Mod Works Inc.

[Sabremech]

I'm looking for information about Mod Works Inc. Who were the principals and what happened to the company? 

Thanks, 

 

[gregwatts]

I believe Mod Works was at VNC in florida but got wiped out by a hurricane. If I am not mistaken, Coy Jacobs once played a role in that company. They did a lot of modifications to the older models.

[Bennett]

Duplicate - Sorry

[Bennett]

As I recall (20 years or so ago), Coy Jacobs was the principal owner of the Mod Works at Punta Gorda in Florida, and they did the Trophy 261 conversion, and held a host of STCs for nodfying Mooneys. At some point I believe Coy left the Mod Works and formed a competing company: the Mod Squad. who also did Mooney modifications, repair and service, as well as interiors and painting. Again by memory, Tim Combs became the principal at the Mod Works, which I believe stayed in Punta Gorda.  I had work done by both entities.  If you want a perhaps biassed history you might want to contact Coy Jacobs at Mooney Mart, his new company.  The Mod Works was essentially destroyed in a hurricane, with much damage to a number of aircraft being serviced there.

[Steve65E-NC]

They had a really nice paint shop.  Lots of interesting mods.  I did not have work done but stopped in several times.  I think I talked to Kevin who went on to other interesting things.  After Coy, things were great for a time.  Then I think management over-reached.  Seems like a pretty girl might have been part of the equation.  The hurricane made a real mess.  Many of the existing Porsche Mooneys were there to be converted over to lycoming and were destroyed.  After the hurricane we just heard no more.  Too bad as they held a number of interesting STCs.  I have no idea what happened to the ownership of those STCs.  

[Sabremech]

Thanks guys for the info. I'm interested in finding the owner of the STC's.

[fantom]

Partners, Coy and Tim Koons had a falling out about twenty years ago and Tim bought him out including a two year non-compete. Mod Works did have a fine paint shop. After the two years and some litigation over the new name IIRC, Coy founded the Mod Squad.

Hurricane in 2005 destroyed the Mod Works paint shop and did serious damage to their hanger. All planes were damaged, and after several weeks further damaged and butchered for parts and avionics. If was gut wrenching to see. 

Several of the Mod Works STC's made it out but the bulk of them are so tied up in litigation they will probably never see the light of day, even as more than a few people tried to pry them loose.

Good luck, David.

[jetdriven]

There was an issue of MOA where all those Porsche PFM's there getting coverted were all destroyed. The article said that Modworks did not have hangar-keepers insurance and many of those planes were uncovered losses, as the owners dropped insurtance for the half year ot took to do the conversion.   Many of the owners had paid for the conversion in full as well.  What a total disaster.

[fantom]

I brought in supplies several days after the hurricane and most of the Mooneys were far from "destroyed". A week or two later most were damaged beyond repair. PFM owners were required to leave sizable deposits and Porsche paid Mod Works in advance or so I was told. MOA, i.e. Coy, was not a disinterested party either.

A very ugly affair.

[Bennett]

Really a shame to hear the details of the post hurricane disaster.  By that time I was taking my Mooney to LASAR for additionals mods and servicing.  I do remember Kevin as being a pretty good guy, and my relationships with both Coy and Tim (sorry about the earlier spelling of  Koons), was actually quite good. This was all twenty five or more years ago.  Late 1980s, early 1990s. Both shops did good work, especially paint and avionics. I have no idea why things went so badly thereafter. Many if not most of their mods to my 261 (231 converted by Mod Works) were done under STCs.  I sold that aircraft many years ago, and I have no record of those STCs, which might have provided a bit of helpful information. 

[Steve65E-NC]

Wonder why Tim did not post a guard over the fleet.  This sort of thing is not hard to anticipate after a hurricane.  If I had left an aircraft there and it was damaged by looters, I would have held the owner "personally" liable.

[jetdriven]

I'm sure many did, but if they split town or have no assets.....

[RJBrown]

mod works was crooked as hell. they charged my insurance company for the replacement of wing panels that had been hail damaged but only repaired them with bondo. After we discovered the problems I contacted Coy Jacobs at Mooney Mart. When I did The same individual I was ripped off by at Mod Works answered the phone at Mooney Mart. I feel than the two companies were cut from the same cloth. Any association with either company is enough reason for Me to avoid any one. Too many rotton apples too close for it to be coincidence.

[Steve65E-NC]

As I recall.  There was a pretty girl somewhere in the equation.  An aerospace engineer or some such.  Romance implied or inferred.   I have always wondered what the scoop was.  Can anyone give a brief? 

[jetdriven]

That would get you every time.

