[dtw]

Those years sound about right- too early in the morning to dig through books. I have only seen the sandcast cases on stands and in cars; never lifted one. I really wouldn't consider the Al case an option for your application. It would need significant machine work and is overkill for a street motor. (Yes you do need the oil squirters, they drop piston temps at least 50 deg.).

Do a search on the "sport muffler" to hear some nice engines with sport mufflers. There's nothing better than the sound of those! Can't answer your torque questions with hard numbers, but I would advise you pull out the Bruce Anderson book and review some of the torque curves.