The bearings on the crankshaft move very freely side to side, is this normal?

Side-to-side? Fore and aft?

Take the Front Main (behind the flywheel) bearing
and place it in the case. It should be a tight fit and
should not move fore and aft if you push on it.
If it does move more than a hair thickness,
either the bearing flanges are worn or the case saddle
has been worn. Fitting a new bearing in place can
help decide which is worn.

 

It moves front to back (flywheel to front pulley) by a fair bit, I presume this is the case saddle is worn. Would a line bore and thrust cut and new bearings sort this out?

 

If it is the case saddle which is worn, a bore and thrust cut
should sort it, along with the proper oversize bearings.

Check also that the bearing locating dowel pins
are tight and that the dowel holes are not wallowed out
as that condition will allow new bearings to "spin".

 

Jim the bearing locating dowel closest to the flywheel is loose and can be pulled out, the other two are solid. Is there a fix for this?

 

Good to spot that. The case can be drilled for
oversize dowel pin. I would ask the machine shop
who does the boring job.

In severe cases, the dowel hole location can be shifted a bit.

 

Thanks for your help. Rather get it right first time or not at all. Anything else to look at regarding the case itself before I send it off like weak spots prone to cracks etc..

 

Some cases were prone to the studs pulling out;
the machine shop could tell you better than I can.