I am looking to find the VIN number of my 55 FORD F100 on the frame since the vin number has been taken off of the glove box. I have it but the engine does not match the vin number. Says it came with a V8 and its obviously a 6. The other red flag is the engine mounts are not on a cross-member it is mounted hard under the radiator. Probably another motor the rancher through in over the years. I do have the Title and VIN tab that match but i have a strong feeling its from another truck and would like to find out.

Also I know the engine is a Stright Six motor but dont know exactly which one. Where is the ID number on a "i think 223" motor? I would like to identify these things before i start buying parts, for obvious reasons. This will be my first rebuild so sorry being oblivious.

 

The vin on the frame will be on the top of the frame rail just in front of the front cab mount. Mine is on the drivers side but you might have to look on both side. Use a wire brush and or sand paper. Oh and welcome to FTE. A lot of good folks hanging out here.
brian...

 

The number is cast on the motor towards the bottom between two ridges above the oil pan. I forget which side. Should start with something like EAB.

It should be a 223 6 cylinder in 1954.

 

If i'm not mistaken,the VIN and engine numbers would not have matched,anyway.I was told that is a C***y notion.Please feel free to hammer me if I'm wrong.

Steve

 

Welcome to the forum!

The stock 6 cylinder engine in your truck mounted in the front, just as you describe. It may not be as bad as you think.

As to your serial number location, it is typically found on the top of upper flange of the right side frame rail. It could be anywhere along there under the hood, from the cab mount to the radiator crossmember. Some people have even reported finding it on the front crossmember. And as noted above, in rare instances, or Canadian built trucks, it's possible it might be on the left side rail. You'll just need to get a bright light and a scraper and go to work.

I've got to admit, though, I think you lost me when you said you have a "vin tab". I have no idea what that is. AFAIK, the only VIN ID these trucks had was the glove box tag besides the frame stamp. Please clarify, or better yet, post a pic, if you can.

Let us know what you find.

 

You are correct, Steve. Vehicle serial numbers were not stamped on engine blocks during this time period.

I believe what the OP meant was the VIN on his title show it to be a V8 truck, but his truck has a 6 cylinder in it. He doens't know if it's stock, which means he may have a bad title, or the engine is a transplant, which would mean his papers may be correct. He wants to find his frame stamp to verify.


No hammers were damaged in the posting of this message. ;-)

 

Ok after going home and checking again, my engine block reads EBP-6015L which I understand is a six cylinder prob a 223. The valve cover has 9 bolts the carb is a single barrel on the drivers side along with the manifold and generator. I did some research on the engine but its still hard to identify since it could either be a 213 or 223 engine and cant really tell just by looking at it and would like to buy some parts. The manifold has the number EBP-9430-A and another number below looks like 820B I heard you can distinguish the engine by the spines on the vshape of where the manifold reaches the exhaust? Also the Distributor is on the passenger side with a vacuum attached to it don't know if that helps either?

I have not started the engine yet sine I need a 6 volt battery and hook up a couple of wires that are hanging from the generator but the guy i bought it off of said he put a 12 volt battery in it and started it a couple of times so I don't know the real damage is yet, he could of fried the entire system. If so, where would you start to diagnose. Guessing the replace the voltage regulator and the starter solenoid then if that does not work the starter and generator? Who knows it might just crank up any suggestions before I try to start this truck for the first time?

As far as the VIN number on the frame I will have to look at it further later. I do have the Vin TAB or plate that goes in the glove box and the original title but since it is ripped off, it looks like a different engine from the original and the front end has a 56 front grill so this truck might of been pieced together over the years. If it is a different serial number on the frame then what? Should i not dump any more money until i find out and second is there anyway this engine might be the original still even though there is no Engine cross member only the engine mounts still on it. Hope this is not too many questions for you all? Thanks again for the help

 

Don't know what to tell you about your engine, but I can say, imho, it's always a good idea to have your paperwork in order before dumping a whole bunch of cash into your project. The last thing you want to find out after spending 10 grand on it is that it belongs, legally, to someone else. And that person will get to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

As you were told earlier, your truck didn't come with an engine crossmember. Engines on 55 F-100's mounted on the front crossmember and to the frame at the bellhousing.

 

read this

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...-location.html

 

It appears that you have a 223. There are definite ways to tell if you have a 223.

First, take a look through Kevin Kessler's website: https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/kkessler/w...d_f100_223.htm

Borrowing a picture of a 223 from Kevin's website, you can see where the distributor and oil filter are positioned (toward the front of the engine).



Now, take a look at the 215 motor in my 52 Panel. Note that the distributor and oil filter are positioned in the middle of the engine block.



Let's hope that you don't have a 262, which looks the same as a 223 but was used from 1961-64 in heavy duty trucks.

 

Yes everything appears to be the same one my engine except for the motor mounts which are in the middle of the block where the v is located by the spines. But the distributor and oil filter (screw on) is def on the passenger-front side of the engine. What is the distinct give away if its a 262 or do I def have a 223 with everything located in the front?

