J3C Value

N1277D · Post by **N1277D** » Wed May 18, 2005 9:15 pm

Here is an off topic question, any idea what a J3C is valued at; current condition - found in a barn in Idaho, all parts no damage, C90; was a ranch plane used to find lost cows. It was taken apart for recover and they never got around to finishing it, been that way for 20 years. Now they need to move and have no room for it.

Jr.CubBuilder · Post by **Jr.CubBuilder** » Wed May 18, 2005 9:18 pm

Ummmm, I'll be glad to put it in my shop.

Wed May 18, 2005 10:30 pm

As with any aircraft there is so many things to consider and it's very hard not actually seeing the condition. Haven't looked at Cub prices lately but I would be surprised to se a fresh nice restoration with a C90 for $35K

Figure you need about $6000 to rebuild the C90. Covering if you do it will be about $4000. Pay some one to cover it might be triple that. Figure another $3500 for tires, tubes, brakes, seat cushions, instrument overhaul etc.

How about the paperwork? How do yo know it's complete? How does the airframe look? Does it need any repairs?

With out much more though I'm thinking $8K to 10K if its complete and other than the covering and engine in good shape. I could be all wet though.

N1277D · Post by **N1277D** » Wed May 18, 2005 10:58 pm

That was a rough price range I had also. I did a quick check on Trade-a-Plane for J3s and they sure have increased in value. The last time I checked they were in the low 20's range, now they are in the mid 30s.

I have not seen the airframe, engine, and logs but am going to look them over in a few days.

jrenwick · Post by **jrenwick** » Thu May 19, 2005 3:17 am

The reason they keep going up is that if you start with a project plane, you'll never be able to get back what you've got in it after you're done restoring it. The best deal is most likely the cherry one for $35K.

Otherwise, do the project, don't ever add up what it cost, and don't ever sell it! That's what I did, 30-odd years ago.

John

Thu May 19, 2005 12:38 pm

I agree with John. If you just want a nice J3 buy the finished one. If a project and education in the art of building an antique aircraft is more to your liking then a good J3 project is the way to go.

BTW while there are experts in all things J3 and there is a Club there is nothing on the web like this site to get instant answers on the J3. And you will have questions because there ISN'T ANY assembly or maintenance manual.

jrenwick · Post by **jrenwick** » Thu May 19, 2005 1:39 pm

N9149A wrote:BTW while there are experts in all things J3 and there is a Club there is nothing on the web like this site to get instant answers on the J3. And you will have questions because there ISN'T ANY assembly or maintenance manual.

The club's web site is at http://www.cub-club.com , and they have really vast amounts of published information, Piper drawings, 337s, etc., available. On-line, you can also join http://groups.yahoo.com/group/piper-cub-builders . Newbies with questions there are often told to purchase and peruse the back issues of the Cub Club newsletter for articles on their subject, because almost everything about building and maintaining J3s and other Cubs has been covered (and indexed) at one time or another over the last 10-15 years.

That doesn't include valuation.

Best Regards,

John

jrenwick · Post by **jrenwick** » Thu May 19, 2005 1:56 pm

I should also have mentioned the j3-cub.com web site, which has a forum similar to ours: http://www.j3-cub.com/forum/index.php

Best Regards,

John

zero.one.victor · Post by **zero.one.victor** » Thu May 19, 2005 4:36 pm

I'm intrigued by the Legends Cub which is/will be produced down in Texas. They had a exhibit at S&F I guess. Basically it's like a PA-11 or actually an early PA-18 with 4" wider fuselage,O-200 powerplant, and an electrical system. They're shooting for a base price of around $65K (more for extra's). That's for a brand-spanking-new airplane! If they can meet that target price, they're gonna get a lot of orders.

Eric

Post by **Bruce Fenstermacher** » Thu May 19, 2005 8:26 pm

John and all. I've just looked at the sites you just listed other than the yahoo site and they are very new. It's about time.

BTW I have all the Cub Club newsletters. Event with the index it'll take you about 10 hours to find something your looking for. I'm about to dig into them right know looking for the torque for the tapered prop hub and if I'm lucky I'll find the tension for the aileron cables that I never did find last time I spent 10 hours rereading them.

I'm also very surprised to see the Cub Club site which seems to indicate that at some time in the future members will be able to download 337s and blueprints. Hope that happens but unlike the TIC170A which only charges a $1 or $2 for these things the Cub club isn't afraid to charge $5, $10 or more for things that where donated to them.

zero.one.victor · Post by **zero.one.victor** » Fri May 20, 2005 5:33 pm

The March 2005 issue of Vintage Airplane magazine, the EAA/Vintage Division (aka Vintage Aircraft Assn) publication, has a good article on how to R&R the prop from a tapered shaft Continental like the A65. The authors state that the procedures were taken from the Luscombe & Cub Club newsletters. Pretty good stuff with regards to how to make a tool which enables you to use a torque wrench on installation, instead of just hanging your body weight on a cheater bar as I recently watched someone do.
BTW, the article sez the hub locking nut should be incrementally torqued to 200-225 foot-pounds, and that bolts for wooden props should be incrementally torqued to 16-19 foot-pounds.

Eric

rudymantel · Post by **rudymantel** » Fri May 20, 2005 8:00 pm

Cubs are good lttle airplanes- my first flying job was instructng in J-3's from Stinson Field in San Antono. My second job, (summers while in college) was crop dustng in 90 hp J-3's, carrying 400 lbs of dust in a rear hopper. The 90 hp and metal prop made a huge improvement in performance.

But for my money, I'd rather own and fly an Aeronca Champ any day.
Rudy

Vermont170 · Post by **Vermont170** » Fri May 20, 2005 9:21 pm

Try Supercub.org There are some pretty knowledgable Cub folks there.