Ever thought about buying a salvage Mooney?

[aerochet]

I have been watching the gear-up/off field landings that are being sold as salvage. I was thinking of bidding on a plane (doesn't have to be a Mooney) just for the avionics, selling the more valuable things and scrapping the leftover. I think you can buy a 60s era Mooney that will never fly again for about $10k. I think you should be able to sell the valuable components for more than that. Any thoughts?

[LANCECASPER]

If you know how to disassemble it, transport it, store it and then have the patience to sell it part by part. If it was easy everyone would be doing it. If you're bidding more than the people who know what they are doing in this business you're probably paying too much. I can think of a lot less painful ways to make or lose money. 

[EricJ]

This is essentially what the salvage companies do, so, yes, it can be done. 

[Marauder]

This is what Alan Fox (the Grime Reaper) does. I think often he scraps a fair amount of scrap aluminum because it is either damaged or just too long to move.

Back in the periods when Mooney was having issues, I entertained buying a scrap F model for parts. Sort of what I did for my 1974 Fiat. But the number of times I would have ending up dipping into that pile would have turned out to be very infrequent.

With the exception of some specific airframe components, most of the engine and avionics are available.

I think if you looked into it, having volume and willing to wait to move a lot of stuff is probably the reality.


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[RobertGary1]

Challenge I see if that once you sell off the expensive parts the remainder may be a liability that could cost you money to get rid of. 

[Hank]

Didn't someone buy a scrap J to update his own Quadrant to Push-Pull? Seems he used a lot of parts from the panel, nose gear well, etc., but had many many parts left over. @scottfromiowa? Wonder whatever happened to the leftovers?

[mooniac15u]

1 hour ago, Hank said:

Didn't someone buy a scrap J to update his own Quadrant to Push-Pull? Seems he used a lot of parts from the panel, nose gear well, etc., but had many many parts left over. @scottfromiowa? Wonder whatever happened to the leftovers?

I think you're talking about @KSMooniac.

[KSMooniac]

I think you're talking about [mention=6924]KSMooniac[/mention].

Yeah, that was me. The salvage I bought had the TN system for a J on it, which was my primary motivation. Secondary to that, I used it to build spares for my own support, and upgrades to improve my 77 such as the rear bucket seats, throttle quadrant-ectomy/linear engine control upgrade, later overhead vent system, etc. So far all I've done is the engine controls!

I sold what I didn't need, and scrapped the mangled wings for barely enough to buy a case or two of nice beer. I made money on the whole deal after a couple of years if I count my labor as $0/hr. That was fine with me because now I have free spares and upgrades, and learned a ton about the airframe. You have to have space and patience, and field inquires, box and ship stuff, etc.

That was the first one I bid on, and I inspected in person and found value in details that weren't listed by the insurance company, and most importantly, confirmed the crank on the 200 hr engine was bent so much the prop wouldn't rotate. That enabled me to outbid the salvage companies... But I don't know by how much. I bid on 2 or 3 more later, and even visited one, but didn't win those. YMMV

I would do it again if a salvage had something I wanted, like a GFC500 autopilot, G3X, etc. With enough effort it might work out in my favor. If I needed an engine, maybe finding a hail damaged total might work too. Patience is required, as well as transportation and storage logistical support.

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[Guest]

5 hours ago, Hank said:

Didn't someone buy a scrap J to update his own Quadrant to Push-Pull? Seems he used a lot of parts from the panel, nose gear well, etc., but had many many parts left over. @scottfromiowa? Wonder whatever happened to the leftovers?

That’s a name form the past.  Has anyone heard from him?  He hasn’t posted in a long time.

Clarence

[Aerodon]

2 hours ago, M20Doc said:

That’s a name form the past.  Has anyone heard from him?  He hasn’t posted in a long time.

Clarence

I think he moved to KS and had to change his name.

[carusoam]

2 hours ago, M20Doc said:

That’s a name form the past.  Has anyone heard from him?  He hasn’t posted in a long time.

Clarence

Scott hasn’t been here since about January 6, a year ago…

He was getting closer to figuring out his Missile’s high CHT challenge… probably FF for the IO550 that was better known after the Screamin’ Eagle was developed…

 

Note for Aerochet…

If you have the experience of buying and selling used machines… go for it

If you have the experience of rebuilding old cars… go for it

 

Know there is competition…

it is hard to sell parts to anyone… when there is a known group of resellers doing the same thing….

Everybody is looking for references when buying expensive parts through the internets….

We have three common sources of parts around here… people go there first…

When it comes to a plane that is being parted out… it only takes a few weeks before most of the known parts are gone… nobody comes back to see what is left…

So….

If you haven’t actively sold small parts before… constantly updating what you have… adjusting prices to make them go…

 

What would be the upside of having dough tied up this way?

I haven’t bought many airframe parts that are typical of a GU landing, or running into fences, or hangar rash….

 

The Mooney world would appreciate it if you keep an inventory of used parts….

You can make many friends this way…

-a-

[KSMooniac]

More thoughts... The used parts most in demand are for gear-ups, hangar rash, and hail IMO. Newer props without AD's or non-damaged engines are also desirable. Unfortunately many of those get damaged in the event that totals our old planes! Fortunately the factory is still making parts, although some patience may be necessary. Others are aftermarket like LASAR nose gear parts.

Newer avionics are always sellable quickly, and I suspect most salvage planes sell for maybe 75-80% of the value of avionics and easy parts that can be sold in a month or two.

There is much lower demand for legacy autopilot parts... 10 years ago a KFC 200 computer with a good altitude board might've been worth $3-5k, but now I see entire used systems trying to sell for 2k.

Modern Mooney seats will sell quickly since they're retrofittable, but there are few fewer examples of those planes in the wild, much less up for salvage bids, compared to vintage models. Newer yokes and shafts sell quickly as an upgrade and AD-delete improvement.

At the end, you'll end up with a pile of miscellaneous... I tend to hoard things with value (or without value if you ask my wife). A couple months ago I sold the plastic vent bezel from my old center console that I removed with my throttle quadrant for $30. It sat in a box in my hangar, garage, and attic for 7-8 years before someone else needed it. I'm sure he was happy to get a good part. I'm happy to help other Mooney fans, even if I still need to go to work every day.

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[1980Mooney]

On 2/3/2022 at 5:32 PM, M20Doc said:

That’s a name form the past.  Has anyone heard from him?  He hasn’t posted in a long time.

Clarence

He was banned several times for his political posts…the one about “Little Timmy”, etc. He changed his name several times “Mynameisnobody”, Missile=Awesome, Missileflyer”, ..

He is still in Cedar Rapids, Iowa flying N989TG, a Missile conversion of a J. 

He may be lurking around here under another alias.  
 

Edited February 6, 2022 by 1980Mooney

[Guest]

7 hours ago, 1980Mooney said:

He was banned several times for his political posts…the one about “Little Timmy”, etc. He changed his name several times “Mynameisnobody”, Missile=Awesome, Missileflyer”, ..

He is still in Cedar Rapids, Iowa flying N989TG, a Missile conversion of a J. 

He may be lurking around here under another alias.  
 

I know he’s gone by a few different names here.  It’s too bad that he and some other notables don’t stop by anymore.

Clarence