Фордовые рядные шестерки: история и эволюция двигателей

The Ford Motor Company produced straight six engines from 1906 until 1908 and from 1941 until 2016. In 1906, the first Ford straight six was introduced in the Model K. The next was introduced in the 1941 Ford. Ford continued producing straight six engines for use in its North American vehicles until 1996, when they were discontinued in favor of more compact V6 designs. Ford Australia also manufactured straight six engines in Australia for the Falcon and Territory models until 2016, when both vehicle lines were discontinued. Following the closure of the Australian engine plant, Ford no longer produces a straight six gasoline engine.

The first generation Ford six cylinder engines were all flatheads. They were the G and H series engines of used in cars and trucks and the M series of used in larger Ford trucks and for industrial applications.

Introduced for the 1941 model year, the first Ford L 6 (designated G series) displaced and produced , the same as the Flathead V 8 that year. Like the V 8, it was also a flathead or L head engine. In 1948, Ford raised the compression of the flathead six or L 6 (designated H series or Rouge 226) so that it generated and of torque. The G and H series engines were used in the full sized Ford cars and trucks to replace the smaller Flathead V8 that was used in the 1937 Ford. Ford discontinued production of the H series engine for the 1951 model year.

A version of the L 6 (designated the M series or Rouge 254) was used from 1950 to 1953 in F6 series Ford trucks (COE, dump, truck tractor, etc. ), and small Ford school buses. The M series engine produced and of torque. They were also used in miscellaneous industrial applications, e. g., to power water pumps for irrigation purposes and within vineyards to manage risk by powering giant frost control propellers on stands in the middle of rows of grapes.

The second generation was a newly designed inline six, produced from 1952 through 1964; it shared many parts with Ford Y blocks such as the entire valve train and the problems associated with the Y block's lubrication system. These engines have the exhaust and intake on the driver's side and the distributor on the passenger side. It is referred to as Mileage Maker or I Block Mileage Maker (with the "I" referring to "inline") in the passenger cars and Cost Clipper in the trucks.

A completely new OHV I 6 was offered for the 1952–53 F Series. It displaced and produced It was also used in the 1952–53 Ford full sized cars.

The 215 grew to for the 1954 F Series. Output was now in the trucks and in the 1954 Ford cars. Power was up to in the 1956 trucks. While not the popular engine option, the was the only inline six offered in the Fairlane (until 1961), Galaxie, and F Series trucks between 1955 and 1964, causing it to be not quite a rarity, but not easy to come across. The 223 I 6 was also used in 1963–1964 Ford trucks, which also used the Autolite 1100 carburetor with stamping C4TF E and produced with 206 ft lb of torque, and Mercury Meteor Monterey in 1961. The 223 was also used in Onan 30EC generator sets and possibly others.

A I 6 version was also produced. The 262 I 6 was built from 1961 to 1964 for use in medium and heavy duty Ford trucks. This engine was also used for industrial applications.

The third generation was produced at the Lima Engine plant in Lima, Ohio, from 1960 through 1984. Officially dubbed the Thriftpower Six, this engine line is sometimes referred to as the Falcon Six.

In 1961, the became an option for the Falcon and Comet lines. The 170 Special Six was a stroked version of the 144, increasing the stroke from The original 1965 Ford Mustang used a version from March (production start) through July 1964. The Econoline van and Ford Bronco received a heavier duty version with mechanical valve lifters. This engine had four main bearings and can be identified by the three core plugs on the side of the block. The 170 Special was dropped from production in 1972. As used in the Argentinian made Ford Falcon from 1962 until 1970, this engine produced at 4400 rpm.

From 1965 to 1969, Ford Argentina produced a specific block similar to the earlier , with four main bearings and a stroke) but with a bore. It was replaced by the from 1969. Power was rated at .

Produced at the Cleveland Engine plant in Brook Park, Ohio, from 1964 through 1996, the 240 and 300 inline six engines are well known for their durability. These engines employed seven main bearings and used long wearing timing gears instead of a chain or belt. Both the 240 and the 300, no matter the application, used a single barrel Autolite 1100/1101 (or Carter YF/A) carburetor until the introduction of electronic fuel injection in 1987. With proper gearing, many F Series trucks and Broncos achieve This fact was heavily used by Ford's advertising campaign (some television advertisements and written literature even claimed ), since the V8 engines in these trucks rarely achieved over
The fuel economy of the 300 makes the engine a popular choice among truck enthusiasts that want both power and economy. The addition of performance parts (such as intake and exhaust manifolds with a four barrel carburetor) place the engine power output near the same levels as the stock "HO" (High Output) version of the optional 351 V8, with little or no change in economy.

The inline six for 1965–1972 full sized cars (continued to 1974 in fleet models) and 1965–1977 trucks and vans produced (gross). In stationary service (generators and pumps) fueled by LPG or natural gas, this engine is known as the CSG 639. The 240 had a bore of and a stroke of .

