, B600 busses, '64 light trucks), possible industrial applications
Found in DIVCO trucks as the "G" series motor to '65(?)
Door code- '61-'64: B
Additional 262 info (thanks to the inliners site):
- The Hollander exchange manual says the 262 was made from 1961 to 1964.It will replace a 215 or 223 by switching some parts depending what the motor is going into. 223 heads can be used on the 262,but different years use different temp. sending units. Also early 223 heads will have to have the head bolt holes in the head drilled out so the 1/2-inch head bolts can be used. Intakes interchange, as will exhaust manifolds, but check the header pipe size and location where it fits on the manifold. Rocker arms of all types interchange. Three types of connecting rods were used.1961 to 1963 had heavy-duty cranks (steel)? And 1964 had both light duty (cast?) cranks and heavy duty cranks same as 1961 to 1963.Oil pans should interchange, but may have a larger capacity or a different sump location. I would pickup a Ford master parts catalog for more information.
- The Jan 96 12 Port news has a brief article on the 3 heavy truck engines: Chevy 261, Ford 262, and Mopar 265. It mentions that the Ford has an extra massive cast rib on the left side above the oil pan; 3.72 bore and 4.03 stroke; and full low oil filtration.
Other info:
This series of motors were last produced in 1964, though info from truck manuals suggests that they were produced till '67 for truck/industrial applications. These motors differ from most ford I6s in that the intake & exhaust are on the left (driver's) side, much like the GM I6. Some parts will interchange with the Y-blocks, though the bell housings are different. A 240/300 distributor can be used on the '64 and later blocks with the 5/16" oil pump shaft. Earlier motors can be upgraded with this equipment, but may need machining of the distributor hole & the oil pump will need to be changed to the later style.

 

This site has useful info to tell apart Ford I6 engines:

http://www.geocities.com/edwins63/I6ID.html