Jackyl , sorry to hear your friend had a bad run with a 216.
My '40 has been the daily driver and work truck for 10 yrs and is totally reliable , I take care not to thrash it too much , run Castrol Magnatec 10w 40 and change it twice a yr. That is about every 3000 miles.
I have added a pertronix ign to improve ign reliability and got a pleasent wee improvement in mpg.
Previous pickups I have had , I have never been able to get the same economy from a 235 as I have from the 216.
Like Tiny , mozzie , etc all say , just drive it nice and it will take care of you too.
