Wow the article started in 1998.. I hope we can get an update from the topic poster.

22 years later I own 1960 172A with O300-C and flying almost on a daily basis.. It is a world different aircraft from my flying school's C172N 4 cyl Lycoming o320.. Certainly C172N has 20hp more and flies 10kts faster, however in my opinion C172A flies "better" and is not nose-heavy as N model.

300 cubic inches is actually 5 lit (5000cc) engine, which is not small in automotive world, therefore not sure where the "small" engine is coming from..
145hp divided by 6 cylinders or 5000cc means the engine is not tuned for super performances, neither engine is running over-stressed unless you prefer flying faster. It's the old school built to last. I've heard about cases when one cylinder failed, other 5 took the aircraft to the aerodrome.

Fly regularly (this applies to all engines), make sure it has the oil as per spec, make sure cht and oil temps are in green (you can climb slower at speed higher than Vy, e.g. 80kts, thus cooling the engine more), once straight&level reduce to 2200rpm and watch how temps are going down.. Generally, look after your engine and it will last much more than TBO. Mike Busch mentioned in one of his Youtube videos he runs 250% of TBO.

Finally I don't think anything can replace the truck-like sound coming out of 6cyl o300 .. My answer to the question is obviously YES

Safe landings!