I bow to your superior knowledge. That's a whole two years more than me. T

By no means superior knowledge. Im just a stick in the mud!

Funny how things recur, isn't it?
This thread prompted me to dig out my now fragile Design for Competition and to see that my father described all the above methods some 60 years ago.
As a point of interest, he didn't use baffles and inserted pistons and rods into the assembled crankcase and block.
If he had to use baffles, as for a customer, he preferred the lower-the-block-onto-piston method.

Location: Richmond, Texas

A few years old now but here is a short film I made to show the use of some cracking piston ring compressors I have, apologies if you have seen it before:

https://youtu.be/h3z-gQwRW5A

Hi Ruairidh

A delightful sequence.

Very, very many years ago I occasionally accompanied my infant son to the local play centre. The children were sometimes occupied in hammering activities and it was entertaining to ask each what they were doing. Many answers were imaginative, but not a single one replied that they were putting pistons into an Austin Seven!

Of all the Sevens in the world yours must routinely convey quite the most precious cargo.

Location: Auckland, NZ