• If You Are Having Trouble Logging In with Your Old Username and Password, Please use this Forgot Your Password link to get re-established.
  • Hey! Be sure to login or register!

J-4 Cub Coupe

Clay Hammond

Clay Hammond

Registered User
Rhinebeck NY (NY94)
Anyone know a good source for J-4 parts? Or is it a "scrape 'em together from here and there" type of deal. Had a fella call our maintenance shop this morning, the Cub calls always get forwarded to me... He's restoring and looking for parts, specifically landing gear paraphernalia.
 
I rebuilt a J4 7 yrs ago. Good look on the search. I had landing gear springs custom made. Had an extra set but sold them to a guy in MN. Could not find any seals for the gear, so rely on the springs for shock asorbtion. I did have the springs made 10 percent stouter.
 
Clay Hammond said:
Anyone know a good source for J-4 parts? Or is it a "scrape 'em together from here and there" type of deal. Had a fella call our maintenance shop this morning, the Cub calls always get forwarded to me... He's restoring and looking for parts, specifically landing gear paraphernalia.
Click to expand...

Clay-

I suggest just making the jig and fabbing the parts. Everything that you will find used will probably be junk anyway.

Tim
 
behindpropellers said:
Clay Hammond said:
Anyone know a good source for J-4 parts? Or is it a "scrape 'em together from here and there" type of deal. Had a fella call our maintenance shop this morning, the Cub calls always get forwarded to me... He's restoring and looking for parts, specifically landing gear paraphernalia.
Click to expand...

Clay-

I suggest just making the jig and fabbing the parts. Everything that you will find used will probably be junk anyway.

Tim
Click to expand...

Tim, that's not nice, it's the only junk I have left that flies :(

Glenn
 
cubdriver2 said:
behindpropellers said:
Clay Hammond said:
Anyone know a good source for J-4 parts? Or is it a "scrape 'em together from here and there" type of deal. Had a fella call our maintenance shop this morning, the Cub calls always get forwarded to me... He's restoring and looking for parts, specifically landing gear paraphernalia.
Click to expand...

Clay-

I suggest just making the jig and fabbing the parts. Everything that you will find used will probably be junk anyway.

Tim
Click to expand...

Tim, that's not nice, it's the only junk I have left that flies :(

Glenn
Click to expand...

Glenn-

Would you rebuild your whole plane and then trust it to some 70 year old gear that might fail due to corrosion?

?????

I'm not picking on you. I just have a feeling that the gear on J-4's is rarely replaced because you simply cannot buy new.

Tim
 
behindpropellers said:
cubdriver2 said:
behindpropellers said:
Clay Hammond said:
Anyone know a good source for J-4 parts? Or is it a "scrape 'em together from here and there" type of deal. Had a fella call our maintenance shop this morning, the Cub calls always get forwarded to me... He's restoring and looking for parts, specifically landing gear paraphernalia.
Click to expand...

Clay-

I suggest just making the jig and fabbing the parts. Everything that you will find used will probably be junk anyway.

Tim
Click to expand...

Tim, that's not nice, it's the only junk I have left that flies :(

Glenn
Click to expand...

Glenn-

Would you rebuild your whole plane and then trust it to some 70 year old gear that might fail due to corrosion?

?????

I'm not picking on you. I just have a feeling that the gear on J-4's is rarely replaced because you simply cannot buy new.

Tim
Click to expand...


It's even weaker on skis, so I hope mine makes it through the winter :eek:

Glenn
 
Isn't this where you rely on that nice "owner-provided" phrase in the regulations?

My K-A Champ had lots of those parts.

Jon B.
 
My experience is limited, and I have had no trouble with the aircraft, but I hear that it is the top of the wing that needs to be strong. The landing gear is just there to pivot around after landing.

I got three hours in one, and it seemed docile enough, but it went over on its back with another very experienced taildragger pilot in it. The guys who built it said it had been on its back four times before. It was, and really still is, a show-stopper. Wish I had taken some photos . . .
 
I flew and maintained a 39 J-4 that had Aeronca gear installed. Mr. Hatz of the Hatz Bi-Plane rebuilt this airplane and it handled well with no gear problems.
Dave
 
Jon B. said:
Isn't this where you rely on that nice "owner-provided" phrase in the regulations?

My K-A Champ had lots of those parts.

Jon B.
Click to expand...

I've become quite fond of the "owner produced" regulation. The j4 was produced when it was common to use automotive parts during production. Many parts on the. J4 are specific and are uncommon to any other aircraft. And since Piper only produced 800 j4s, there just aren't many parts out there for it. However, if it is maintained and flown properly, the original parts will serve you well. And, if I ever run into a problem, I just ask Glenn. 8)
 
J4cubcoupe said:
I've become quite fond of the "owner produced" regulation. The j4 was produced when it was common to use automotive parts during production.
Click to expand...

Absolutely right. I have a book of Cub service bulletins Dated June 1945. In some of the service bulletins from Piper it states that the necessary parts to comply should be available at most auto parts stores.

It was a different less regulated era back then.

