DCarlton

That's exactly the kind of plane I would look for. A NDH airframe with a clean panel and a run out engine needing overhaul. Fly it home and send it straight to the engine overhaul shop. If you see any good J's airframes at a good price, please let folks know.

KCRQ. M20F (with SWTA mods).

Wondering if Premier sold their J. It's no longer on Controller but still on their web site. Looks like Air Mods, Premier, and Oracle may have all sold a J recently. Good J's are moving!

Not what you asked, but the GDL-82 does provide anonymous mode. If I remember correctly, it was one wire to a switch to ground. Very simple. I've never used it but I installed it.

If someone finds an avionics shop that will do any R&R task in 15 mins or even in 1 hour, please let me know where they are located! I think I was charged an hour once for a software update and thought that was outstanding.

I just had a shop charge me 2 hours to replace a VSI and 10 hours to replace a DG. The DG was extremely difficult to access and required a lot of panel disassembly. The VSI was down low and easy to access. I was there throughout the process. In both cases, I thought the charges were reasonable. You're probably somewhere in the middle. Just my personal experience. Not an expert. There is nothing easy about avionics work.

I'm in the steam gauge camp too. I might replace my AI with a digital unit but that's it. Even when I browse newer aircraft for sale, if I see all glass, I hit cancel and look for an older model with steam gauges on the pilots side. I'm getting old; not interested in all the newer technology. A nice engine monitor and a nice NAVCOM is enough for me.

I just received an M20 interior set from Aerographics earlier this week. Only took about a week to get them after the order. Call or email and they'll make whatever custom placards you need to.

I can report back my findings end of next week. Like I said above, I'm not an expert, mechanic or a materials engineer but if they didn't zinc prime the skin and they depended on the ALCLAD for corrosion resistance, I wouldn't be surprised if many many planes look just like that after 30-40 years. Seems like condensation is very likely to form and hang around under the wing skins. Hopefully my skins are well lubricated with ACF-50 at this point....

I'm starting my annual next week. My plane has been near the ocean for 20+ years. My plane has been treated with ACF-50; it bleeds ACF-50. I'm not an expert; I'm not a mechanic; I'm not a materials engineer; but I wouldn't be surprised if the aluminum sheeting doesn't look similar on a lot of these airplanes. I have no idea what aged ALCLAD sheeting is expected to look like after decades. I'm going to look closely at mine soon though and discuss findings with my mechanic.

I had the exact same situation; an old fussy Narco. I replaced the Narco with a used but mint GTX-327 and a GDL-82 (in the tail near the battery). To minimize wiring changes, I installed a new altitude encoder with dual outputs. The GTX-327 does everything I want a transponder to do and there are infinite spares available for a few hundred dollars. I'm not sure how much I spent total, but somewhere close to $3K. If you're an EE with ET experience, buy a prefabricated wiring harness; at that point it's plug and play. You just need a shop to work with you like you said.

Well yes and no. Originally both radio cooling and cabin air cooling (ventilation) originated from the left and right air scoops (plus the upper vent system). On the '67, the right air scoop has two outlets; one larger oval outlet that feeds the 2.5" round inlet to the cabin air box (cool ventilation or heat if heat is mixed from the engine bay muff). Cool air is regulated with a gate valve. There is also a smaller duct coming from the right air scoop that's controlled by a rather hidden valve with a lever; that smaller duct feeds a diffuser (or "grill") mounted on the center of the fire wall for radio cooling (per the original manuals). So radio cooling and lower cabin cooling do come from the same source. As you might expect, I've added a multi port cooling fan with ducts going directly to the modern radio trays. I was just trying to get all the original equipment working including the small valve on the right air scoop that feeds the diffuser (grill) on the firewall behind the radios. My Operating Manual states "the tube supplying the grill has a control valve near the scoop to decrease air flow in extremely cold weather". I'll probably just leave it open to get a little more air behind the radios in addition to the forced air from the newer cooling fans. It doesn't say anything about potential water intrusion if flown in the rain. Flying in the heat has prompted me to get all the air sources working. Will get more diligent about lubricating the airflow valves as recommended. Thanks.

