Well he could get a 306 with a rebuilt tranny done pretty cheap. The 306 is just .30 over 302 but he may need new heads so maybe try finding a stroked motor close to him.
Find a JY 95-96 351W, if he gets a 96 he can convert to MAF. The 96's are roller cam, I am 85% positive the 95's are also roller cam but if now I know 94-96's are all "roller ready" blocks.
I had a 90 bronco with 175k miles and had a similar thing happen. Motor blew up.
I found a 5.0 out of a 89 crown vic and swapped it in. Had to reuse some of the engine parts/accessories but I found the motor with 40k miles and paid $350 for it.