Should I grab this abandoned Mooney?

[takair]

1 hour ago, M20FanJesse said:

Haha! I don't have 50k cash at the moment, I don't know where that came from. The family wants to "just want to get rid of it" and asked Rick the mechanic what it would be worth ball park and he said 15-20k maybe. They thought the same so I figured thats about what they will ask for it and about what I could offer them. I know the market for these in working condition (because I window shop way too often) and thought if I put $35k into this $15k plane, I could have a $90k plane for $50k, even if it did take a year to get to that point.

If you can get it for 15-20k I don't see how you can go wrong.  Even if you had to resort to being the Grim Reaper (please don't) you would get your money back, and more.  I thought we were talking of a much higher asking price.  Better hurry now that the numbers are out...

[AlexLev]

I think 18k would be great as long as the airframe is not corroded. Make sure you check the guts of the plane.

[peevee]

21 minutes ago, takair said:

If you can get it for 15-20k I don't see how you can go wrong.  Even if you had to resort to being the Grim Reaper (please don't) you would get your money back, and more.  I thought we were talking of a much higher asking price.  Better hurry now that the numbers are out...

agreed. What's an engine core worth these days? it's not a small amount, then the avionics even dated are worth some bucks, I think the king AP and servos could bring 5k. I'm sure the reaper could tell you to the penny.

[M20FanJesse]

Well luckily you guys don't have the family's contacts 

*Sidenote, some of you guys have been asking for a M20J body tshirt. I can finally say I got to making them! I played around with a few designs. Let me know which one you like best, white outline, transparent color, or full color. I'll make more by request as well! Posted in the t shirt thread also, so requests and ideas can be added to that thread here so we dont get too off track!

Here is the store. $16, all proceeds go to my instrument rating or maybe a mooney!

 

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=w_bl_sl_s_ap_web_7141123011?ie=UTF8&node=7141123011&field-brandtextbin=201MPH+Club+Shirts

Here is the T-Shirt Thread

 

Edited July 26, 2017 by M20FanJesse

[M20FanJesse]

7 minutes ago, AlexLev said:

I think 18k would be great as long as the airframe is not corroded. Make sure you check the guts of the plane.

Guts will be checked for sure. I'll keep everyone updated on things. Haven't looked at the books yet but at lunch I looked in the window and the tach said 552.46

Edited July 26, 2017 by M20FanJesse

[peevee]

3 minutes ago, M20FanJesse said:

Guts will be checked for sure. I'll keep everyone updated on things. Haven't looked at the books yet but at lunch I looked in the window and the tach said 552.46

less type. more purchase.

[LANCECASPER]

Here's some info on the registered owner: 

https://airandspace.si.edu/support/wall-of-honor/wayne-edward-downing-0

http://archive.vcstar.com/news/of-war-and-life-army-couple-served-during-world-war-ii-ep-370222945-350299411.html/

His wife died in 2010. It looks like he's still alive at 97: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/norma-downing-obituary?pid=1000000147604712&view=guestbook

[M20FanJesse]

1 minute ago, LANCECASPER said:

Here's some info on the registered owner: https://airandspace.si.edu/support/wall-of-honor/wayne-edward-downing-0

Woah, F82 pilot among all the other stuff. What a military career

[Bug Smasher]

Wow, he's a true American hero! He certainly knows a thing or two about airplanes and that's surely why he chose a Mooney. I grabbed a couple more of your shirts on Amazon - thanks and well done! Good luck with the plane purchase.

[Skates97]

If you decide to buy it I'll have to hop over for breakfast again at the Waypoint Cafe and meet you to take a look. I'll buy your breakfast.

