Thanks Dar, I stand corrected, it certainly is bronze.I was painfully misled by the OS rep. cum moderator in a moment of weakness in his earlier post! Nevertheless,the use of thinner solvent was the contributory factor in the demise of the engine. I've used paint thinner before in my younger days and they do make a mess of the engine by redepositing hardened gunk in the wrong places much to my chagrin!
I'm not well versed in metallury so I will not venture there,but i do understand that if there's no oil, there'll be scrubbing hence the presence of the hole in the conrod for oil lubrication.