The International Cessna^® 170 Association

Hello everybody ,I'm a new member and I 'm looking to buy for a Cessna 170 better if B model.
this plane http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... AUS%3A1123

She has several thing that I like. Almost a new engine,175 wings with extra fuel,no paint (I would like a polished one) poor avionics ( so I can install a more modern one) and a right price.

What I do not like is that the plane was totally destroyed back in the sixties and damaged again more recently,based on FAA database, and I read how hard is to have properly installed the 175 wings.

The owner says that the engine was rebuilt from a a/p that teach to the local college .
Maybe you guys knows more about it .
Thanks

IMO, If you want to fly, buy the best airplane you can possibly afford and fly it.
If you want to work on airplanes, buy the cheapest one that looks half decent and work on it.
By the time you finish this one, you could have bought one finished.

Just my opinion and 81D is my first airplane.
BUT, all the things I was willing to overlook when I bought her; I have since replaced, rewired or overhauled.

Bagarre ,thanks for the advice but do you think that there a lot of work to do on this plane? I understand that polishing from this stage of finish can be time consuming , and new gps and transponder can be expensive . Reading your post looks like that I'm buying a plane that need to be restored from scratch. I tough that this plane is in annual ,the engine is rebuild ,maybe I'm missing something?

Thanks

Sorry if I use you guys as a buyer consultant,but I cannot think at anybody better that a Cessna 170 owner and lover to give me qualified advices.So what about this one http://www.steveweaver.com/n1342d.htm
Can I polish this ? I hope so . How most of these engines that have a 1800H TBO after half of the time they go through a TOH? maybe because are not use too much ?

How I known if a TOH is done the rest of the engine is OK? Compression is easy to test but crankshaft tolerance are not....
Thanks

giorgioazzalin wrote:Sorry if I use you guys as a buyer consultant,but I cannot think at anybody better that a Cessna 170 owner and lover to give me qualified advices.So what about this one http://www.steveweaver.com/n1342d.htm

giorgioazzalin wrote: Can I polish this ? I hope so .

From pictures it looks like you would polish this airplane. How well it will shine and how flawless the finish will be can not be determined through the pictures.

giorgioazzalin wrote:How most of these engines that have a 1800H TBO after half of the time they go through a TOH? maybe because are not use too much ?

Lack of use certainly can lead to early top overhauls but you should know that the weakest part of the engine is the cylinders and most of them seem to get about half of TBO life before repair or replacing is necessary. This engine seems to be normal as far as SMOH and TOH hours are concerned.

giorgioazzalin wrote:How I known if a TOH is done the rest of the engine is OK? Compression is easy to test but crankshaft tolerance are not....
Thanks

How do you know the condition of the rest of the engine? You don't really. It is a best guess based on the history of this model engine going to TBO and well beyond without needing the bottom end rebuilt.

bagarre wrote:IMO, If you want to fly, buy the best airplane you can possibly afford and fly it.
If you want to work on airplanes, buy the cheapest one that looks half decent and work on it.
By the time you finish this one, you could have bought one finished.

Just my opinion and 81D is my first airplane.
BUT, all the things I was willing to overlook when I bought her; I have since replaced, rewired or overhauled.

Amen!!

Double the Amen!

Few things have I done to complete satisfaction in my life, but buying the most-perfect example of another's professional restoration-work is one.

This is sort of like in-comparison to buying an old tractor. Just because that John Deere has been "completely rebuilt"... and sits there in pretty, new green and yellow paint ...(oops...I probably should have used an International-Harvester example) ... doesn't mean it's not got 80 year old bearings and re-used pistons in it's engine. If you ask the seller to tell you which engine parts have been replaced, he'll turn and start talking to someone else in near vicinity.

Start your airplane acquisition with the BEST you can possibly afford...even if it's CONSIDERABLY MORE than that which you budgeted.... and if all that work is obvious and documented... then you probably cannot go wrong (after your annual inspection confirms what you've been told.)

Back when I was looking for my 170, one of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from a seller who steered me away from his own offering.... I was talking to former Member Tom Downey about the airplane he was offering and mentioned another that I'd learned was on the market which had been judged at Oshkosh. His next remark is indelibly etched in my brain: "If you can afford ANY airplane that has been subjected to scrutiny at Oshkosh, then BUY IT...don't even BOTHER with a pre-buy inspection!"
I thought he must be crazy and since that were an example of his sensibilities, therefore decided against wasting any of MY money on HIS airplane. I later came to realize the real value of his statement. (I bought an example which had just won notice at Oshkosh..... I paid for it AFTER it received an annual inspection.....that found zero discrepancies.)
Friends thought I was crazy to spend 25% more than they considered 170's to be worth....but I've flown it now for 12 years and have had to do NO major work during any annual inspection for the entire period. For over a decade I"ve bought fuel, oil, batteries, tires, brakes.... but that's just replacing the things I personally have worn-out...and still have an airplane 50 years younger than most of the fleet. That's not bragging, that's an example of what is/was meant by the advice given.

P.S.: By the way: I later met Tom Downey as he passed thru my area and had lunch with him. It was a good meeting, and gave me a much more realistic view of him and his excellent workmanship. I am indebted to him for the good advice he gave.

gahorn wrote: P.S.: By the way: I later met Tom Downey as he passed thru my area and had lunch with him. It was a good meeting, and gave me a much more realistic view of him and his excellent workmanship. I am indebted to him for the good advice he gave.

Tom D is indeed a great guy. I've never met him in person, but he offers a great deal of wisdom over on the Pilots of America boards these days. And even though he is no longer a member here (he went on the Fairchilds after he sold his 170), he still encourages folks to join the IC170A. He certainly steered me over here!