i've heard as long as you're careful you can do it from the bottom. i know my uncle did it with his old hold and dad's done it with a few cars. he also said if you're careful you can use original spec rings and not have to hone the cylinders to remove the lip.
i've only ever done it from the top. i was changing the big end bearings (after i chewed them up
, apparently my car
does not have a rev-limiter, unless its like 9000rpm lol) and i was tempted to pull a piston out and check it all over. i don't see any reason you couldn't do it from the bottom on the astinas