[fantom]

Koons, who was a forward thinking dreamer, if not a hands on shop boss, did have two German aeronautical engineers working for him, one an attractive female. But this was in the early 2000's, well after his breaking up with Coy.

[Steve65E-NC]

I thought we were focused on the horrible end and the confusion over STC ownership.  The stuff with Coy and that early break-up is pretty well established.  That is unless Coy still had a debt interest at the end, which I never heard about.  "Ser che la femme (sp?)" is the interesting part.  And, may do more to bring us to current STC status.  

[N33GG]

Quote: Steve65E-NC

I thought we were focused on the horrible end and the confusion over STC ownership.  The stuff with Coy and that early break-up is pretty well established.  That is unless Coy still had a debt interest at the end, which I never heard about.  "Ser che la femme (sp?)" is the interesting part.  And, may do more to bring us to current STC status.  

[Mac201]

Does anyone know the role that Bob Mier had in Mod Works?

[Farmboy561]

Bob was partner with Coy prior to Mod Works. There wasn't a modified Mooney until Coy modified the first one. I was part of the original Mod Works team designing the mods and getting field approvals by FAA for the STC's. Some of your stories are accurate but some are not. Too much for me to write in an old post like this, but I was there as one of the major mechanics through it all. Kevin Surrell has passed and so has Coy. I still am in touch with Tim and Coy's daughters. Also a few of the original mechanics. We are all older now and have moved on.

[Minivation]

39 minutes ago, Farmboy561 said:

Bob was partner with Coy prior to Mod Works. There wasn't a modified Mooney until Coy modified the first one. I was part of the original Mod Works team designing the mods and getting field approvals by FAA for the STC's. Some of your stories are accurate but some are not. Too much for me to write in an old post like this, but I was there as one of the major mechanics through it all. Kevin Surrell has passed and so has Coy. I still am in touch with Tim and Coy's daughters. Also a few of the original mechanics. We are all older now and have moved on.

Welcome @Farmboy561 to the forum, and thanks for the follow-up!

I've been flying a friend's Trophy 221ES conversion M20J and have been intrigued by the volumes and volumes of STCs the modification involved. The specimen I fly was converted in early 2000 and includes the Continental IO-360, speed fairings/seals, composite instrument panel, long-range tanks and the rest of the modification menu. This is the first Mooney I've actually flown seriously (I had a few minutes of stick time in short-bodies, but they were all when I was riding along on maintenance flights) and I realize that it's quite an oddball to get my first Mooney experience in, but it's been a great bird.

Always wanted to ask ... what was the intent/rationale behind the Continental IO-360 conversion, as opposed to using a Lycoming IO-360? My best assumption is that the 6-cylinder Continental runs smoother than the 4-cylinder Lycoming, and the additional 10hp gives it a slight edge during takeoff.

 

[ArtVandelay]

The most impressive thing about Modworks is the number of STCs they were able to push through. Too bad they never did a STC to increase the gross weight.

[MisfitSELF]

I think they had an STC for the Lo-Profile landing gear doors.  I think Mod Works originally owned the STC.

I'd definitely be interested in getting those (or at least the STC) for my M20J.  I've spoke to the FAA and tried "abandoned STC" route but that only helps you if you had the STC/mod in the first and need to make repairs or replacement.

Anybody have a clue as to if this STC is available elsewhere?

Thanks,

Bruce

[RJBrown]

4 hours ago, Minivation said:

Welcome @Farmboy561 to the forum, and thanks for the follow-up!

Always wanted to ask ... what was the intent/rationale behind the Continental IO-360 conversion, as opposed to using a Lycoming IO-360? My best assumption is that the 6-cylinder Continental runs smoother than the 4-cylinder Lycoming, and the additional 10hp gives it a slight edge during takeoff.

The 6 cylinder conversion was for the K models. The “Trophy 262” brought the 252 improvements to the 231.

 

Edited February 17, 2021 by RJBrown

[Minivation]

25 minutes ago, RJBrown said:

The 6 cylinder conversion was for the K models. The “Trophy 262” brought the 252 improvements to the 231

I think we're talking two different Trophy packages here. I'm not sure what exactly the Trophy 262 package entailed, but the package installed on the J model I fly is dubbed the "Trophy 221ES" and brings a normally-aspirated Continental IO-360-ES to replace the standard Lycoming IO-360 (whereas the M20K came from the factory with turbocharged Continental TSIO-360's, albeit with some differences between the 231 and 252). What's perplexing is that in the AMFS for the Continental conversion, the text specifically says "Speed and range are unchanged with the Continental 10-360 ES installed" with regards to cruise performance.

Edited February 17, 2021 by Minivation