'79 440 Motorhome short block - Should I buy it?

68droptop said
It looks to be cast. I'm embarassed to say it, but I don't really know how to tell the difference. It seems to have obvious casting marks. Is there an easy and obvious way to identify a cast crank vs. forged?

440`s equipped with cast cranks will have a specific damper. Look for a counterweight on the harmonic balancer, it may even say "use with cast crank only". The 440`s that used the "six pack rod"( and some of the HD applications did) had a similar balancer used to offset the weight of the heavy rods but were outfitted with steel cranks. Forged cranks will have the damper without the extra weight. It sounds like a good deal either way, but if you`ve got one with the steel crank ,it sounds like you did well!