[Raptor05121]

Jesse, please keep us posted on this. I think this bird would be worthwhile versus my lowly C. You know your financial details better than any of us. This would be quite a great story a year or so from now

[M20FanJesse]

Thanks guys! Right now its a waiting game to hear back from the family. The bad news is  they doesn't know where the keys or log books are for anything. They haven't know their location in 15 years, and say if they are still around, they will be in his house, and apparently he became somewhat of a hoarder or the house became so packed with stuff over the years. They didn't seem confident in finding them but they are looking. You guys will be the first to know of any updates! Someone asked what the interior looks like

Also it was fairly dark when we washed it. You can see in the daylight its more of a light gray and not a white base color.

Edited July 27, 2017 by M20FanJesse

[peevee]

What does the Hobbs say? Lot of wear on the yokes for a plane that's been sitting for so long. little things like the stain on the seat make me question how well cared for it was. Probably nothing to worry about. It'd have to be pretty cheap with no logs. Like, really cheap.

[M20FanJesse]

2 minutes ago, peevee said:

What does the Hobbs say? Lot of wear on the yokes for a plane that's been sitting for so long. 

Hobbs say 950 or something. Tach says 550. Oil is full and clean.

Edited July 27, 2017 by M20FanJesse

[ArtVandelay]

6 minutes ago, M20FanJesse said:

Hobbs say 950 or something. Tach says 550. Oil is full and clean.

That's meaningless, they could have just changed the oil...you need to open it up and check for corrosion.  A corroded spar and you will be parting it out. Pull the spark plugs and borescope it (you can buy one for about $25)

[HRM]

11 minutes ago, M20FanJesse said:

Hobbs say 950 or something. Tach says 550. Oil is full and clean.

Surely there is a Mooney-savvy A&P, CFI or owner (possibly all three) who you could give a hundred bucks (or a few T-shirts) to and have them go over the bird with you for about an hour to get a better idea of what to do next. It really comes down to what to look for and where. There are some immediate things that would scream 'walk away, quickly' as @teejayevans pointed out.

[peevee]

4 minutes ago, teejayevans said:

That's meaningless, they could have just changed the oil...you need to open it up and check for corrosion.  A corroded spar and you will be parting it out. Pull the spark plugs and borescope it (you can buy one for about $25)

The "little old man left the plane to rot" story is a good one but it could be just that. A story.

[M20FanJesse]

2 minutes ago, HRM said:

Surely there is a Mooney-savvy A&P, CFI or owner (possibly all three) who you could give a hundred bucks (or a few T-shirts) to and have them go over the bird with you for about an hour to get a better idea of what to do next. It really comes down to what to look for and where. There are some immediate things that would scream 'walk away, quickly' as @teejayevans pointed out.

The airport mechanic Rick has worked on mooneys frequently, and we can boroscope the engine and look at spark plugs this week when he has time. He wants to get a good look at the spar and frame too. More eyes wouldn't hurt though. Waiting to hear from the family if we need to hire a locksmith. I tried about 5 different mooney keys he had, and none of them worked,damn haha

[peevee]

Can you call Mooney with the serial number and get keys made? I've heard there are only a handful of different keys 

[Raptor05121]

A magneto is simply a switch with tumblers. Can't you just pull it out, wire a new one from AircraftSpruce in?

[jrwilson]

Ok, two shirts ordered, one adult and one child, as promised...  i bet you'll see a big bump in shirt sales now!  You can PM me for my PayPal info for my consulting fee.  Just kidding, I don't even have a paypal account! You can just send me a big check!

[peevee]

19 minutes ago, Raptor05121 said:

A magneto is simply a switch with tumblers. Can't you just pull it out, wire a new one from AircraftSpruce in?

It'd be nice to be able to lock the doors, especially the baggage door. It's the least of his concerns though

[Raptor05121]

Just put a "beware of K9" sticker on the step

[LANCECASPER]

You probably recognize all of the avionics, but just in case . . .

[peevee]

I have never used one of those rnavs, I used to kind of know how back in college but the gns430 had just come out and we had a mix of those and kln89bs .

 

That's the one that works like a course Lin computer yeah? Builds a point to point route based on vor radials, more or less?