Hello Hudson: Long rods are a definite advantage. But I think a lot of people don't understand why. And I don't understand that 1.75 ratio being the ideal, I tend to think the longer the better. My thinking on the rod lenght is that the longer the rod, the better the angle you have while trying to push the crank down (some kind of physics thing). Along these lines, this is why moving the piston pin over in the direction of rotation helps power because when you do this you get a better (less) angle on the rod to crank. I think many older engines had the pins offset the other way to quiet down piston knock (rattling). And these engines, if they got flat top or symetrical domes,could be reversed in the bores to offset the pins in the power gaining position.
Frank
