The cast crankcase 20 of a multi-cylinder engine comprises a crank chamber 1 for each cylinder and a control chamber 2 for valve tappets operated by a camshaft, in which, to permit the crankcase to be manufactured by casting and the chambers thereof to be formed with a minimum number of cast cores, the chambers have a connecting cross-section 25, thus enabling both to be formed by a single core. Passages for lubricating and cooling oil are cast in the end walls of a line of cylinders (Fig. 3). <IMAGE>
