Sabremech

I've had very good service with the Avionics Place in Rockford IL. Good shop with good people.

Hi Gary, I'd be happy to share with you the parts that I purchased. I will be installing them using a 337 and field approval. I was going to wait until my annual, but if it helps other owners like yourself to have a reasonable cost option, I'll install it now and share a copy of my 337. I'm also thinking of taking it to the next level and get an STC for this install. Don't believe all the horror stories that field approvals are gone, quite the opposite if you know how to communicate effectively and proactively with the FAA. This is a complete cluster available through Mitchell Instruments that are all FAA/PMA parts.

Your A&P probably knows of this old trick, but clean the engine then run it for a short period of time. Use a black light to look for the source of the oil leaks. The oil will glow under the black light. This may help you find the nagging leak.

Typical procedure on my C is, mixture rich, boost pump on, throttle two full pumps, leave throttle about 1/4 inch in, start. Never had an issue hot or cold.

The gear horn is actuated by a switch on the throttle if the gear handle is not in the downlock receptacle (manual gear). When you pull the throttle back to around 16 inches of manifold pressure the horn will sound. Someone your size will fit fine in the back seat on short trips. I have a 2 inch cushion that I use to sit up a little higher. Very comfortable airplane. A great value for the performance.

I can say that I will not be doing the Ovation style swoosh. I want it to stand out, but not in the way the AOPA cover shot does.

I'm not a fan of the paint job on AOPA's cover. Whoever pays the almost $800K for it, will surely have to love it. I'll wait to hear back from Brian. I'm just used to getting a call back in the world of aviation. That simple call can make or break a deal. I'll be the guy doing the paint on my airplane. So no one to blame but myself if it doesn't turn out very good.

Ok, I called and left a voicemail to Brian last week and no reply. That's a huge strike as far as I'm concerned. Any other shops that can be recommended to do a paint scheme rendition?

Mine will be when I'm done. Should be under $1000 for a duplicate of the original 6 pack, but with new instruments. I had some in depth conversations with my FSDO PMI about older gauges and having a reasonable solution and not in the $5000 plus category. That price

Hi Byron, where are you finding a JPI 930 for 3K? The cheapest I found was $5500. Even the JPI 900 is over 5K. That's a lot of money to put into an old C model probably worth in the mid $30's.

Hi Brian, not to get into a huge debate here, but I am an A&P/IA and have done STC's as well as holding an FAA/PMA with my two companies. I'm in direct contact with the FAA on a regular basis discussing projects that I would like to do and also finding out what data I can use as an approval or acceptable basis. I'll be happy to share my 337 when I'm finished. If something comes up where I'm shot down, I'll be man enough to admit it on this forum. Just a little more information, I worked directly with my local FAA before I purchased these gauges and he was satisfied after talking with the manufacturer that there was enough data for a field approval.

Hi John. you are correct to a point, but these gauges are FAA/PMA and I already have pre-approval of my FAA form 337 from my PMI at the FSDO. You are incorrect that the FAA will no longer do field approvals. They are still more than happy to help out and understand that our vintage aircraft are lacking in parts support and that it isn't cost effective to spend $5-6 K on our old airplanes to replace these instruments. These are the issues that I'm working on with my company, Vintage Airworks. I'm here to support the old airplanes. I very well may take this instrument cluster through the STC process to make it easier and more affordable for other vintage Mooney owners.

The cost of this 6 pack cluster is $792.12 including the 4 new sensors (CHT, Oil temp, Oil pressure, and Amp) and modular prewired rack. It uses the original fuel sending units in our tanks so no need to go into the fuel tanks. The cost of the JPI 930 is $5467 and the EI MVP-50 is $4997 from Aircraft Spruce. These costs are substantially more than I'm willing to put in my 1966 C model. I will be installing this 6 pack gauge cluster and working on the cowling STC project during my upcoming annual in October.

Here's a picture of the brand new 6 pack instrument cluster I'm putting in my 66 C model. Very affordable and with support. It's a nice option versus rebuilding or repairing the old gauges.

I've purchased a brand new 6 pack of gauges from Mitchell instruments and am doing a 337 for the install. No more expensive repairs or problems getting parts. I'll post a picture of the cluster and the P/N's if you're interested?

Hi JimR, I'm listening and any part that can't be acquired anymore is what I'm in business to manufacture and certify where necessary.

I'm looking for a paint scheme software or paint scheme designer to work on a paint scheme for my Mooney. I have pictures of an airplane that I took at Oshkosh that I really like the paint scheme. I would like to get a rendering of how this might look on my airplane.

Hi Dave, I'm not sure at this point if I'll do something like the Lo Presti ram air system. Time will tell as the design process moves forward.

The cowlings should be similar and it would be nice to get one STC to cover them both, but because of the difference between the carbureted and fuel injected inductuction systems it will most likely be two STC's covering the models. I am looking at keeping a plenum/doghouse baffle system for cooling, but plan an access panel to get to the engine lifting point for jacking easier. I believe the plenum and round inlets combination will give the best cooling and performance. Thanks again for the feedback.

The latest news is that it would appear that SWTA does not want to sell their STC. I haven't heard back from them, so it's time to move on. I've had some really great input from several of you following this thread. I'm leaning towards a cowl similar to the James Aircraft and Lo Presti cowl. I plan on doing the C & G models first as I can use my C fot the STC and then the E & F models. I was able to locate a 201 cowling, but am holding off on that for now as the interest is more to the James Aircraft cowling style to upgrade the look and possibly the performance of our older Mooneys. What do you think of the James Aircraft cowling style for the older Mooney's? I'd appreciate your input and ideas before I start the mold making process. Thank you.

Byron, the mounts can be changed in a couple of hours. Hook up the engine hoist and then loosen all four mounts. Lower the engine hoist enough to remove and replace upper mounts. Tighten upper mounts, but not all the way. Now raise the engine hoist and remove and replace the lower mounts. Tighten and torque all four mounts. Remove engine hoist and you are done with the mounts. I did have to grind on a wrench to fit the upper left mount because of the pushrod tube. It isn't hard at all and I highly recommend changing them versus shimming them. If you are going to shim them, why not replace them as they are already worn? Also a good time to start with new mounts with a new engine. Just my .02.

The whole point of my post is that "damage history" is an overused phrase. Is an airplane that is repaired with all factory new parts different than when it rolled out of the factory? The answer is "no". So the relevance of this incident from 36 years ago is nil. It's time to dispell these myths including the "crash while buzzing a house at low altitude".

Is that really that relevant of a question after 36 years?

Hi Rob, That's definitely not Mod Works STC. I'd be very interested to know who's it is or if it was done as a field approval (FAA Form 337). Thank for the pictures you sent me. I definitely have more to go on now.

If I'm correct, Rob's airplane has Mod Works STC# SA00805AT which installs either an IO-360-A3B6 or IO-360-A3B6D and the 201 cowling on the M20C & G models. That would make it essentially a 201 from firewall forward. Mod Works also has/had STC# SA00946AT which installed a 201 cowling on the M20 E&F models. Sure would be nice to find out about STC SA00946AT as that would potentially solve the cowling issue for E's and F's.