Eighteen months ago, I was told by an American Standard dealer that American Standard does not make a cast iron tub anymore...only porcelin enameled "Americast" tubs. Americast is not cast iron. I would not be happy if I was getting basically an "upscale" enameled steel tub when I thought I was getting a cast iron one. Enameled porcelin steel tubs have issues...I am not familiar with Americast issues. I would cancel the tub order since I would be more comfortable with the durability of a cast iron tub.

I have the Bellwether. It is a close match in size to Kohlers Villager tub, except with a contemporary look. I've had mine for about 5 years now. There are 2 types of Bellwethers, I have the one that is 14" tall. It was made to fit into existing plumbing. It's not a great soaking tub, but it can be done. The water depth is 9" I believe, similar to the Villager. The original Bellwether is a bit taller and maybe wider. It has 2 sloped ends, making it actually shorter in the bottom. Because of the sloped front, the standard tub drain location doesn't line up and needs reply bed. It also requires an extra long spout to extend enough to pour into the drain and not onto the slope.

I like my Bellwether and I took many baths in it while I remodeled my other bathroom. It would be a great tub to use in a tub/shower install. Here is my reveal:

Reveal

rantonto is right, and you don't want Americast, IMHO. Toto makes cast iron tubs, I believe, but I'm not familiar with their lineup. Waterworks makes the Mina, but it is a drop-in. Are you absolutely set on cast iron? I will post more on this later, but yesterday, as a part of my journey to find the perfect bathtub, I had the opportunity tour the MTI factory near Atlanta. I came away beyond impressed with their quality. (I have a background in manufacturing and industrial safety.) Every tub is custom made to order, and the array of sizes and configurations I saw was dizzying. They also offer e-stone, but those were mostly freestanding.

Okay, having become a shameless MTI shill yesterday, I took a look, and they offer this skirted tub with a decent back slope, and an amazing 14" deep soak: Cameron 2 Tub. But you cannot beach the basin bottom length on that Bellweather. That is impressive. The Cameron has only 43", so it is a compromise to get depth, and requires you to give up your cast iron. Good hunting!

FWIW, staceyneil here has both cast iron and americast. If you search for her posts she's given her opinion on both. (She doesn't hate the americast.)

ETA, Here's one thread with some discussion in it:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2260417/diy-budget-elegant-bathroom-almost-done-pics

We removed a cast iron tub and chose to put in an Americast when gut-remodeled a full bath 13+ years ago. I didn't want the weight of a cast iron tub (no real reason why - just seemed unnecessary). No problems at all. (I actually forgot it wasn't cast iron until recently when a contractor came to bid on other work and he mentioned it after banging on it to check.) I haven't noticed any difference in functionality or looks (always has cast iron previously), but I probably don't pay attention to it so YMMV.