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Thought I'd add a couple more thoughts:
1 - I really recommend these guys even though they are a little skittish about liabilities. As they said, if a lawyer got one of them on the stand, how would they answer a question like "Why do you think you know better than the manufacturer about the time for overhaul of this engine?" That woudl be that. These days juries (I call them "the 12 stooges" in the chapter of my book that talks about how the jury system has been totally perverted) simply haven't the backbone to make morally-correct rulings when facing an injured person or a widow. But meanwhile I thoroughly recommend these guys even though I may need to get someone else to sign off my annuals for a while.
2 - Yes, the irony about the engines being the same as the Seneca which has the higher TBO has always been interesting.
3 - Yes my engines are TSIOs. So I think I would reasonably expect them to last less time before O/H than normally-aspirated engines, but still I see no reason to do it sooner than is actually necessary if I can avoid it.
4 - When I DO overhaul it, I intend to have it done the same place I had the front engine done when I bought the airplane. They did a great job, have lots of experience, and it has run very well (now into the 600-hour range with no problems ever related to the O/H). I think having a know entity is better than buying someone else's engine. The only wrinkle there is whether or not I have the VAR crank or not.
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