redcatcher27

Great explaination! Thanks so much.

No, that's it! That's what they indicated to me - that I needed one with 20 foot tick marks! But perhaps there's an internal issue too? I don't know.

So, for clarity, the top one was the OLD one. T he bottom one, with the 20' tick marks is my NEW one.

Welp. I guess you learn something new every day. I took my 1968 M20F in for an oil change, installation of a new (to me) vacuum step actuator, and 24 month IFR certification of the static, transponder, altimeter. Mind you, I had been flying for almost three years of ownership with the old altimeter... Aircraft logs showed that it had been IFR certified roughly every 2 years since it was installed in 2004. Came home with a new altimeter, after I was told my old one wasn't certified for IFR flight. They told me why they thought it wasn't, but do you know or can you guess? BTW, the old altimeter was p/n 5934P-A56 and the new one is p/n 5934A-1. Or maybe I just got bamboozled? Anyway, the cert along with the new altimeter cost me less than .5 AMU, so I suppose I am happy.

In the two and a half years I have had my 1968 M20F, I have often contemplated getting a battery minder or tender - In part because my real job requires me to be away from my mistress for 60 to 75 days at a time, about 3 times each year. Every time I come back home after a two month hiatus I wonder if my battery will be dead, or weak or just crap. And every time, it does just fine. In all honesty, I really can't tell the difference in cranking power whether or not it has been 60 days or 60 minutes since I've last flown her. All is well, at least so far. Some people swear by the battery things. Me, not so much.

I had the EI CGR-30P/C combo installed during my last annual. I can now remove the OAT gauge on the windshield, since the CGR-30C includes a fuselage mounted OAT probe and readout. What's the best way to plug that hole in the windshield from the old OAT gauge?

Thanks for all the input and sage advice. Today, a dream became a reality. Added the CGR-30 Combo and removed all the old engine gages. New CiES Fuel Senders. Thanks to the great team at Gardner Lowe Aviation at KFFC - they did awesome job and I'm very happy with the results!

This is a great answer! It fits exactly what I have experienced in my limited experience - except to say - sometimes it might get better... In 2017 before I purchased my 1968 M20F, it had a couple of blue stains under the wing that would be classified as heavy seeps or maybe even running seeps IAW our maintenance manual. Who knows how long they had been there? We cleaned the stains away fairly easily and nothing returned. The experienced (and renowned) mooney shop that I hired to do the pre-buy and fresh annual took a good look and assured me that it was not an issue. After the annual, I flew her to her forever home. Now I wash and wax my plane regularly, but have never seen anymore stains. Sometimes I'm away for a couple months at a time. I make sure to keep the tanks full most of the time. And each time I come back after a long hiatus, I dread crawing under there, expecting the worst - to see more blue stains. But the fact is, since I cleaned it that very first time, 2 and 1/2 years ago, I haven't seen any at all. The only thing to add to this mystery is, I did have them replace all the pucks during that first annual. Perhaps that's all my baby needed.

Does anyone out there have a good resource for the placard that is plastered atop the down lock block (SB M20-88A-2)?

Boy! Those polished caps sure do look great! But I heard somewhere that in the middle of the summer, in full sun, that they were "hotter than a June bride".

1968 M20F

Honestly, 10" seems to work for me - I work hard and rarely get that horn and when I do, I know immediately what I should probably be doing next. If it was 12" or 14", I'd probably just work harder. But I do agree with you - hearing is probably the first thing to diminish during high periods of stress/concentration. I fly a King Air to keep my wife in shoes - and it (the king air) has both a gear warning light (in the gear handle) and an audible horn - the horn can be muted without the gear down until the flaps are full down - then the only way to mute the warning horn it is to put the gear down. The light stays on for all low power settings unless the gear is down. It is possible under some conditions to conduct slow, level flight at L/D max with the gear light on. Having said all that, in the king air, I personally consider it really bad form to fly around with even the gear handle light on, and certainly not the horn. Even in a descent. There are other ways to slow down and/or get configured, as long as you stay ahead of the aircraft. That goes for both classes of planes I fly. If you condition yourself to fly around with a warning horn and/or a light on, you will condition yourself to possiblly land with them on, too. 'Sort of like the whole crying wolf tale. All of this is just my humble opinion. I sometimes wish my wife had a mute button, but I'm glad my mooney doesn't. Many Regards!