My ducting is in good condition but I don't think my heater box valve is closing completely. So there's always some heat coming in if the inside louver are open. Gotta get that fixed next. First step was to get the inside cabin air box valve cleaned up and working.

Any chance there is a maintenance manual for the '67F? I have the parts manual and the owners manual (I think its called). I downloaded something today that's '68 and up and a J manual. Haven't had time to review.

:>. She's still irritated at me for using Tri-Flow on the front door lock to our house. Apparently I used too much. Now I'm sensitized to these issues. That's what I'll go with though if there are no better solutions. The plane will just have to smell like a bicycle chain for a while.

Managed to get it working. It's been hidden behind the carpeted side panel for a long time. Trimmed the panel around the valve. A little extra air for the center radio stack should be a good thing. Thanks.

After reading through a few of the threads, I'm curious what folks are using for interior mechanisms. Seat rollers, hinges, cabin air valves, etc. Most of the stuff is fairly odorous. Trying to avoid passengers thinking something electrical is burning, the engine is leaking oil, what's that smell, etc. LPS-2, Tri-Flow, Silicone, oil fashioned 3M machine oil? It's a nit question but appreciate your time. I need to source a maintenance manual for a '67F too. I have the parts manual but not the maintenance manual. Thanks.

I would expect less than half that from Avemco and I'm basing that on my experience based in CA.

Not really a matter of handling the ups and downs. I've been flying for 35 years. It's a matter of too many choices as to where to spend your "fun" time. And it's the feeling of "been there done that". Stories like this probably have a lot of folks evaluating their choices. But yes MS is a great resource and community. It's like turning on the flying boost pump. BTW, I thought you weren't therapist? ;>

I think it's the hassle that's dominating my experience at the moment. It's the days, weeks, months you invest (or loose) every year to meet the requirements necessary to continue to have fun. Was trying to get through an IFR refresher after letting my currency lapse during COVID, then my annual expired and now I'm waiting on an annual. Thus the "reflection"...

I'll take a look. Thanks. It certainly is hard to get too. Looks like it's a manual valve with no panel control. Now that folks have cooling fans maybe it's OK to leave it closed? But I have had cooling problems with my radio stack even with a multi port fan.

Tangent... I consider myself a cautious and safety conscious pilot particularly when I carry passengers. I'm technically savvy if I do say so myself. :/ My aircraft has been very well maintained. Yet and read these reports and sometimes feel like selling and getting out while I still can. I don't worry about myself so much but I'm exceedingly troubled by the prospect of hurting anyone else at this point in life. Couple this with recurring physicals, insurance, tie down fees, annual inspections, unexpected maintenance, fight reviews, currency requirements and sometimes... flying just doesn't seem to make sense now that I no longer have a work-related mission for the airplane. Anyone else have similar thoughts? What drives you to continue other than the fact that your license was so hard to obtain in the first place that you just don't want to give it up? I think there have beens studies done why pilots give up flying when they're at their best after accumulating a lifetime of experience. Thoughts?

I'm trying to understand the heating and cooling system on my 67 M20F. Basically trying to get the valves working freely and correctly. The right side scoop assembly (#45 middle left) appears to have a valve on the small duct outlet that's not shown on the drawing. The duct goes to a diffuser on the firewall for radio cooling. The valve shows up on the '66 drawing. Any idea how and when that valve is supposed to be operated? It's hard to access and hard to see with the carpeted side panels in place and mine appears to be frozen. Should it be left open if I can get it working? I'd also like to remove the screws (#22 upper right) to get the valve on the inside cooling air box working but I'm guessing the nuts are going to be difficult to access with the box installed. Not a crisis but working on a few details. Appreciate any insight. Thanks. 67F CABIN COOLING .pdf

A bit of a lazy question... what size IPAD are folks yoke mounting and what mount do you prefer? Thanks.

Agree with those that said you don't have to spend $7500. I love my EDM730 and it wasn't nearly that expensive. I'm not happy with my bouncing gages either but I've flown it that way for 15 years. Just know what you have in the tanks before you take off. I plan for 10 GPH and plenty of reserve and don't overthink it. With that said, an $8K system that includes fuel gages would be really nice.