Hopefully this page will help folks identify their truck or various parts.
Engines
6 cylinder - SD, BD or BG
NOTE - All of these SD/BD/BG six cylinders that I’ve seen over all of those years from 1949 until well into the 60s, had 220 stamped into the oil pan. Regardless of engine size it likely will say 220 on the oil pan. So just a note of caution, that does not designate the engine size.
Look on the passenger side of the engine block, toward the front, and you will find a small flat “pad” that typically has the engine info stamped in. (Occasionally they are blank, but usually the intone info is there.). See the pictures below for examples. Something like this:
SD220
122480
The first part of that is the engine family. Years are my best guess.
SD = Silver Diamond - 1949-1955? - non-tilt valve
BD = Black Diamond - 1955-1961? - initially available as non-tilt valve, then as tilt valve
BG - Blue Gray (or Blue Green? Someone tell me) - 1961?-1970’ish? - all tilt valve?
After the SD/BD/BG you’ll see the engine size. (220, 240, 264, etc.) To the best of my knowledge, I think the following is accurate. If not, please let me know.
SD220
SD240
BD240
BD264
BG241
BG265
The last part shown is typically the engine serial number. (122480 in this example) This is also typically shown on the truck data plate. On my R-140 4x4, it’s actually stamped into the driver’s door jamb.
Look on the passenger side of the engine block, toward the front, and you will find a small flat “pad” that typically has the engine info stamped in. (Occasionally they are blank, but usually the intone info is there.). See the pictures below for examples. Something like this:
SD220
122480
The first part of that is the engine family. Years are my best guess.
SD = Silver Diamond - 1949-1955? - non-tilt valve
BD = Black Diamond - 1955-1961? - initially available as non-tilt valve, then as tilt valve
BG - Blue Gray (or Blue Green? Someone tell me) - 1961?-1970’ish? - all tilt valve?
After the SD/BD/BG you’ll see the engine size. (220, 240, 264, etc.) To the best of my knowledge, I think the following is accurate. If not, please let me know.
SD220
SD240
BD240
BD264
BG241
BG265
The last part shown is typically the engine serial number. (122480 in this example) This is also typically shown on the truck data plate. On my R-140 4x4, it’s actually stamped into the driver’s door jamb.
The tilt valve engines use a wider valve cover then the non-tilt valve engine. The valve cover for the tilt valve engine will have two raised ribs running front to back on the valve cover. Look at the following pic of a BD264.
Here’s a pic of a different tilt valve engine valve cover.
For comparison, here’s a shot of a non-tilt valve, then a side-by-side comparison.