Interestingly to note, if nothing else - on a quick scan of the M20F POHs from '68 and '69, in '68 the "magic number" was 10 inchs of manifold pressure. For some reason (probably to give more warning), in the 1969 POH the number/setting was changed to 12 inches of maniford pressure.

I love the aesthetic pleasure, form and feel of the vintage gauges. That's why I am going with the CGR-30 Combo for my engine monitor and replacement for all of my engine instruments. https://iflyei.com/product/cgr-30-combo/

I highly recommend for purchase or refurbishment: Waltham Aircraft Clock Corporation 2364 South US Highway 231 - Ozark, AL 36360 - USA Business Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 AM Until 5:00 PM Central Phone: 334.774.3584 A small town company, but fantastic service! They refurbished my orginal 8 day clock, and it looks brand new now. Works great too! http://www.walthamclocks.com/index.html

I think of my M20F as my Camaro with wings... I also think I am one lucky guy!

Panel Porn is always nice!

I had the original (but broken) 8 day clock out of my 1968 M20F refurbished and repaired by the great folks at Waltham Aircraft Clock Corp. just outside of Ozark Alabama. I could not be happier with the service, turn around time, or price. They returned my clock and it looks like its brand new! https://www.walthamclocks.com/

Thanks so much for your advice James. I was so naive to think that I could just move things around where I'd like them without any regard to whether or not they will actually fit BEHIND the panel. That just never occured to me. i.e. I expected it would be easy to "fix" the six pack and move the VSI from it current (and original) location to its "rightful" place under the Altimeter, swapping places with the OBS. But the 8 inch long OBS probably wouldn't fit over there, against the steel cage. So if I do move the VSI, I will probably have to find a new place for the OBS. Lots to think about!

I absolutely love my 1968 M20F! I really love everything about it, with the lone exception of my archaic engine instrumentation and the general lack of data it provides - like fuel flow and individual cylinder head temps, and almost useless fuel quantity estimates. Just as soon as one of those old suckers fail (or maybe sooner), I plan on removing it all, redoing my panel, and updating to some sort of a primary cluster type of engine monitoring system. I haven't decided on an EI CGR-30 Combo, JPI EDM-900, or something else, but I do prefer the round forms and think that at least aesthetically, they would look better in my panel. Because, I have zero desire to change out any of my round flight instruments on the left side of my panel - I really prefer the vintage look. (I fly glass at work, and I really don't need any more reminders of work) So...my question to all of our great mooniacs, experts and commentators out there is: Where should I put a new primary engine monitor(s), and how would you rearrange everything else that is left... Thanks in advance for all of your great ideas!

First World Problems: Yesterday, I climbed into our wonderful 1968 M20F after not being able to fly it in 2 months. After starting, the LOW VAC Light remained illuminated. It looks like my 18 year old vacuum pump (AA215CC) with almost a 1000 hours on it finally gave up the ghost, on Halloween Day. So my question to our great community is, should I replace it with a new or overhauled one? Lowest price for an OVERHAULED one on Spruce is $229 and the highest price for a NEW one is $389. If I return a core after the purchase of a new one, I could get 25 dollars back. RAPCO or TEMPEST are the choices on Spruce. Core charges and reimbursements and shipping charges for returned cores are part of the equation. Warranties vary from 3 years and 1300 hours (NEW) to 2 years and 1000 hours (OVERHAULED). Maybe more to the point, when YOU are looking to replace failed parts, do you automatically gravitate towards new or overhauled, and why? Any particular brands better than others? Thanks! (CBs, I think I know what your answer will be, but feel free to join in!)

+1 for Phil Jimenez, PJ Aircraft SVC, Avon Park, FL 867-873-9999 Also, Karl Gardner, Gardner Lowe Aviaition Services, Peachtree City, GA & Macon, GA 770-631-0650

Hey there sdflysurf, I see you got a lot of responses, but if you ever get a 100% solution to the original question, "a measurement stick next to a measuring tape of a M20F with 32 gal tanks" ... I would love to have it - Thanks in advance for sharing!

Thanks so much Chrixxer for the excellent seat back removal instructions! 'Just one more example of why THIS forum is so invaluable. And I look forward to seeing the "Getting the Recline Lever Connected Properly" instuctions. (I desperately need those for a "friend". )

I would like one if I can still get it at this price point. I've emailed Linn, but so far, no response...