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Hi Mark! Welcome and congrats on the new engine! If you don't mind sharing, what was the lead time like on your factory engine? The -GB3 in N1017G is long in the tooth and I think I will be going factory instead of OH and conversion. If my crank wasn't trash due to an AD when it comes out, then I'd definitely be interested in your components though.

I was looking for something like this with a K model a few months back hoping to knock out my insurance requirements while I was waiting on V-band clamps for my new-to-me 231 and came up empty. One person was advertising instruction in a rental K-model out of the LA area but had recently stopped due to rising insurance costs. The others I saw were all flying clubs so not really available for public rental. A few years back, I was able to get instruction in a rental J-model at Air Mods in NJ but I can't tell from their web site if they are still offering that since they now have a new flight academy unit with more traditional trainers. The 0.9 hours in the J (and 28 other retract hours between a 182RG and Travel Air) had a slight impact on my check-out requirements supposedly, but not anything that would have made me want to seek out that rental just for insurance purposes. I think the reduction was from 15 to 10 dual hours and from 25 to 15 landings. Edit to Add: My experience with the J unnecessarily turned me off of Mooneys for several years as "too uncomfortable for a fat pilot" until I sat in the K-model with push-pull controls rather than a quadrant and a more reasonable fuel selector location. Just keep in mind that if you don't like the model you find for rental there may be a better Mooney option still available.

I haven't flow with it yet since it is being installed now, but I went with a pair of GI-275s. I've heard good things about the CGR-30 setup as well, but my eventual plan for this plane is go move to a G500 TXi (or next-gen replacement depending on when it happens) and figured I'd save some future labor by installing the GEA-110 interface and putting a GI-275 EIS in front of it for now. The second GI-275 will be configured as an MFD and Standby ADI replacing my current analog CDI right above the EIS GI-275. That way I can spread out engine instruments onto the second GI-275 similar to how you can with the CGR-30C but then change pages to have that instrument display CDI, Traffic, WX, etc and provide a backup to my vacuum-driven King ADI. I wasn't quite ready to spring for a primary ADI and/or HSI and deal with the autopilot wiring or the MFD GI-275 would have just been an MFD and much cheaper.

@M20Kid Even though they only had access to RAM parts back in August, this ended up being the answer for me. They managed to locate some OEM clamps from an international source that had been sitting on a shelf since 2007. The price was eye-watering but I now have two new OEM clamps. Of course now that I've gotten the overpriced ones, Continental is sure to release a batch for Christmas.

That lead time from Continental is for a new or rebuilt -LB engine and exchanging my -GB as a core. The overhaul shops I asked said I would be on my own to come up with the clamps once they converted it to an -LB. And given that I have an airmelt crankshaft, the price of an OH would be pretty close to a factory engine anyway. I had assumed that Continental was using the RAM clamps which would explain why they only got approvals for the engines you can still buy. That being said, I got a call from the shop that has my plane just now and the clamps no longer leak after they removed and reinstalled the exhaust to replace some exhaust gaskets that were also leaking. So if it weren't for the fact that I also had them pull the prop and governor for IRAN/Reseal, I am actually safe and legal to fly the plane home for exactly 1.2 more tach hours until the 50-hour AD applicability kicks in. I guess I can at least get it out of hail danger now so I'm super excited.

Good luck! At least you have the option to pay the $3k ransom and fly your plane if you get desperate. Maybe they will lower their price eventually since they might have gotten their hopes up when I was asking around at $3k for the Continental part only. I've been offering $3k each for the Continental ones since the RAM PMA doesn't cover the -GB engine variant and have gotten zero non-scam responses. I finally went out to the plane yesterday at the airport where its stuck on the ramp and pulled the battery out getting it ready for the long wait until April in the hopes that Continental has something available for when their AMOC expires. Though somehow Continental thinks they can sell me a new engine with two of the same clamps on it in 16 weeks...

After talking with ASAP Aerospace, the clamps they thought they had are the RAM part. Thanks for the tip though.

Thanks for the pointer! I've asked three shops in NW Arkansas and none would use the RAM part on an TSIO-360-GB because only the -LB configuration is listed in the applications for the PMA even though they use exactly the same exhaust components. My other alternatives are replacing the whole engine to get an -LB or waiting until Continental comes out with a new part, hopefully in April based on their AMOC.

The AMOC linked in the article applies specifically to Continental part 653332 and includes the TSIO-360-GB and -LB engines on Mooney 231s. It allows the inspection process to continue until April 15, but only if the bands can be determined to have a time in service of less than the hour or year TBO of the engine, so 1,800 hours or 12 years for my -GB.

Thanks for the heads up! This is great news for other -LB and -GB owners, but it applies the TBO life limit of 12 years so it won’t help me specifically. I am going to go back through my log books, but I’m pretty sure mine have been on there since the last major overhaul well over 12 years ago. Based on that, my offer is still open, though the lack of non-scam responses doesn’t look great.

Hi folks! I got myself into a pickle with the V-Band clamp AD on a new-to-me 231 with a TSIO-360-GB engine that can't use the PMA clamps. While I don't realistically expect any to turn up, I figured I would at least throw out this offer in case somebody had the foresight to buy a few extra when the AD came out or is in a position to use the PMA clamps and pass along their Continental parts at a suitable premium for my stupidity. I'll buy new clamps with documentation for $3,000 per clamp. I'll also pay a pro-rated amount for serviceable clamps (must pass the AD inspection) with documented time in service of 400 hours or less. I would also pay $500/ea plus overnight shipping for serviceable clamps over 500 hours TIS if I can get them quickly enough to move the plane 5 miles before the AD deadline. Purchase of used clamps are subject to the shop I'm stuck at agreeing to install them IAW part M of the AD.

That's my current plan. It was inspected the week before the pre-buy to comply with the AD and get it to the pre-buy shop, so I'm actually legal with regard to the AD until 7/17 already. However, the pre-buy shop said both clamps are rusted and leaking and there is gray residue all over the area around the turbo. I've asked them what it will take to make it safe to ferry the plane so I can at least get it home and not leave it out in the hail at another airport all summer. That's what I get for relying on Air Power's online estimated availability and buying the plane before having the clamps in-hand. Hopefully I don't end up having to buy a new engine for want of a clamp, but that's the risk when buying old airplanes.

As far as the shortage being resolved, I am AOG until I can find two TCM 653332 clamps and Air Power just told me to expect two *years* for them even though they list next week on their web site. Unfortunately I'm stuck at a shop that will not attempt to use the RAM PMA part on a -GB engine since the eligibility only lists -LB engines.