That was a throw-away joke. It was a field-expedient that probably gained short term but killed the overall ROI.
I was looking for more on the Alex Taub single-valve engine, but can't find much. There is his paper on cylinder bore wear:
SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class journal research
OTOH I found out J. Bowers plagarized a
2009 post on The Automobile and American Life.