Hi Mike
eBay Sale seem to be running OK as far as deliveries to the Pyrenees go. I'd guess a lot of vendors are small outfits that work from home. With the current situation I'm starting to catch up on all the 'projects' and bits are still arriving from the UK.........
As for the ally piston, I may have the answer, My 3/5/6/8 - 1 bitza started out as a 3-1 hopper cooled in 1934, according to the info plate. It arrived with the 5/6 - 1 top end and that's how I put it back together
When I ran it up it was tramping up and down the workshop like guardsman on rum. I stripped it down again went through the 38ac balancing routine and a couple of others for good measure, It looked like it needed masses of weight on the flywheels.
I sent off to Dev Precision, Rajkot, and within the week an ally 8 - 1 piston arrived, complete with rings, I fitted it and it ran up with no vibration whatsoever.
It starts to throw it's self around just under 700 rpm, where I have it at 630 it's as sweet as, under any load
I did ask on here, at the time, if there is any difference between the flywheels of the 3 -1 and the larger, later, CS but never got an answer. There's a significant weight difference between the ally and the iron piston so I'd bet a slab of beer there's something in the theory!
The Cs has been laid up for a couple of years, but if the C19 lockdown gets extended, in France, it'll be getting dug out for the fitting of the Land Rover starter motor I scrounged up a couple of years back.
I've caught up on the honeydew list and SWMBO would rather I was 100m away in my 'man barn', if I 'forget' my phone I'm guaranteed at least 3 hours of peace!
Stay safe, one and all,
Cheers Stef