59A Engine update

[MikeTaylor]

The bad news came today, 2 cracks in the block . Oh well, on to plan 2 which is a '50 8BA to disassemble and get checked, I'm nothing if not stubborn.
I'd like to keep the look of the 59 and I've read the huge data base on CR's where it gives CR's for 59 AL heads on an 8BA so I assume that's possible. Does it require any mods?
Will a cam swap work too for a front mounted distributor? Any mods there?

As always, all comments are appreciated,
Mike