What four place are you looking for, Jeff?
Been crunching the W&B numbers for what I might be loading, and the
C-172 with a 180hp conversion is on top of the list, an M model or a little older (as the Ns and later models are typically above by budget). A
Warrior II would be second. I like the range of the Warrior (extra 100 miles), and the W&B is better than a stock 172.
The early
Beech 35's in my budget have W&B issues for my potential loads. The best W&B loading for all of them has been on the C-172/180hp with the STC for +200 GW.