My 82 E250 with 170k on a 460 bored .030 has terminated. Plan to get a long block. Is there any advantage to a 72-78 non-smog block? I already put the straight up timing chain on my old engine, so will do that again. Since the 72-78 are internally balanced, would I need a new flywheel and/or harmonic balancer? Probably not interested in the 69-71 block as don't want to use premium and get 5 mpg...

First post, thanks for the advice.:-)

 

It's my understanding that the blocks up to '79 are a bit heavier and beefier due to a different casting technique. Converting from external balance to internal balance involves a new flexplate or flywheel and balancer.