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Herb has largely answered for me. I wouldn't call the Lycoming "shakey", but it's not better, just equal or comparable. The Rileys had a new engine and got added horsepower, so added speed and margin. What does the Lycoming add? TBO? That's an illusion. A properly maintained and operated TCM IO360 lasts just as long between overhauls. So, in my book, you've made a huge investment (I'm going to guess tens of thousands of dollars) and got nothing in return. Well, actually not nothing, you got the potential for lots of headaches. Yeah, unlike cars there is no transmission, U-joints, differentials, suspension and brakes, but there is an entirely new exhaust system, an entirely new motor support assembly (not just motor mounts, but all the tubes and brackets), an entirely new cooling arrangement (just look at the image below to see all the parts -- metal and rubber -- that Cessna designed and tested to ensure proper air flow around the engine). Incidentally, while I show the image as possible headaches if some of the parts are improperly designed (not only allowing some parts of the engine to run too hot or too cold, but maybe breaking because they were designed too weakly), it will also give you an idea of the huge design effort, just in baffling; in fact, maybe my guess of tens of thousanda of dollars is low and it's closer to $100,000.
This mental excercise was fun, and I hope you benefited from our responses, but because I think this is a pie-in-the-sky concept -- huge cost, no payback -- I will sit on the sidelines and let others continue the dialogue.
Ernie
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