-CubBuilder
 
A friend of mine owns a J-4 and it is serial number 1 that he wants to sell. If any one is interested let me know

Gizmo
 
It would seem to me, that if the factory manual says 'use auto parts store part', it would conform to the TC and maintenaince standards of the plane, even in this day...

as far as brakes, how do you get brakes on floats and skis?;-)
 
I have a set of wheels and brakes from a J4. The master cylinders are cast iron automotive units.
 
Tim said:
If it wasn't for NAPA, Glenn would have to park his J4
Click to expand...
Tim I know you know AN stands for Army/Navy standards. NAPA, Navy/Army/Piper/Aeronca, it's like a double certification. Everyone always say's " runs like a Champ " Duh, how much better can you get. Now let's look at that thing that your flying. Isn't Wag Aero the mother of that thing? Talk about a lapse in birth control :lol:

Glenn
 
J4 cub Coupe

Would a J4 be comparable in value to a J3 if they were in the same condition. I am interested in one for sale but there are few to compare it with to establish some sort of value. Thanks
 
rowcropper said:
Would a J4 be comparable in value to a J3 if they were in the same condition. I am interested in one for sale but there are few to compare it with to establish some sort of value. Thanks
Click to expand...

Apple to apple the J3 will bring more money, $5000 more maybe, but we had one around here 5 years ago that won at LockHaven and sold for over 60 grand

Glenn
 
On that NAPA parts source - if you are careful with log entries, AC 23-27 will help a lot.

I now have a hundred J-4 hours, and I am delighted with the airplane and it's capabilities. I agree they are worth less than a comparable J-3 , but I am beginning to wonder why.
 
rowcropper a j4 is not as pricey as j3's. not the same plane as far as flying traits either.Ive owned one for 30 yrs.I've had it for sale for a year now and there doesn;t seem to be any interest in it. Mine's in pretty fair condition and I can't get 17,500.00 for it.
 
I will be selling my j4 in a few years once my sc project is getting closer to completion. I hope its not that hard to sell, mind you its an E model with the metal spars, electrics etc. Very nice airplane to fly and with the C85 its not on the ground very long. Very simular wing to the supercub less the flaps. Landing gear is definately a weak point on the J4 and they don't take side loading very well.
 
Last edited:
J4s in AZ

We have two J4s at Falcon Field KFFZ, both were owned by a buddy and now we have sold one to a student pilot which I am working with. It still flys like a cub and personally I think they land very nicely. Brakes suck, practically useless which can be a good thing.

The side by side cub flying is a refreshing change. I like very much the art deco panels and cowlings. I believe its a very comfortable flying cub, not a backcountry cub by my standards or go far aircraft but sure is fun low and slow and flying around the patches!

Parts obviously can be a problem however from time to time I have seen basket cases on Barnstormers available. I know of an excellent restored J4 that sold recently for $30K.



Geo
www.cubdriving.com
 
I agree with the previous posts.The coupe is a fun airplane. The gear has soft landings built into it.My wife likes it because we sit side by side. The gear seems to be the weak point,but I don't think it is that weak, it's because of the lack of parts.I have an extra set of gear both left and right just in case. Jim
 
One of my favorite cross country rides was in the J-4 of Jim's (cubx3) Not sure how the "deal" all came about but it was some sort of "sale-repo" or kinda like that. Anyway, I had the honor of flying the J-4 from Key West back to Wisconsin. Having never seen Key West or Florida or much of Georgia or Tenn. or Kentucky; at 80 mph and 1000 AGL I got a very memorable view of much of our Great Country. I must admit, I was a bit apprehensive about flying over the water and the swamplands with a 70 year old plane. The only glitch was the pilot. I find after sitting in supercubs, J-3s, and supercruisers for more than 35 years ---the left hand stick --right hand throttle of the J-4 caused me to have to "think". A landing on the grass at Ocala was interesting as there was a brisk cross wind and my thinking was almost a bit too slow, but it all worked out. The J-4 attracted much interest everywhere I stopped as few knew what it was. Just remember a good piece of rope to anchor it for starting while solo flying. Thanks for the memories, Jim.
 
12Geezer2 said:
The only glitch was the pilot. I find after sitting in supercubs, J-3s, and supercruisers for more than 35 years ---the left hand stick --right hand throttle of the J-4 caused me to have to "think". A landing on the grass at Ocala was interesting as there was a brisk cross wind and my thinking was almost a bit too slow, but it all worked out. Jim.
Click to expand...

I very much understand issue with the reversal of the power and stick hands so I solved it by flying on the right side making much more comfortable for me!

Geo
www.cubdriving.com
 
I don't think Geezer wanted to give up the left side only brakes. I sometimes switch sides for glassy water landings to take advantage of a shore line on a short pond.

Glenn
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

H
J 4 Cub Coupe Restoration
Replies
8
Views
367
cubdriver2
cubdriver2
Gunny
Dakota Cub Aircraft Deal On Wing Assemblies
Replies
1
Views
2K
Gunny
Gunny
C
J-4 project-3.14159265359
22 23 24
Replies
692
Views
305K
rv6ator
R
Darrel Starr
Cubcrafters SC Stuff on eBay - What Happened?
Replies
3
Views
2K
sj
sj
CubCrafters
27 YEARS OF SUPER CUB PARTS GOING ON EBAY
Replies
21
Views
9K
redrooster
R
Back
Top