Those pistures remind me of the teardown I did on the old 302 that was in my car when I bought it (and that I put 16,000 miles on). Only mine had been burning about a quart every 200, so there was plenty of carbon buildup on the pistons. One of the most interesting things was that all of the pistons were cracking at least a little in the skirt area, and part of the skirt on one had actuall come apart, and I'm pretty sure that was a year before I put the rebuilt motor in. I figure I was driving on borrowed time with that motor. I was able to handle everything on it myself except for the block without much difficulty (but then, a 302 is a relatively lite motor). I kind of like tearing stuff down, it's usually pretty easy and I would say fun at times.
Oh, and I'd love to get to work on what will hopefully be my truck before too long. Not a diesel, but it's got a tough-as-nails 292 on a truck that's equally tough.

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Once and future king:
'64 Ford Fairlane w/approx 238,000 - looks rough, but amazingly reliable if you know how to look after it; I will soon begin work to totally restore and modernize it.
Family vehicles that I lay some claim to:
'78 300D w/approx 350,000 original, '62 Ford F100 4x4, '90 Ford E150 w/171,000 original