Utah20Gflyer

If you go to www.pilotmall.com they have the 68 M20G POH for 15 bucks. I also happened to buy a 68 20g a couple weeks ago although my panel is not nearly as nice as yours, congrats!

If money is not a concern I think the F is definitely a more versatile plane but also keep in mind the IO 360 is more money to overhaul/maintain than a O 360. Ultimately whichever plane has been maintained better will be the more affordable aircraft to own but all things being equal the O360 with the manual systems is dirt simple with the absolute lowest costs for a complex airplane. As you move from the earlier C/G models towards the late model long bodies the costs incrementally increase. Where you end up on that scale just depends on what mission you want to accomplish and how much money you want to spend accomplishing it.

I just purchased a 1968 M20G, I consider it to be the most utilitarian plane that Mooney every built. Roomy cabin with the lowest cost systems to maintain that Mooney built. I am liking it so far. I’ve actually never flown in an F so can’t give you a comparison of the 2 models. Many say the g is the slow Mooney but mine seems to average 140 to 145 knots with quite a few speed mods, climb has been more than adequate. I think the biggest downside to the g is the lower useful load generally. The gross weight is actually lower than a C with the extra weight of the mid body. My useful is 850 - someThing I may try to work on in the future.

Calgary doesn’t sound like a bad area to store an aircraft but I guess the question is how long has it been there. Either way if it’s been sitting a while you will likely be looking at a lot of maintenance for at least a couple years. The plane I bought sat a while in Tucson Arizona which is a good place for an airplane to sit but I’m finding a lot of little squawks popping up on top of some deferred maintenance I know I’m going to need to get caught up. In my case there where a lot of other factors that offset this issue but something to think about. Maintenance issues seem to accrue whether the plane is being flown or not so keep that in mind.

The engine has only averaged 14 hours a year in what you describe as a high humidity environment so that is certainly an area of concern. Given the difficulty in determining cam/lifter corrosion in a lycoming it would be best to be very skeptical of the “low time” engine. Add to that the wood wing and price and I think that explains why it hasn’t moved in a very hot aircraft market. You also mentioned you wanted 650 lbs with full fuel, this plane would fall about 100 lbs short of that goal. A C model would be more likely to make that number. Most have 950 to 1000 lbs useful. If it were me (and it actually was, I just purchased and saw this plane for sale and kept going) I’d look for an all metal airplane with a more certain history. just curious...how was the fiberglassing of the wings accomplished? Stc or 337?