BigTex

I've found bolts there as well. Mine were the through bolts that holds the right mag together. My ex A&P disassembled my mag so it would be easier to install it after an IRAN... Never tighten them up.

Could also be the front engine seal. Mine was leaking and had old all over my mags.

When I saw the title of this thread I was sure it was reference to Tony Bingelis' must have book "Firewall Forward." Guess not...

Keep in mind that most well maintained '65 M20C with decent avionics and a well running engine doesn't go for $20k. It's typically closer to the $45K you don't want to spend. As others are saying please get a pre-buy so you know what you're getting into before you push the stack of cash across the table. Maybe you will get lucky and it's just older avionics and a high time engine but again maybe not.

This forum has run this topic into the ground as well. To the OP, check out the Mike Busch webinar "All About Oil." Mike goes into great detail why he specifically tells his clients to not use Aeroshell 15w50. Watch the webinar and draw your own conclusions.

Just pick up flight following and head out over the sound to port Townsend. Then head north up cattle pass into the San Juan's. Those MOAs are almost never hot and if they are ATC will let you know. Kenmore Air flys Beavers out of lake Union (just north of Boeing Field) and they almost never get above a couple of thousand feet. The route I recommended is basically what they do when heading to the San Juan's. The only pucker factor comes with crossing the 26 mile strait.

Your best bet is to call around several insurance companies and ask what they require. When I was shopping for insurance companies, I found that everyone seemed to have different minimums. I use Air Power and they required 10 hours dual and 10 hours solo. I didn't have my complex endorsement when I purchased my plane so don't think you'll need that. There's a chance that you'll be able to find a Mooney for rent somewhere but not likely. The ones I've seen seem to be part of a flying club. If you want to obtain a complex endorsement, I'd look for an Arrow and go that route. Also, don't worry about needing a high performance endorsement as the models you referenced are not high performance aircraft. As for instructors, there are several MAPA PPP instructors that live in the Houston area. When you purchase your Mooney, finding an instructor to provide transition training will not be an issue. Good luck with your search.

Did you see anything unusual with the EGT's or CHT's?

My vote is Monday at 6pm.

I have the 54 gallon Bladders which is perfect as my internal tank isn't good for anything past 3.5 hours. With the wife, I divide those numbers by two.

One additional thing I did was to adjust the cowl flaps so that they open up more than what is called for. In fact they are almost twice what they were originally. I saw about a 5 degree drop after making this adjustment.

The older O-360's with the doghouse baffling just doesn't do a good job cooling on takeoff. You might want to make sure that the baffling around the nose it tucked up into the top half of the cowling. Mine was worn and kept flopping down causing air to be routed over the top of the dog house. One of the tricks is to get to 120 MPH ASAP and then climb out at that speed or even faster if you still have cooling issues. I also on occasion (many disagree with this) I'll reduce RPMs to around 2500 at around 1000 AGL and monitor temps. When temps come down you can bring RPMs back up.

Great... Maybe he'd like to take these things off my hands! It not, I guess I can always power them up in the hangar and use them to heat the place. It's amazing how much heat they generate.

Gnawed we're old....

What's the part number of the unit? Also what year and model did it come out of?

I have a couple PDP-11's in my garage if anyone is interested. . They come complete with original VT-100 terminals.

+1... This my sound harsh but my planes not coming apart for any tire kickers. They are free to look at scanned logbooks, take a test flight (with me) but that's it unless there's a contract and some earnest money put up first. I might be talked into removing the side access panel if they seem serious but that's it. Removing panels, cowling's, seats will only happen at the pre-buy. If that's not acceptable, too bad. This planes not for you.

As Seth said... I was working on my IR in a 180 when I bought my C Model. I ended up putting my Instrument training on hold until I was very comfortable in my plane. If you've not starting your IR training, then get your Mooney and put about 50 hours on it, and then start your IR training. If you're more than half way through your training, continue in your 180.

What's your butt tell you???

This reminds me of the computer business back in the 70's and 80's. Back in the day, there was a computer company call Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). They created what I considered to be the best products by a wide margin with their PDP-11 and VAX systems. Head and shoulders over IBM and HP. The only problem was that they didn't have a marketing organization. It was a company of engineers that thought that the product would sale itself. Only sold through channel partners. When you can guess what happened. IBM and HP ultimately kicked DEC's but by a relentless sales team calling on customers. By the time they realized what was happening, it was too late. The founder stepped down and they brought in a new CEO that was more marketing driven but it was too late. DEC went the way of the dinosaur. Hopefully Mooney can take a lesson from Cirrus and understand you can have the best product but if it's not marketed effectively, you'll be a dinosaur as well.

Not sure I'm following Steve... Maybe you can provide some more details on your concerns with this mounting? It would have to be pretty odd to provide enough negative g loading to release the seat.

I did what Jim mentioned above by using some collars made by Don (Thanks Don!). It works great for me. It sticks out some but not enough to get in the way.

It's my preferred way of using the site. Much faster. I also use it for the EAA and PoA forums.

Give Don Maxwell a call and discuss it with him. Screwing up the gear can be pretty expensive. If for some reason, you have the gear collapse due to something done incorrectly, insurance might not cover it.

Ken, when going from the original Firestone to the Lords, there's more to it than just swapping them out. There is a conversion process you have to do. I'd recommend you work with your nearest MSC to make sure you have it done correctly.