Casting Marks or Concerning cracks?, Casting Marks or Concerning cracks? Engine rebuild Options

[Tking327]

Hello, i tore down my 1970 1.7L to rebuild it and on cleaning the grease off the top of my crankcase, i saw the attached which made me nervous. . These 'cracks' are located essentially all over the top of the crackcase but seem more pronounced right over the cylinder/piston entry points, and a bit more concentrated on the drivers side. Are these cause for concern or just casting marks? I can sand an area down to see how deep they go but figured i would ask first. (The engine had been running well but smoking and leaking hence the rebuild).

[Chad911sc]

I’m not sure how to link a video to this site, but I watched the Raby video several times and he showed the differences in the thickness of the 1.7 to the 2.0, and it was a considerable difference on the internal webbing below the deck. He even states in the video that the 1.7 is better for a performance build over the 2.0 even though the 2.0 is considered the best 914 engine by most. I was just passing on the info from the video. I’m definitely not an expert or historian on this car by any means. I’m a newbie to the 914 world, other than my best friend had one in high school that was a beater…lol. I used to kick his ass in my bug with a 2110 dual carb engine.