In my experience, the biggest problem with Chaparral was its lack of consistency. It's true that the bad ones are awful, but I think it's stretching it to say that "once in a while" you find one that works. The good ones are good ones. The problem was that it was impossible to tell the good ones from the others until it was too late.
I have a handful of Uberti toggle rifles and I also own one Chaparral. Parts of my Chaparral are better made than my Ubertis. Parts of my Ubertis are better made than my Chaparral.
So far, the Chaparral, however, has been accurate, attractive, and most importantly reliable. I know other shooters who have had similar luck with their Chaparrals and some who have horror stories to tell. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground. It appears to be totally luck of the draw. There is no shortage of Chaparral "lemons" out there, but there are plenty that "work," too.
Can't say about the short stroke situation. Never had any interest in one. Seemed silly to me to take up a 19th Century-based activity and then use 21st Century technology to radically alter it. Kinda defeats the purpose, in my opinion.
But then, to each their own.