I stayed awake late last night thinking about that statement about the base gaskets influencing the piston displacement, and I can't even begin to imagine any way base gaskets could alter the bore, or the stroke. Since engine size is based on the bore X stroke X # of Pistons... how does increasing the gasket  thickness change any of that?

It's been a long time since I was in mechanics school, but I studied it for 6 years, and I was pretty sharp back then, so, help me out here, ok?