Im positive the blacktop rods are longer, the pistons i intend to use have a greater distance between pin centre and piston crown so i need shorter rods ideally so they sit a bit lower in the block otherwise they'll protrude and comp ratio will be too high.

The silvertops small end is slightly larger isnt it? around 20mm?

i cant afford to spend tonnes on a nice shiny set of forged pistons for relatively little bhp so am trying to find a decent set of pistons similar to the 1.8 bore zetec.

the VAG 1.8 20v pistons would be brilliant as they are 81mm so the block only needs .4mm bored out, and the pistons are forged mahle. They run between 9.2 - 9.5:1 in the different specs of 20v. The pistons i've found will come with rods but i HIGHLY doubt the rods will fit the blacktop crank, if they did i could use them too since they're stronger and will be shorter due to shorter stroke of crank (86.4 vs 88)

i may have to use a de-comp plate afterall with two gaskets. Trying my best not to go this route without slowing the build down due to lack of funding.