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My 83 with the 12a is indeed very reliable, but I also do all the work on my own cars religiously. They rev quicker and smoother than most motors you encounter, but they're NOT great on gas mileage. Peryn is very correct in that they do burn oil naturally (it is suggested that you do NOT run synthetic oil in them, at least not the older ones) and the apex seals are usually the first things to go, and often upgraded to the later style ones during rebuilds.
To compensate for the lack of bottom end, they were geared very low from the factory and were very lightweight (3.90 gear and I believe about 2600 lbs.) They do indeed respond very well, particularly to exhaust upgrades. Porting the motors is also a relatively simple ordeal, and is a much less complex ordeal than a piston based motor with intake/exhaust valves.
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