EricJ

That's all very helpful. The IA had indicated he wasn't a fan of reshimming mounts, but sounds like it's SOP with a Mooney. Thanks everybody for the input.

I'm looking at purchasing a J model that has a saggy motor very similar to this one (but not this one, which was discussed in another thread): https://www.aso.com/listings/spec/ViewAd.aspx?id=163471 The symptom being the spinner not lining up with the cowling very well. In the previous thread there was opinion expressed that this was due to the motor mounts sagging or just needing to be replaced. On the particular aircraft that I'm looking at the motor mounts were replaced coincident with a prop-strike-related tear down about thirty hours ago, but the spinner doesn't line up with the cowl just like in the pics in the link above. Is this likely due to just a crappy installation, poor quality mounts, or is it possible that the motor mount frame itself was tweaked during the prop strike? The prop strike was the result of porpoising during a bad landing.

Definitely thanks for setting it up! Have one on the way. Appreciate the discount!

I got a ride on it last summer when they were in SoDak. Definitely fun and interesting. Their route flew over my brother's house, and, yeah, they were flying that thing over that route constantly for a couple of days. Very cool. Highly recommended.

I live in Scottsdale, currently flying rentals out of KSDL. It's an easy trip driving or flying to KFFZ.

Thanks much for that! I'll likely take you up on that before too long once I'm done with some travel.

Thanks for the info and offers. At the moment I'm looking at this airplane: http://www.trade-a-plane.com/search?category_level1=Single+Engine+Piston&make=MOONEY&model=M20E+SUPER+21&listing_id=2250042&s-type=aircraft Are there any known Mooney-familiar PPI/IA mechanics in the San Diego area?

I've been lurking here for a little bit but wanted to make an intro. I'm a PPL, learned to fly in the '70s before I learned to drive, flew recreationally until about 1985 and then took thirty years off for career, life, etc., etc. It's been a bit of a Rip VanWinkle experience getting back into it, but it's also been fun. Lately I'm flying a rental Arrow around AZ just to get back into the groove and get warmed up to get an instrument rating. An integral part of the whole plan is to get a quick, efficient airplane to fly back and forth from AZ to SoDak (where I'm from and where I still have some property and is a nice place to be in the summer compared to AZ). Hence, I'm here as I'm looking around for an E or J model. So far I've not found anything quite right for me, but I haven't been looking all that long. The attraction to an E or J is that they seem to be good bang for the buck especially for long-ish cross-countries like what I usually need to do. That said, I have to admit I've never actually set foot in one or flown one. If there's anybody in AZ that needs some ballast, I'd be happy to oblige. You guys have already been very helpful just via info in existing threads, so thanks already.