Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Everything But Airplanes 150 value/engine swap

so i found this 150. engine at TBO. is the price right? what is the general consensus on a cost to upgrade to 150/160/180 hp? yes i dig 70's "earth tones" especially mustard yellow.

http://www.controller.com/listings/...d=57E86E36DD3B4844AECA4C1221B843DA&dlr=1

Expect to spend at a very very minimum of $35,000. I think the general consensus is to buy an already converted airplane!

Seems they failed to mention if it's had any damage history....

They are asking $15,000 with a timed-out engine. It is a nice looking airplane (though you really want a good look at the logs) with low total hours.

If that is original paint, it speaks volumes on the care the airplane has received.

Figure $12,000 for a field overhaul and you have $27,000 into a nice airplane (if all else checks out). That is just a little high for today's market, but not bad, considering you would have a freshly overhauled engine.

If you want a 150/150, find an already converted aircraft, unless you just REALLY want a project and the money is not a major factor.

Reg

Yep! Nice looking plane, but a $15,000 initial investment, plus $35,000 (minimum) for the 150hp conversion, and you're looking at a $50,000 investment. Even if there's nothing needing repair on the plane (rare), the avionics are minimalist, at best. The Loran is still useable, but the database is probably very old and likely not updateable. It's worth $50 on eBay!

It's best to buy a plane with the avionics and engine you want to end up with. Let the current owner absorb the cost of deprectiation on the upgrades.

150/150's routinely go for much less than $50K (some of our members have even "stolen" them for WAY less than that).

Are the wing tips original?

Second thoughts after looking at the avionics closer. All you really have here is a flip-flop comm and a transponder, as far as useable avionics. I don't see a needle for a comm.

With those avionics and the high time engine, I think $15,000 is a tad high.

Reg

Reg,
I think the CDI is the center display on the radio.
There is no VOR head (needle).

Hmmm. I have never seen one like that, but then, my experience is not all that extensive. It still looks like a pretty skimpy avionics stack. Equivalent to Juliet's, though she has a GPS (handheld clamped on the mirror bracket) and separate nav.

Reg

That's a King KX-125, a nav-com with the CDI as a LCD digital readout in the center. Nice unit if there is no panel space for a VOR head, or as a 2nd radio w/VOR and no space for another head in the panel.
That's a really clean stock/vintage 150- yes, very well cared for, which shows in the original paint. Figure on doing the engine very soon, so budget an additional $12K-$15K for everything FWF. This is a great plane if you are an A&P as you can have the engine done and do all the labor yourself- even if you have a shop do the actual engine rebuild. Still, asking $15K is a bit on the high side for a run-out engine on a plane this old. Perhaps a later model with a mid-time engine for $3-5K more would be a better investment.
As far as converting this to a 150 HP, be prepared to spend more than what you could buy a C-172 or nice Cherokee 235 for.
Better to find a 150 already converted, preferably with big gas tanks- 22.5 usable doesn't spell "cross country" when it drinks more than the 5-6gph of a stock 0-200 cessna 150.
-Brian