I have it running on a run stand, as far as the quality of the aluminum it is good there are a few spots that I can think of, one is in the core plug in the lifter valley. I had to tap them out to a larger size 1/2 NPT. We didn't find any porosity when we bored the block out to put the sleeves in and nothing when we decked the block. Yes I think the block is designed for a dry sump oil system.