bgpilot1

There is a really nice M20J at the West Memphis, AR airport that is for sale but not advertised yet. It has all the avionics you would ever want. Owner is upgrading to a 231 bought from another owner at AWM. My mechanic has maintained both as well as 5 other Mooneys on the field. PM me and I will email you his info. Barry

I've had an aluminum overlay made for the right side of the panel. Matched the paint to the left and had it powder coated at Ricks Powder Coating in Memphis, TN. They charged me all of $20. Also had the yokes powder coated. I've very pleased with the results. I do like a duller finish so there is less glare. You can see a couple of pics in my gallery. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Ricks and for that price you can ship it FedEx Ground and have it back in 2 weeks. If your panel is plastic, I would guess you would want to use SEM paint which is what most people use on the plastic interior panels. Barry

I purchased the carpet / side panels from Airtex for the F. I believe they have the seats as well. Check the catalogue page. Barry

Scott, I purchased my M20F 2 years ago and transitioned from a Cherokee 140. Did plenty of reserach and have upgraded practically everything on the plane including paint, interior, avionics (garmin 430W, instruments, engine analyzer, autopilot) as well as the generator to alternator conversion, starter and wiring. Also, I resealed the fuel tanks myself. If I had to do it over again, I would buy the plane with the best avionics package available and one with recently sealed fuel tanks. Speed mods are nice but not necessary. Same goes for paint and interior less corrosion concerns. As with buying most older airplanes, I would budget at least 10 percent for maintenance costs to fix the unknown problems. A good prebuy is helpful but you will always find things to fix as you learn the airplane throughout the first year. Finding a good local mechanic who knows Mooneys is a plus. As no plane is ever perfect - costs to consider: $4,000 - reseal 1 tank $2,000 - rework panel to 6 pack configuration (estimate) $8,000 + paint $5,000 + interior (airtex) Sign up with AOPA for their financing and aircraft valuation tools. Get an insurance quote from Falcon Insurance. Remember its still a buyers market so I would guess that you can take at least 5 percent off any price before prebuy concessions. Finally, in a perfect world, I would buy a plane from someone who is upgrading to a bigger plane or downgrading to an LSA which could be an indication that they didn't skimp on maintenance. PM me with questions. Barry

You have a beautiful plane with great legroom and payload for a 4 seater! You could have your RPM checked with a cheap prop tach. Also, a Challenger air filter may be a good solution since you don't have ram air. Would gear doors hanging low be an issue? Barry