In to follow your project.

 

Upon further disassembly this engine is going back. One of the main caps is broken in half and the crank is TOAST.
Here's the cap.


It's supposed to rain tomorrow so I won't be able to go back til next week.

 

Yea, that's not good. In the future pay close attention to the gaskets, learn to spot gaskets that are not O.E. And the various bolts on the engine, you can tell when they've been removed (wrench marks, bolts that aren't where they're supposed to be, non standard bolts, etc ) Also pull the dipstick and look at the oil and coolant remaining in the engine. Take a breaker bar and 15/16 socket along to rotate the crank to be sure nothing's broken inside or frozen.

 

I yanked an exploder 5.0 for my boat from a PNP... Using their hoist, it took about 30 minutes for it (and the trans) to come out of the vehicle. Just unbolt the mounts and exhaust, snip any wires/cables/hoses, and bash the core support with a sledge for clearance.

Then simply remove all the BS from the long block when its on the ground. The hard part was wheeling the dang thing though the gravel over 500 yards. Total of about 3 hours in the yard. Yeah I was on a mission; that explorer had seen better days.

 

Actually PNP removes the cats so no unbolting the exhaust. The long-block cost about $110. Pretty good deal. Better than all these jerks that want $500 for a worn out boat anchor on CL.

 

BTW the exploder engines from 97 1/2 (ish) through 2001 are the way to go... As long as the gt40p heads work for your exhaust setup. I would consider them the most refined of all the 302/5.0 engines produced; nice and torquey and will last a long time being very reliable. This is of course if you are looking for a stock replacement for a truck.

Otherwise same block but find the gt40 heads if the P's dont fit.

 

I try not to cut anything in case someone else needs the wiring after I'm gone. And unless the core support was in bad shape and I had to hit it with a sledge I wouldn't. That's just me.

I've decided since other stuff on my truck is worn out too I'm going to find a newer truck for my daily driver (97-03) that I can buy for cash within the next two weeks and put my 77 back as just a project truck that way I can beat on it and not worry about if it breaks down.

As far as the "P" heads. Summit brand full length headers will work with them. I know Summit brand aren't the best, but they will work because I have them on my truck now with 2000 Explorer "P" heads.

 

Ah your making it out like I victimized that thing; which I guess I did sort of... But I really dont think it was an issue. There are always about a dozen exploders at any given pnp so parts are plentiful. If this were at a ma & pa yard where they really let people pick them clean I would have been more careful but they were literally forklifting rigs in that row to the crusher as I worked; it wasnt long for the world regardless of my actions.

 

For a new daily driver, perhaps consider a 94-97 with a 351 roller cam engine. You'll have a lot more commonality of parts then, especially that good engine.