The International Cessna^® 170 Association

So did anyone buy this? Would like to follow the restoration if it happens.

Yes there is a new owner. We don't know him. Maybe he'll show up here.

I have to say WOW what a find. The interior of this aircraft is what I remeber mine to be before dad had it recovered in the 70's. I am going to be redoing mine in a gray and green leather, and would like to be as close to the original design as possible. Please take as many pictures as you can.
As for my two cents worth of advice. What to what to watch for is. The fabric on the wings, even if it was last done in seconite will be worth taking a very close look at, even seconite will rot with time and ultra violet light. The reinforcing tapes that would have been used back then would still have been cotton. It looks like the aircraft was stored in a open shelter so there is a very goon chance that the mice have been into the insulation. I once removed a nest that took up the space between the floor and belly. The person that ends up with this aircraft is going to have a lot of work to do but will end up with a very nice 170.

As promised. Interior shots of this very original 170.

Because I'm casually in the market (precursor to becoming serious in the market), I have a daily obsession with checking Barnstormers. Thought you guys might be interested to see this:

http://www.barnstormers.com/classified_ ... +170+.html

True, we encourage a capitalist economy, but knowing what the guy bought it for, makes me sick, personally. At least do something to it before turning it around for that price...

Ray

Bruce Fenstermacher wrote: So after starting the bidding at $15K the auctioneer finally got a bid at $3500. It moved pretty quick to near $5000 when the bidding died. But a late bidder then took it to $6300 and dropped out with the winning bid being $6400. I think there were only 4 people who placed a bid out of the crowd there.

gahorn wrote:

3958v wrote:...I talked briefly with the buyer ...he indicated that he intended to restore it. Bill K

Yaaayyyyyyy!!

I agree with you Ray.

(I will offer a caveat about this sort of thing however..... when my grandmother's estate was auctioned off ...(there were so many distant-relatives that could lay claim to it if it was ever in an inheritance that it would be a nightmare to probate the will, so legal advice was to auction it off while Grandmaw was still alive).... it included 800 acres of prime, 100+ year old pine forest which a large lumber company thought they'd steal, when the bidding stalled-out at $10/acre. Without our fore-knowlege, a high-school-mate of my mother was in the crowd and bid $2 more...at which the bidding became earnest between the stranger and the big company. When the bid finally reached $45/acre the stranger dropped out and Weyerhauser found themselves the owners. After the auction, the "stranger" came up and said "Hello" to my Mom who'd not seen him in 40 years. When she asked him why he was interested in the property he replied, "Ruth...I can't afford that property, but I couldn't bear to see a big company like that steal it from your family at $10/acre."

I wonder if, since the barnstormer-seller is also from PA...if he isn't a friend of the family who was merely trying to assure a higher-than-give-away price for that airplane...the family figuring they could always offer it on the open market.

George, you may have hit the nail on the head. Trouble is for most of us, the selling price at the auction was a bit high considering the work we'd like to see just so we consider it airworthy, not even restored.

If I read the ad and traveled any distance to see the plane based on his description of the plane I would be very unhappy. I would never consider an airframe with two panels damaged by a bullet to be spotless. While the interior was original it certainly was probably only of value to some one trying to duplicate it in a restoration. I could go on and on but I will be surprised if he ever gets more than half his asking price. Bill K

Is he trying to sell that airplane as-is for 21K?

Is he nuts, or has he not taken a look at the rest of the 170 market?

Bill, I had the same thoughts. Should we mention the heater "improvements" to the cowl.

A "clean" airframe can have many meanings as we know. From what I could see through the few open inspection holes there was nothing that I saw that would put this airframe in a "dirty" category though there was enough evidence that there may be some trouble spots. You've got to believe there was mice in the place and we know what mice leave, corrosion.

If I traveled any distance to see the plane and it was the type of plane I wanted ie original, I'd only be disappointed in the price. If one could spend a day inspecting and still found no corrosion, I can't see it being worth any more that $10K clean and that is probably a stretch.

gahorn wrote:I agree with you Ray.

(I will offer a caveat about this sort of thing however..... when my grandmother's estate was auctioned off ...(there were so many distant-relatives that could lay claim to it if it was ever in an inheritance that it would be a nightmare to probate the will, so legal advice was to auction it off while Grandmaw was still alive).... it included 800 acres of prime, 100+ year old pine forest which a large lumber company thought they'd steal, when the bidding stalled-out at $10/acre. Without our fore-knowlege, a high-school-mate of my mother was in the crowd and bid $2 more...at which the bidding became earnest between the stranger and the big company. When the bid finally reached $45/acre the stranger dropped out and Weyerhauser found themselves the owners. After the auction, the "stranger" came up and said "Hello" to my Mom who'd not seen him in 40 years. When she asked him why he was interested in the property he replied, "Ruth...I can't afford that property, but I couldn't bear to see a big company like that steal it from your family at $10/acre."

I wonder if, since the barnstormer-seller is also from PA...if he isn't a friend of the family who was merely trying to assure a higher-than-give-away price for that airplane...the family figuring they could always offer it on the open market.

$45 per acre That would've made an airport. How long ago was that George?

It was awhile ago... 1968 or '69. The friend remarked that the heavily-timbered land (in Murfreesboro County, AR) was probably work a lot more, as even raw-desert was selling for more than $45/acre at the time. He estimated that over $80K/acre in timber should have harvested off the place. I've seen the land again in about 2000 and it was all ready to be harvested again in cultivated pine.
Life is short...and I was a slow learner.