Why Get a Toronado Engine?

Toronado engines were generally the cream of the crop; equivalent [or very nearly] to the 442 and W-30 engines, yet often priced the same as more common and lesser quality engines in the junkyards. Equipped with the best parts- aluminized valves, closer tolerances, etc.
For instance:

Big valve heads, thru 1971 anyway.
Highest compression pistons.
Oil deflectors ['windage trays'] were used thru 1972 or so.
Deeper oil pan holds an extra quart.

Drawbacks to a Toronado engine: The oil filter mount will not fit other bodies; easy to change. The dipstick is slightly different in markings: the Full mark is the same, but the Add mark is about ¼" lower. Exhaust manifolds are not useful for any other application.
[ Thanks to Chris Witt for this information ]

How to Tell If It's a Toronado Engine

Several clues are built in to identify a Toronado engine. If it's in a Toronado engine bay, that's a good indication. Toro's usually have a very lo-rise intake manifold; the carb appears sunk in about an inch below the normal position. If it's a pre 1968 engine, the engine ID stamped into the front of the RH cylinder head will tell. The Toro oil pan has a unique shape- it's narrower side to side in the sump area, an inch taller, and there's a clearance 'dent' just in front of the sump, where the RH drive axle passes under the engine. Also, the oil filter mount is angled quite forward, and one of the attaching bolts is quite long [about 3"].
Other evidence would be exhaust manifolds, if still attached, likely to have a letter code from the early alphabet, like D, H, G, J... and will point more up and out than a typical A-C bodied car would have room for. There might still be a motor mount attached to the timing cover, behind the harmonic damper. If the heads are off, say, for inspection before sale, measure the intake valves. That's what you are really after, anyhow. If the pan is off, check for the Toro windage trays on the front main cap and on the #4-5 main cap, as well as the crank scraper which runs down the RH side of the oil pan.
[ Thanks to Chris Witt for this information ]