This story sort of reminds me of a used Tempo I bought years ago. It had 220k on it when I bought it, and the previous owner used it for 10 years, and changed the oil once a year, making constant highway trips between Virginia and Pennsylvania. They also used Fram filters.
That car was surprisingly nice for being a daily driver. I was younger then and beat on it relentlessly, including burning a pair of front tires for the 4th of July in 2003. The car would still cruise at 120 mph @ 4k rpm, and I used to do it pretty regularly. If I drove it @ 75 mph average, I was cracking 51.2 mpg on the highway.
I replaced the rear main seal, oil pan gasket, clutch, and transmission, as the previous owner had tried to do some clutchless shifting, which nuked the trans. It was also low on oil, which likely didn't help matters. The alternator was the original, although it had a newer fuel pump
I flipped that car April 2, 2004 @ 70 mph, end over end. The passenger side B pillar was pushed in 20" at the bottom, and ripped the passenger seat out of the floor. The passenger and I both swam away (landed upside down, underwater, facing the direction we'd come from). I have a scar on my right ring finger from the console shattering, and a piece flying at my finger.
When I took that engine apart, the bearings had no appreciable wear. The rings were worn, but no ridge in the cylinders, with excellent cross-hatching still visible. The timing chain had stretched so much that the tensioner (a leaf-spring design) cracked, yet it still ran just fine.
I ended up sourcing the fuel pump, power steering rack (which had survived a snapped tie rod...not on the threaded area) wheels (one of which hit a tree stump, but was fine), brakes, suspension, and transmission. They've gone into a '90 Escort that I rebuild, and also beat the [censored] out of. The steering rack has about 300k miles on it, and finally developed some play. The passenger side tie-rod is an original. The fuel pump is strong. Wheels are still fine. Brakes finally wore out.
Granted, this is only one car, but I would gladly stick a 2.3L HSC engine in the category of very reliable. I'm not the only one who's had this type of experience.
I'm really surprised engines are able to take the abuse thrown at them without breaking more often. I always maintain a good OCI on my cars, keep them clean, and drive them regularly, usually with a lighter foot now, although it's fun to rev them up from time to time.
