223 Ford - Good Motor or Good Boat Anchor?

There's a 1964 Ford Custom 4-door for sale locally with a 223 Ford six-cylinder. Although I haven't looked at it in person, it looks decent in the picture ($1500). Does anyone run a 223 Ford in their car? Are they a decent runner or could be made into a decent runner?

Thanks!
Tom - Glass_Packs

 

You're not gonna make a ton of power with one but if you keep it in tune it'll run like a top. I've got a 223 in my 54 and have driven it to several events hours away with no problems. To keep up on the freeway consider an o.d. Mine gets about 22 mpg with highway gears. There are a few companies that make speed parts John Mummert, Clifford, Offenhauser. Shares a few parts with the y-block too. They are pulled all of the time for V8 swaps so they are cheap or free.

 

I had one in my '57 Fairlane for over 5 years. They are rock solid engines - used in Ford tractors for MANY years. Tons of torque but very limited on highway performance. Mine was in front of a dog of a Fordomatic tranny and I would max out at about 65-70mph with 3.55 rear end gears....and I mean MAX OUT - wouldn't go any faster at all. Once my tranny needed work and I got estimates from Broader performance on what it would cost to rebuild it, I decided to go ahead and do a SBF swap.

My suggestion is this (and based on 5 years of driving one):
- if you drive primarily around town with an occasional highway trip, it will probably last forever. It's a GREAT little cruiser engine.
- if you like to drive on the highway a lot, you might want to switch to something else.

For whatever reason, there are a lot more speed parts for the other Ford 6's around that era. I found some Offy parts like intake/exhaust manifolds, but they were really pricey.

I miss the look of the old 223 and kept the valve cover as a wall hanger in the shop, but every time I get on the highway and can keep up with (and easily pass) traffic, I love the high output 302! If the price is right, you could drive the 223 for a few years while you collect parts to drop in a y-block or SBF later on.

 

First car was a '54 Customline 2 door 223 std trans in '60 with about 50,000 on it. Got low 20's for mileage, ran dead even with my cousin's '55 Chevy 6 std 2 door at our local acceleration test facility [3 runs]. Had a spell of overheating once shortly after I got it and changed the headgasket, no more problems. Ran it hard well up over 100,000 and retired it in '65 after the body rotted away from road salt, other than the gasket no other motor problems. Always thought it was an under rated and over looked engine.

Ed Purinton

 

I ran one in one of my 57's for a few years. Used a Mallory dual point(yuck!), a Cliffford 4 barrel intake, cam, headers, head work, 390 cfm carb., chrome dress up kit. Made nice power for a six, really growled with the headers and duals. It broke a few 3 speeds, did some hairy burnouts, I'd run definatly another one. It's a decent motor. And like everyone said, good on gas in stock form.

 

Thanks for all the info! By the sounds of it it's a good motor, as long as you're not barrelling down the highway. I received an e-mail from the owner about the six-cylinder. He mentioned that the motor did smoke, mainly because of dried-up valve seals. Has anyone replaced the valve seals in a 223 Ford? I also read in another thread that running synthetic oil would reduce the amount of smoke since it doesn't burn. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Tom - Glass_Packs

 

....speaking of which, if anyone is in need of a 223ci and trans drop me a line
-Dean

 

Well, I'll second the comments above. It sounds like a tractor but runs really consistently. I've driven it over 4 hours each way to Portland and back and other than the speed issues it's been great.

 

We have one in a 59 ranchero and another in a 55 2dr wagon. personally i would rather have one than a Y block. But i would not spend any money rebuilding one. I wolld swap to a FE or a 289 or 351 . You can change valve seals without pulling the head stuff the cylinder with nylon rope the turn the piston up to hold the valves in place. You can buy a variety of tools that will compress the valve springs. OldWolf

 

just put a new rebuilt 223 in my fairlane and runs great...good for cruising around town and it did real good on the austin trip this year.

 

i had a 223 inline 6 in my 58 ford for the 3 years i owned it and it was great. ran smooth, almost never had any problems with it, got me places every day, couldnt complain a bit. im now putting a 292 in it so im selling the inline 6, so if anyone wants one i got one.

 

I have an F-100 with a 223. Right now I am in the process of putting a 5 speed in it. I had a 3 speed, and maxed out at 60mph. I thought it would be alot easier to find parts for this engine than it is. I converted the points to electronic, but i cannot find the electronics to eliminate the vacuum advance. Im starting to believe that they dont make one for this engine. Point is that parts are harder to find than I expected and that its very slow(granted i do have a 1 barrel). also I was checking prices, and intakes and headers are big bucks. But since im 16 my dad wont let me drop a V8 in it because i drive it everyday, so i just gotta suffer through

 

If anyone needs a good running 223 from a 56, come and get it. It ran so smooth with no noises that I can't bring myself to just scrap it. It takes up too much room. Anybody want to save it? I know somebody would like to have it.

 

My 55 has one at 93000 miles and runs great, the trans is a little sick right now, the fordomatic is an odd trans.

 

Great looking engine!

