Hi PiperPainter, Thanks for the ferry offer. I thought i would get some hours in a Mooney in my neck of the woods, then maybe take a Mooney course at Advanced in Troutdale in the actual plane, mostly for the avionics. Maybe it would be easier just to do it all at Troutdale. I plan to fly home myself. The plane is N607WC in Trade a Plane. The owner is a really intelligent, nice fellow. He has been very straight forward and helpful. He is an engineer and is detail oriented. He provided good photos. He does a lot of owner assisted maintenance, so he knows the plane well. In my opinion : The panel/avionics are exceptional. The paint is average or a little lower, but is better than the paint on both the C172 and C210 I once owned. (I had the C310 painted and it was gorgeous). The interior is recent leather. Both the foam and fabric have burn entries. The engine has had a few issues, my only real concern other than corrosion (which should appear at inspection if it by chance were present). At overhaul in 1990 the crank was ground 0.01, which i think is first oversize. I think it was the original engine, but not sure. There was a remote probable gear up, so could be a different engine. In 2000 the oil pump failed and the case was damaged ( 794 SMOH). A lower end rebuild was done.Both the crank and the camshaft were ground. In 2008 all 4 CermiChrome cylinders were replaced with 4 Cerminil rebuilt cylinders (1027 SMOH) after an exhaust valve problem. The Cerichrome cyclinders never really broke in based on oil useage. The Cerminil's have been doing very well w/ decent oil consumption. I thought the IO360 was a pretty bullet-proof engine, but i suppose any engine can go bad. Makes one think twice about flying across Lake Michigan in the winter in a single~!! I don't know if they make new Cerminil cylinders or if they are all rebuilt. I think the engine is around 1300 SMOH now. If all the parts are feeling groovy , the engine should make it to TBO, which would be at least 5 years from now for my flying. If they are feeling extra groovy, the engine might go longer than TBO. I am wondering if the crank and cam will be re-useable in the future. I would appreciate any advice you might have since this is my first Mooney.
gomer