Hradec Posted April 17, 2019 Report Share Posted April 17, 2019 Hi. I'm new to the forum. Been lurking while I sort of fell into a 64 m20e basket case. I have spent the last few weeks inspecting the aircraft before purchase. I am A&P , very little experience in GA, been at American airlines for most of my career. This aircraft was fairly well maintained up until several years ago when prev owner got tired of costly thorough annuals.after nearly a decade of short cut annuals, The owner got what he paid for. Now he had a basket case on his hands and I got it for a bargain.....I think. It is currently 4 yrs out of annual. Plan on going through the whole aircraft and bring it up to a safe condition. I visited the Mooney center in New Jersey. The guys there were great, gave me tips and a lot of confidence to move fwd with this plane. I dont have a pilots license, I'm 10 hrs into my training in a 172. I'm in the Chicago area, aircraft is currently at KLOT Louis univ airport. It's parked under the canopy is out there, feel free to stop by and chat I will be out there a lot trying to resurrect this aircraft. Glenn Villa park, IL 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marauder Posted April 17, 2019 Report Share Posted April 17, 2019 Hi. I'm new to the forum. Been lurking while I sort of fell into a 64 m20e basket case. I have spent the last few weeks inspecting the aircraft before purchase. I am A&P , very little experience in GA, been at American airlines for most of my career. This aircraft was fairly well maintained up until several years ago when prev owner got tired of costly thorough annuals.after nearly a decade of short cut annuals, The owner got what he paid for. Now he had a basket case on his hands and I got it for a bargain.....I think. It is currently 4 yrs out of annual. Plan on going through the whole aircraft and bring it up to a safe condition. I visited the Mooney center in New Jersey. The guys there were great, gave me tips and a lot of confidence to move fwd with this plane. I dont have a pilots license, I'm 10 hrs into my training in a 172. I'm in the Chicago area, aircraft is currently at KLOT Louis univ airport. It's parked under the canopy is out there, feel free to stop by and chat I will be out there a lot trying to resurrect this aircraft. Glenn Villa park, IL Glenn, good luck with the project. With your A&P, you’ll be able to do a lot of the work yourself saving a sizable amount of money that a non-A&P would pay guys like the Air Mod folks.I would concentrate on the airframe health first. I’m sure Dave, Shane or Eric told you where to look for Mooney killers like the wing spar or tubular frame. If the airframe is healthy, then working through the issues will be nothing more than time and money. And oh yeah, get that pilot’s license! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_Havelka Posted April 17, 2019 Report Share Posted April 17, 2019 Pics or it never happened . Good luck and you will find that there is a plethora of information and many individuals willing to step up and give someone some help around here. Look forward to seeing updates on this 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hradec Posted April 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2019 The airframe needs a bit of work, but Shane gave me the confidence that I could manage it myself. Focus for now is cleaning it up(nests and poop in the tail), accessing the airframe, going over the rods and rod ends. Lubricate everything, acf50 I don't know when I'm going to have time to do my flight training. Very excited about working on this bird. Glenn 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steingar Posted April 17, 2019 Report Share Posted April 17, 2019 Always a nice thing to see someone resurrect an old Mooney. Hope you can find a hangar, or you'll find your restoration season somewhat on the short side. Gets a mite nippy up that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DXB Posted April 17, 2019 Report Share Posted April 17, 2019 31 minutes ago, Hradec said: The airframe needs a bit of work, but Shane gave me the confidence that I could manage it myself. Focus for now is cleaning it up(nests and poop in the tail), accessing the airframe, going over the rods and rod ends. Lubricate everything, acf50 I don't know when I'm going to have time to do my flight training. Very excited about working on this bird. Glenn Its great to see qualified folks taking on these challenging projects. You’ve already gone to the right folks in Robbinsville for advice. There are a few folks here with similar expertise who are generous with their knowledge (eg Clarence @M20Cdoc) to help you along. Many of us can’t help much but will enjoy learning from your growing Mooney experience if you keep posting. Now go get that PPL!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonal Posted April 17, 2019 Report Share Posted April 17, 2019 Congrats on the E looks like was likely made the same month or so as our D. Make lots of posts on both your PPL and restoration progress. Best of luck on the journey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtVandelay Posted April 17, 2019 Report Share Posted April 17, 2019 If you haven’t already, pull the interior and some of the inspection plates, verify the spar is in good shape, and check the steel frame. Corrosion is a major concern for planes that have been sitting outside.Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1964-M20E Posted April 17, 2019 Report Share Posted April 17, 2019 Good looking E model congrats and like others have siad get you PPL. Get you E airworthy with basic avionics necessary and finish your PPL in the E model very doable and you will get to know the plane very well. Then you can start looking at modifications and improvements to your E. My first plane was a 64 E great planes and it was just 2 planes after yours, N6943U, SN 313, so just guessing your SN should be 311? Unfortunately my E was flooded in a hurricane and the insurance company totaled it. I don't have to tell you order of importance but here it is anyway. JMHO 1. airframe 2. power plant 3. upgrade avionics 4. cosmetics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hradec Posted April 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2019 Yes serial#311 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hradec Posted April 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2019 The engine has under 700 hrs. Prop was overhauled not too long ago and thanks were resealed. I know I have to look at everything again because it's been sitting, but for now I think the airframe has been quite neglected and I have a little bit of catching up to do with that. Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 17, 2019 Report Share Posted April 17, 2019 It’s great to see another classic Mooney being saved. As others have said corrosion is the real killer of these airframes. Aluminum spar caps seem to get bad inter granular corrosion and the steel tubular structure corrodes from leaking windows and leaking wing seals. Before getting to far along, open all the wing inspection panels and pull the interior. Do an internet search for “Just learned my C model is junk” it’s the sad tale of a C model with corroded spars. Good luck with your project! Clarence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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