 

I have the 215, 3speed w/ OD in my 53. First year overhead I6. 54' it became the 223. Just a bore difference. Great engine.

70+ w/ the OD. In second or third gear at 45mph the od kicks in when you slow down under 45mph it turns off.

 

what kind of exhaust is that on there?

 

That's a one piece Fenton header.

 

I had one in my first car, a '59 Ford and now have a 223 in one of my Divcos. Divco used a lot of them in the '50s along with Chevys, Nash and Dodge slant six. NO problems with them, beside normal valve adjustment.

 

You can't kill the things. If they're geared up right, they will haul. In my high school days, I worked in a body shop. Our parts chaser was a '56 Ford 2 door station wagon with a 223 six and 3 on the tree. It could lay rubber (and often did when I drove it). Dang, I wish I had that old wagon now!

 

Drove a '61 Ford with one in it for a couple of years. Would go anywhere any time and get you back again. Had to be careful with on ramps, but once you got it up to speed it would run with traffic all day. The car was a heavy Galaxie with a 3 on the tree and no overdrive, but was good on gas and was so dependable that it was scary.

 

Gasser57, you just described my motor. Same stuff with the addition of a Clay Smith 265 cam. If you need some guidance, George at Clay Smith was very helpful, along with the tech guys at Clifford. Clifford had excellent guidance on how to clean up the head and ports. You might also check in with John Mummert of Y-block fame. While he's best known for those motors he has a few 223 parts for sale and is quite familiar with this inline motor. He was the one who encouraged me to stick with the 223 and not junk it. The toughest part will be finding a mechanical advance distributor. The Mallory is the only one I am aware of and they are difficult to find. Good luck on the car.

Pete
Richmond, VA

 

I've been running one for years in my '62 uni-body p.u. and I wouldn't think of replacing it! Tweaked the head, Clifford header, installed highway gears, it runs with anything on the road, and better than most.

 

Sorry to drag up an old thread but I recently purchased a 1960 Edsel Ranger with a 223 and 3 on the tree. The car has been completely restored except for the engine, which smokes pretty good, so I need to either have it rebuilt or replace it with another 223. Two guys here mentioned knowing where a decent one was for sale but I'm sure they're long gone by now so does anyone know of another one that runs good and doesn't smoke? I'm in the Louisville, Ky area. Thanks....

 

There was one for sale here in the Dayton Ohio area,I am the one on the AACA forum who is going to look at your motor and I was wondering that someone might have messed with the valve adjustments and got them a little too tight. The sbc has ruined alot of peoples thinking and they think all motors are set up the same and fix them accordingly so I will be loaded with tools to go through everything I can think of. The big trucks have a 262 but they are harder to find.

 

Hopefully you can make a few adjustments and get the excessive amount of smoking to stop. Do you want me to pick up some valve seals or any other parts from NAPA?

 

I installed a 262 from a truck in my 55 wagon. It has the oil dipstick mounted in the pan. I also used the truck 11 inch flywheel. Lots more power than the original 223.

 

Valve stem seals are the FIRST thing that you should consider. In the late '60s I worked in a Ford Dealer shop and replaced many a valve stem seal on smoking Ford engines and that cured the problem. They get brittle and loose and many times just fall apart. And that was when they were only a few years old!

I used to change them without removing the head. I made a 'tool' using a sparkplug shell and an air hose nipple, brazed together, to pressurize the cylinder to hold the valves in place and broke down the valve springs, removed/installed seals and reinstalled the springs. However, that said, as old as your engine is, and as easy as it is to pull the head, I'd consider doing that and having an auto machine shop touch up the valves, as well as installing the new stem seals. You will also be able to assess the cylinder wall condition at the same time.

Ray

 

I appreciate all the info, Ray. I made a video last week (see link below) while driving the car of all the smoke and also of the backfiring through the carb. I got a tip from a guy on the AACA site to rev up the engine to about 3k rpm and hold a rag over the top of the carb until the engine almost dies so I did that several times and the backfiring has pretty much stopped. So now I need to eliminate all the smoke. Unfortunately I'm not much of a mechanic and have never removed a head before or taken one to a machine shop for a valve job so I apologize in advance if I sound like a dumbass. If I remove it and take it to a machine shop should I have them do anything else besides replace the valve stem seals? I just bought the car a couple of weeks ago and plan on keeping it for awhile so I'd like to do everything right the first time. What do you think a reasonable charge should be to get this work done? Is replacing the seals also called a valve job or is there more work involved? The engine runs good with no rod knock or loose lifters so hopefully, like you said, replacing the valve stem seals will eliminate the excessive smoke. Thanks again....

 

Runs nice actually, and your acceleration seems reasonable for that little six.
Valve stem seals, maybe freshen up the valves same time, shave head possibly slightly for a little boost.
Rebuild the carb, do a complete tune-up. Is the gas tank and fuel lines nice and clean? You were running lean, and closing the choke would richen things up.
I would suggestion buying a shop/service manual for your car, and getting very aquainted with your engine and drivetrain.
Find a good old time mechanic and machine shop in the Louisville area.....keep us posted on your rsults and conclusion, helps others in the future.