Engine block advice needed

[jaredsport'73]

I am starting an EFI swap in my 73. The motor that is currently in the truck has a noisey lifter. I figure while i gather EFI parts i might as well use one of the 302's i have on hand. I have a 1971 302 motor from a bronco with 11 thousand original miles on it. It has not ran since 1973 because of a roleover. The truck was stored inside a barn since last year when i bought it. pulled the motor and pulled the heads and every thing looks good. No water in the oil and the engine.The water jackets had some dried sludge i got most of that out with the air compressor. Or I have (option B) a 1996 bronco that i have for parts has a good running 5.0L/302 with 150000 miles on it that will have to be freshend up for sure. do I have any advantage of using this block because it has a one piece rear main seal? How much work would be needed to get the older block up to par. I am going to use GT-40 heads and explorer gt-40 intake for my efi swap, if this makes any difference in the block i should choose.

 

[broncnaz]

Really no big differances although the 96 motor will be a roller motor and should have the correct firing order. but as you said 150K on it it will need to be freshened up. One piece rear seal isnt really a big deal. the 96 will need a flywheel or flex plate that will work with whatever tranny you use. Of course it also depends on if you want to run the serp belt off the 96 in that case it may be easier to use the 96.
I'd probably go with the 71 block bolt the EFI on it and call it good about all you would need to do is get a cast iron gear for the distributer.

 

[jaredsport'73]

Thanks for the tips broncnaz. I'm going to stick with v-belt for now due to efi expence and ease of getting back on the trail. Thats what i was thinking also on the blocks and will adress the firing order issue with a hyd efi cam.