The International Cessna^® 170 Association

Well, according to a few ads that have hit the streets lately, a 170 B with a low time 180 horse engine is now worth upwards of $70K.

Time to get those firewall forward upgrades started. Heck, you could probably sell for a $10K profit the day after you complete one

If a clean 170B is worth 35K and an engine upgrade costs 35K then I guess that'd add up to 70K. But asking prices are still just asking prices. One of the odd things is, that as fuel prices go up, some folks panic and decide to sell. Problem is, the fuel prices depress the sales prices also. Especially with engines that burn higher fuel rates.
I believe that fuel price increases make the orignal airplanes even more valuable. And there's another way to think about fuel price increases: If $2/gal fuel begins to sell for $3/gal...then that's a 50% increase... but if $3/gal fuel begins to sell for $4/gal... that's only a 25% increase! In no time at all, the faster the fuel price increases, the cheaper it becomes to fly!

Airplanes are worth the price that the buyer and seller agree on. Wether that is $35K or $70K, when the cash goes from the buyer's hand to the seller's hand, the value is determined.

Neat thing about auctions is watching people buy items that are just a couple years old and paying more than or equal to new price for it. I wonder if there is a fedral grant available to study this sickness and write a book?

Bill

Well, according to ads in the Anchorage paper recently you could have your choice of several 180's, wheels and floats, priced in the mid-70's.

- paul
'51 170A
'58 180A

George, You are right on. If you carry that decreasing percentage forward at a point they will pay US to buy gasoline. A good practical example of this is my wife was one year younger than me when we were married, Twenty years later she's TEN years younger than me. Go figure.

I understand for operations with floats or ski's the extra HP can be worthwhile. 180 horse is fine if you really need it, but I love the 170 in it's original configuration. Best bang for my buck, with style that is hard to beat! The low operating cost is what helps keep up the value of 100 series Cessna's...

futr_alaskaflyer wrote:Well, according to a few ads that have hit the streets lately, a 170 B with a low time 180 horse engine is now worth upwards of $70K.

Time to get those firewall forward upgrades started. Heck, you could probably sell for a $10K profit the day after you complete one

I think your numbers are way too optimistic. If a good clean 170B is worth $35K (maybe more) with a timed out stock engine, then add the Del-Air 180 hp STC $9500, new Lyc O-360A1A $25K, prop and gov. $8K, and installation labor $5K+, you will have about $85K in the plane. You will be in the hole $15-20K on the conversion IMHO. Personally, that's why I decided to overahual the old C-145....

Bruce

I agree with 4stripes.

The 170 (170, A or B whatever) with the stock engine is relatively economical and has real cool factor just the way it is. I would not do a conversion, however, buying one with the conversion already done for a reasonable price is not a bad option. Reasonable price being determined between buyer and seller.

If I wanted that kind of performance, I would look for a 180.

When looking for a 170, I didn't find a good clean one for 35K. IMNHO that would be a good buy, even with a run out engine. For 35K all I found for 170s that were still flying, were planes that needed everything rebuilt to make them nice. For economical flying, there is nothing wrong with a 35K 170 with a run out engine, as long as it is air worthy and not a nickel dimer. (for airplanes that actually $500 $1000s) Just buy it and fly it. It also makes a big difference as to whether or not you are a mechanic with spare time compared to having to hire everything done.

Bill

Just ran acrossed a good deal on a 0-360 A4J. Is this a compatable engine model for a conversion?? If not, which ones are approved other than the A1A. Thanks.

Joe
4518C

I fly a 170 with the 180 conversion. I like the extra power and the burn rate is still much better than the Cessna 180. The 145 is a dog if you ever want to put it on floats.
As for cost- they're not cheap. I wouldn't sell mine under 70k
But I guess everyone has their own preference

Well, my first post at the top was somewhat sarcastic, but I see JamesOrr's point.

Ignoring gross weight for a moment, why would you want a C-180 over a 180hp 170? Similar performance, almost same cabin size, and less fuel burn than a O-470?

Yes, yes, useful load. But is that it?

How's about stab trim and power baby power! There's no subsitute if on floats.

The C180 is faster.
I've been mulling over the 170/180hp upgrade, vs buying a C180. I agree it makes more sense on paper to buy a C180, but you can't buy a C180 with a brand new motor and prop on it for $80K. There's lots of beater C180s out there in the $70K-80K range but they have all got high time motors/props/airframes. Add a $30,000 rebuild plus shop fees to the price of one of those planes and now you're looking at $100K-110K. Lastly don't forget with a C180 you get to add that "high performance" rating on your license, the swelling of your pride will be offset by the thinning of your wallet as the insurance companies clean you out.
The only upgrade that really pencils out on paper is a C182, insurance is cheaper, the fleet is newer, and they can be had in good condition for $70K+ but I don't really want to fly one, and I really love my C170.

There's a reason for that big, square tail on a 180/185. Additional weight and horsepower up front require more tail to stabilize it. Extreme example: GeeBee.

I guess we all want something different, big surprise. If we all wanted the same plane, the world would have had one manufacturer, it would have made one model, all the same color.

No doubt it would be a C170B.

I agree that a 170 with 180hp is a great plane. I do believe that I would look for a C180 before I would do a conversion. Buying a 170 with the conversion already in it would be hard to pass up.

I'm talking in circles time to fly.

Bill