Who wants a cheap Bo??

A barn...er... I mean a real hanger find. How can you go wrong for 5000 bucks..??
 
Headline says $15,000. In the text it says $5,000. And no panel photos. o_O
 
But look how shiny the paint is...
You could dress up like the Big Bopper and fly around corn fields.
 
For $5K buy it and sell parts off of it to fund a different plane...unless you have to have a V-Tail Bo.
 
For 5k, heck of the times are good, no major damage or corrosion, that'd be a great foundation for a full on custom Bo, it's got the right kind of tail and looks like it was care for before whatever horrible thing happened to its old owner.

550 it, contract out paint and interior, put some of that new dynon stuff in, used GSN 430W, stec, go over the rubber and badda bing, if you can turn some wrenches and know a few folks you could end up with a nice bird for below market, if you shopped parts/cores and were smart on labor expenses.


Shopshirt said:
For $5K buy it and sell parts off of it to fund a different plane...unless you have to have a V-Tail Bo.
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If I was the small tire cross country certified type, the V tail would be on the very top of my list, beats the heck of of a cirrus or most of the other XC RGs
 
Stored in a hangar in dry ElPaso, might be a worthy project.
N3934V stored in a wet old hangar at AWO for 25 years, bought for 5k, sold for much more than that. :)
 

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This must be the one that came from together.
 
Somebody add up on a napkin the minimum it would take to get it flying (airframe, engine, prop, panel, P&I repairs/updates) while someone else finds in TAP what it would cost to purchase a similar flying example.
 
The prop is toast. It's clearly a Hartzell that has a couple of onerous ADs on it. The E225 is probably going to need an overhaul which can be dicey to find parts for at this point. The carb is definitely going to need an overhaul. Those three things are going to add up to $30K right there. Just about everything that is rubber: tires, fuel lines, etc... likely also needs replacing. Then you can start looking at the real expensive stuff like rudervator corrosion.
 
<A&P IA shows up hoping to score a new plane for him. When he opens the door the mouse pee smell burns his eyes. Without saying a word he jumps into his truck and drives away>
 
What's the value of a running Bo with a new engine? Take 5k off that, could someone restore this for less? Oh, you betcha. They could probably do it for more, but for the right person, A&P or someone who has an A&P in their pocket, this could be a really good project. From what I can see of the interior, it looks to be in decent shape so the project becomes overhauling the engine, replacing the prop and redoing the panel. If you're doing all the work yourself, this should be easy to stay in the black.

If it wasn't in El Paso, I'd think about it as a flying club project because the manpower, the will and the A&Ps to do the work are all right there. Would be great to get a new plane type.
 
Is that an ELT antenna in front of the windshields?
 
bnt83 said:
Is that an ELT antenna in front of the windshields?
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I suspect it's just a regular COM antenna. There's a smaller whip right over the rearmost windows which I suspect is the ELT.
 
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Were I to restore an aircraft my first choice would be a Bonanza. Truth. Lets say you put in $100-150K restoring it. Upgrade everything to new. Heck, lets say you put in $250K. You have what is for all intensive purposes a new Bonanza. What does a new bonanza cost from Beechcraft? I bet lots, lots more.
 
Rachelk.tailwinds let us know how it turns out. Out of curiosity, what are the rules for taking title to purchasing abandoned aircraft?
 
steingar said:
Were I to restore an aircraft my first choice would be a Bonanza. Truth. Lets say you put in $100-150K restoring it. Upgrade everything to new. Heck, lets say you put in $250K. You have what is for all intensive purposes a new Bonanza. What does a new bonanza cost from Beechcraft? I bet lots, lots more.
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You can put $1M in a F35 and for all intents and purposes it will NOT be a new Bonanza.
 
Shopshirt said:
Rachelk.tailwinds let us know how it turns out. Out of curiosity, what are the rules for taking title to purchasing abandoned aircraft?
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I have no clue, the guy says the title is in his name but I don't believe it. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it because who knows, maybe those are old pictures and the thing is actually beyond salvageable.
 
Hmm.... Who is this Mr. Labox guy? Recent action:

Aircraft Summary
Summary
1955 BEECH F35
Fixed wing single engine
(4 seats / 1 engine)
Owner
LABOX PHILIP C
PEARLAND , TX, US
(Co-owned)
Airworthiness
Standard/Unknown
Serial Number
D-4283
Engine
CONT MOTOR E225 SERIES (Reciprocating)
Horsepower: 225
Weight
Less than 12,500lbs
Speed
131mph
Mode S Code
051440474 / A6413C
Registration Details
Status
Assigned
Certificate Issue Date
1994-03-02
Airworthiness Date
1955-08-08
Last Action Date
2016-05-16
Expiration
2019-10-31
 
steingar said:
Were I to restore an aircraft my first choice would be a Bonanza. Truth. Lets say you put in $100-150K restoring it. Upgrade everything to new. Heck, lets say you put in $250K. You have what is for all intensive purposes a new Bonanza. What does a new bonanza cost from Beechcraft? I bet lots, lots more.
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That a HUGE chunk of change for what it would take to make a really nice play out of the one in the add, maybe if you dropped it off at a big name FBO and said "call me when it's done, any only new parts"
 
No such thing as a "cheap" Bo if you intend to keep it in flying condition. For a static display - maybe.
 
ChemGuy said:
Well did you go see it? How bad is it?
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Well, it actually wasn't that bad. I ordered a title search today and if it comes out clean, I'm going to go pick it up.

The body was straight, no signs of corrosion that I could see. All the glass and seals were perfect. The panel was clean, everything looked original so it'll need some serious updating but the wiring behind it was organized, which was a pleasant surprise. The seats looked great but the foam was stale and will need to be replaced. There were obvious signs of it being habited by mice at one point so that'll be a big item to look for when we do dig into the wiring. Everything inside the tail column was mint. Other than that, the things I expected it to need, it needs. Its definitely a project but a damn good start for $5k.

Thanks OP for sharing!!
 
Well if all goes well hopefully you'll have that same attitude in a few months.

Good luck
 
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