New to the board. Got a 1962 Ranchero with a six. Need to rebuild the carb or get a new one. I suspect the engine is not the 144 that was original to the truck. How can I determine which six cylinder engine (144, 170, 200) is in the truck? Thanks in advance.

 

Welcome to FTE

1962 could be either a 144 or a 170. Falcons didn't come with 200's till 1964. A popular engine swap is dumping the anemic oil burning 144/170 and swapping in a 200 which is a faaar better engine (7 main brgs as opposed to 4) then the terrible two it finally replaced. The three engines exterior appearance is identical. 1960/66 engines blocks/heads were painted all black, with a different color for the valve cover. This is the system Ford used back then to quickly ID what engine it had. Question: what color is the valve cover? What color is the rest of the engine?

Carb: Is there a triangular shaped Ford carb ID tag anywhere? What type of carb: Autolite, Motorcraft or Holley? Holley would have been the original one. If it's a Holley, look on the body of the carb for an ID number similar to: A0D0AC, then take that number to NAPA, who'll fix you up with a kit or a rebuilt carb. If you find that ID tag, list it, and I can give you the Ford and/or Motorcraft part number for the kit.

 

The 144 and the 170 engines have 3 freeze plugs in the passenger side of the block, visible under the exhaust manifold. The 200 has 5 freeze plugs. It is difficult to get much more specific without getting into the engine and confirming the bore and stroke.
Good luck.
Roger Carter