Also this might be a stupid question, but since in might be a later model motor, I know 56 is when the started using 12 volt systems, is there any way to tell if my starter and generator are 12 volt systems on this 223, cause im sure the original wiring is for the 6 volt system but the rancher may have converted it to a 12 volt possibly, any way to tell or just look up the stamp on the starter and generator. Or is it possible that this 223 is the original engine in this truck. Should I try putting a 6 volt battery in it and try firing it up or do a little more research before hand.

I will have to take pictures of my engine and send it in to you guys to take a peak. Ill try to send some later today?

 

1952/53 215 & 1954/59 223: The valve cover is retained to the head with 2 studs/nuts.

1960/64 223: Ford changed the design of the cylinder head in 1960, the valve cover is retained to the head with 8 bolts.

What you most likely have is a 1954/59 223 w/a 1960/64 223 cylinder head.

 

No question is stupid (some of the answers may be). I have been told by several guys messing around with air/hydraulic suspension systems that starter motors have super insulated commutators and fields because of the continuous cranking they are subjected to on occasion. The reason they love starter motors for air compressors and hydraulics is they keep adding batterys in series till they start to smoke to get the recovery speed up for their systems. I have been starting my 226 flat 6 with a 12 volt battery with no damage for the past several months. (I really don't care if I burn it up or not as it is not going to be the engine / driveline I will have in the car when I finish my build). If I were you I would try to find a good rebuild shop and talk to somebody that actually rebuilds starter motors (read OLD TIMER). If it were me, I would use the 6 volt starter as is on a 12 volt system. The starter will spin the engine faster. The start current will be lower in the motor because of the way a motor electrically self regulates. I know that seems incredible because the static resistance of the windings are really low. What limits current in a spinning motor is the magnetic field reflecting across the surrounding windings. Higher voltage results in stronger fields resulting in greater torque the speed of the motor will also increase. The net result is the motor spins faster when cranking the engine. The locked rotor current will be higher but that only happens for an instant in any electric motor.

My wife says I will pontificate on the water buffalo when given the chance so sorry for jumping in on this subject with both feet. If anyone can explain to me with the math to back it up why I am wrong I will be happy to retract my statement on 6 vs 12 volt motor.
Marty S.

 

Hi to all - I think that engine came out of a car. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I believe if it were a truck engine it would have one front mount and two bell housing mounts, if out of a car of same era it would have the two mid side mounts (as described) and one mount on rear of trans. Again if anyone wants to differ with me feel free to do so. Bye for now

 

Hey guys just wanted to give you an update if your interested, got a little bit of good news. Replaced all the battery cables, changed the oil (which looked good coming out), Manually cranked the engine and had compression. Replaced the Generator with a one wire alternator (still need to connect it to the new 650 amp battery) in stead of the generator (it might even still be good) they said its all around more reliable and it was half the price as the refurbished one, Got a refurbished water pump, took out the voltage regulator, replaced all the radiator hoses and getting the radiator fixed and pressure tested as I type.

But after all that, the kicker is...I replaced the starter with the exact same type as the one in my truck that I pulled out, gave her a crank...and nothing happened, except the starter just turned and just kept spinning, no loud clunck, engaging into the flywheel? So, I measured the depth of the seal of the starter to the flywheel which was about 3/4 of an inch to the start of the fly wheel, then the flywheel its self measured about 5/16 of an inch, giving it roughly about a total about an inch to the shaft of the starter. But with it fully extended it would be physically impossible for it to even hit the flywheel. The next day, I called the builder and he said they also made a short shaft starer as well but it was not made for the 6 volt starters (which Im converting to a 12 volt system)? Any ways a longer story shortened. I bought the short shaft 12 volt starer version, even though I pulled a long shaft out of my truck (Which even had teeth marks on it from prior use). Turned over the truck for the first time with just the battery and the starter hooked up with a Flathead screw driver to the solenoid and guess what, it started cranking the engine and it sounded pretty smooth!!!! Gave me light in my eyes, cause this is my first truck rebuild and it was just pretty dame exciting.

1.Whats your thoughts on maybe why they had even a long shaft even in there if it never physically never worked ever with that flywheel. Cause the transmition does look like its been on there with the truck for a long time. I think they just threw in a replacement starter to try and fix the truck that was used and it never worked so they stopped????

2. Second what do you think about replacing the generator with a alternator that was converted into a one wire system. You think its worth the extra money to keep it all original looking or do you think i will be happier with the alternator overall? I am building a rat rod so it prob does not really matter? If i knew the entire truck was original I prob wouldn't think twice about it.

3. 650 amp battery a good choice?

4. With the old wiring harness so brittle, how do you suggest I start the truck up without a starter button (if you know of a local place to get one that will work let me know) and not using the existing wiring harness for now? Is it bad to use the solenoid to start it, not going to be doing it all the time just want to see if this sucker fires!

That is it for now I will have more for you in the future! Thanks everyone for your guidance!