Hi Pete,
I just thought of an engine that was done as this proposal. The original Double Star 60BB was supposed to be a direct clone of a Big Jim ST 60, IIRC. The engine is a good one, but I don't think sales ever really approached what Tom was hoping for.
A price point consideration is imperative! Unfortunately, many of us are now on a fixed retirement income and we have to budget for a *major* hobby expense such as a NIB engine. Not crying the blues, just stating a relatively constant fact among us aging CLPA fliers who might be the base market for such and engine. If the price starts heading upwards of $200, the target audience will probably opt for another special made engine for such purposes.
As an aside, a good friend of mine has an early Stalker 46, plain bearing. It has identical ruin characteristics of my ST 46s, so I do believe there is some market out there for one.
Mongo