Fookz92

The jugs were pulled off and are being sent away for an overhaul. I am going off of the MSC guy's report and pictures of the camshaft that he took. He def got in there and inspected it.

The tires and tubes are shot. Definitely have to replace. Thanks

Boroscope

Being a Cherokee owner for 2 years has been fun, but I was always wanting to go faster. Mooney's quickly climbed to the top of my list because of their speed and economics. My story starts this past May as I was finishing up an instruction lesson with a owner of a Saratoga II TC. I mention to him that I was in the market looking for something faster, like his Saratoga. He says, "follow me" and we walk across the small airport together to another hangar way in the back. He walks up and points to a 1 inch gap in the door and tells me to "take a look." What I saw was a Mooney M20J 201 sitting in the corner of the hangar that hasn't been flown in a very long time. I took down the N# in attempt to find the owner and ask what the status was of the airplane. Here is what I found: The owner had fallen very ill 10 years ago and stopped flying until he got well. Unfortunately his illness progressed up until he passed away this past June. The airplane has been sitting for 10 years now in the corner of this hangar. He was the original owner of this 1977 201J serial #0017 all these years! It was a delicate and lengthy process all summer long with the now widow who had just inherited the aircraft. She finally gave me the "green light" in September to do a Pre-buy inspection to find out the value and what it would take to make it airworthy again. I contacted the MSC at Freeway airpark, MD and the mx guys came over on a Sunday to do the inspection. (great guys) 2 cranks and it fired right up! Put it up on jacks and the gear swung nicely. Here is what the conclusion was: No corrosion on roll cage. No rust of corrosion on the camshaft. Both fuel tanks leak. Brake system needs complete overhaul. Pilots seatback is cracked and needs repair. Top end overhaul recommended. Fuel pump leaking. Needs rubber gear pucks. I made a offer and the lady accepted! The best part: 958hrs TTAF Any mooniacs around the Delmarva Peninsula area I can meet up with after I resurrect this J? KCGE Its Mooney Resurrection time!!!

Is the GDL82 the latest and greatest Garmin has put out? I scanned an article briefly a few weeks ago while awaiting pax. Said something about a plug and play with the GTX327's? Am I recalling that correctly?

We did PM and we are starting over. I was just replying to the gentleman above. I read it as he was coming down on me for posting N#. Nothing negative meant here towards you.

I did the same. I posted to ask for help/insight/comments to see exactly what I was getting myself into. I posted 2 pics and edited so the N# was not visible. LanceCasper knew the airplane from somewhere else and was the one to let the world on here know what I had, as you see above.

LanceCasper, I was waiting for you to comment. Yes that is the airplane, It is sad to hear he passed.

Jesse, Read most of the posts on this thread. Lots of great advice. Awesome story to boot! Super ironic to because here is my story: I am 25 now. I currently own a Cherokee 140/160 that I bought 2 years ago for time building in order to qualify for the ATP, before the regs changed. That mission has since come and gone. 100kts is too slow for me. My main job is flying a Lear 45 for a company part 91 and I am at 1800 hrs of TT. (Go get those certificates and ratings dude!) I stumbled upon a hangar this past May and saw a Mooney sitting inside. Tracked down the owner only to find out he is on his death bed due to cancer. I got the hangar key from his wife ad let myself into the hanger. In front of me was a beautiful 1977 M20J that hasn't flown for 10 years. 950 hrs TTAF & original engine. Complete logs. 2007 was the last annual and also when the tanks were drained & resealed (still drained now). Brand new interior that has never been flown in. Garmin 530W and the list goes on. The exterior paint was waxed and left to dry on to preserve the paint. Spider webs and 3 flat tires gave it the only negative appeal as it sat in the corner of the hanger. Present time: The owner has passed away and the wife doesn't want a hangar bill every month so, I made an offer on it. Waiting to hear back on it now. A lot of risk involved here, I know. I cannot wait until we settle on an offer so I can get a pre-buy done and find out what I am going up against. If the price is right and I dont need a engine for it (we will see what the pre-buys says) Im going to sell the Cherokee and go for it. We both are in a very similar boat it seems. Best of luck to you.