With local production of the Ford Falcon starting in 1960, Ford Australia began to offer the same inline six engines as offered in North America. In Australia, the engine underwent significant updates to its design over the following decades, ultimately remaining in production for 56 years. Initially, the 144 and 170 cu in 'Pursuit' engines were offered; the 144 being eventually discontinued in late 1966. As in North America, a 200 cu in 'Super Pursuit' motor was added in February 1964. In 1968, the deck height of the design was increased to make room for increased crankshaft stroke, resulting in displacements of 188 and 221 cu in (badged 3.1 and 3.6 litres). They superseded the 170 and 200 engines in the lineup. The 188 and 221 also powered the Ford Falcon (Argentina) from 1970 to 1991. These engines both shared a bore, with strokes of respectively. The actual displacements are .

In , Ford Australia enlarged the motors to 200 and 250 cu in. The head was of the same design as previous models, with an integral intake catering for a single barrel Bendix Stromberg carburettor. In the configuration, the Falcon 250 I 6 was rated at Also in 1970, the Falcon Inline 6, on both 200 and 250 cu in variants, became available on locally manufactured Ford Cortinas, Around this time, the company also developed the '2V' ('two venturi', or '2 barrel' in Ford terminology, reflecting a new 2 barrel carburettor as opposed to the previous single barrel) cylinder head, which in all respects was similar to the previous integral "log head" intake, with the exception of a removable aluminium intake which mounted a Bendix Stromberg WW two barrel carburettor. To take advantage of the much improved breathing ability that the removable intake brought to the new head, the 250 2V also featured a much better breathing exhaust manifold. The result was the engine being rated at
For years, the 250 2V cylinder head was very popular for racing and many have been imported to North America, where owners of cars with the Falcon inline six have upgraded their engines with the better cylinder head.

From 1 July , new emission standards came into effect with Australian Design Rule 27A, which set limits for the emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and oxides of nitrogen. In an effort to maintain horsepower output while complying with the new standards, Ford Australia updated the engines with a new cast iron crossflow head design with larger, canted valves, and an aluminium water heated intake manifold to improve gas flow and warm up. Other changes included the introduction of an exhaust gas recirculation valve, and positive crankcase ventilation. Introduced with the XC Falcon, engine displacements remained 200 and 250 cu in, but were now badged 3.3 and 4.1 litres, respectively. While quoted power outputs dropped from for the 3.3, and from for the 4.1, power was now measured using the DIN rather than SAE gross method, and the new crossflow engines reportedly generated higher actual power outputs than their immediate predecessors. Until 1982, the engines were fitted with a single barrel Bendix Stromberg carburettor, but with the introduction of the XE Falcon from March 1982, they were fitted with a Weber two barrel carburettor which further increased power outputs and improved fuel consumption over the single barrel carburettor. The updated engine was designated Alloy Head II. In March 1983, direct port fuel injection using Bosch Jetronic LE was offered as an option on the 4.1 L engine. With the release of the XF Falcon the following year, the injected 4.1 was upgraded with Ford's EEC IV engine management system with Multi Point Electronic Fuel Injection (MP EFI). Changes to the carburettor based engine were made to accommodate the EFI system. The compression ratio on the 4.1 L was 8.89:1. The cylinder head intake ports had been modified to provide clearance for the injectors, and a new intake manifold was designed and many other changes were made in the engine bay to accommodate the new fuel system.

In , the inline six engines underwent a major redesign for the EA26 Falcon and now featured a new single overhead cam (SOHC) crossflow aluminium head. The camshaft and auxiliary shaft are driven by a 'duplex' chain. The duplex chain drives the distributor and the oil pump shafts. The camshaft is supported on the cylinder head by using 'topless' bearings. Bearing liners are not used. The camshaft is held in position using valve spring pressure. Hydraulic lash adjusters mounted on the rocker arms are used to provide zero valve lash. As with all previous and current models, the block is cast iron, but with a reduction in the cylinder bore to try to reduce emissions. The SOHC engines were offered as the 3.2 L (with throttle body injection) and the 3.9 L (with throttle body or multipoint fuel injection). In 1989, the 3.2 L TBI version was discontinued, and in 1991, the 3.9 L's displacement was enlarged to 4.0 L (now only with MPI) and was rated at In 1994, a dual resonance intake manifold for the EF series was introduced, with power increasing to With the sports oriented XR6 variant becoming an increasingly significant model, a high output version of the engine was now standard for this model, boasting Also for the EF series Falcon, the standard engine employed a high energy coil pack ignition system. However, the subsequent EL Falcon reverted to a distributor/coil ignition setup. Ford Australia redesigned the I 6 again, naming it the Intech, in 1998 alongside the introduction of the Ford Falcon (AU), and increased the main bearing size and added a ladder style main stud girdle integral with the oil pan to increase low end rigidity. The engine also received variable camshaft timing technology in some XR6 models, Fairlane/LTD models and the Fairmont Ghia which allowed the ECU to advance or retard camshaft timing depending on engine speed, which results in a broader power band. The Composite Headgasket from the previous models was replaced with a Multi Layer Steel (MLS) gasket. Power outputs for the base model Falcon Forte, Fairmont, and the standard XR6 were unchanged from their EL series predecessors, but a new XR6 VCT model was offered. The Fairmont Ghia, Fairlane and LTD models were also equipped with a variant of the VCT engine.