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Buying first Supercub....hopefully

L

lakeboarder

FRIEND
Tucson
Hi guys, need a little info/opinions, I am hopefully buying my first Supercub this weekend if everything goes well. I have been saving for abut 10 years and now thru a few friends connections I think I will be able to purchase one It is a 1953 with a O-235 that has been sitting in a barn for about 10 years all covered up and needing to be flown. It is completely stock. It is a long drive their so I will have a trailer and cash to make the decision...don't want to turn around but might if it looks like a turd.
A few Questions :
What is a fair price..it is under 3,000hr airframe and 800hr on engine..fabric supposedly good, and no corrosion.
Any issues that I should be aware of in that year to pay attention too ?
How does the O-235 perform compared to the 150hp....Just curious
What are the first mods to preform for that year ....not crazy ones...say I had $5,000 to work with total

Thanks for the help. I will keep you informed, hopefully someday go to your Supercub fly-ins !!
 
Pull two cylinders on one side and look at the cam. Or, have the owner operate it for about ten hours on his dime before you pay. My 2 cents worth.
 
Hours on airframe do not mean much. It is time that matters. Check the lower tubes in the airframe carefully (use a awl or small punch). You might want to bring you IA with you so he can tell you how much he will charge for the rebuild. No mods for the first year just fly it and see if it is still straight at the end of a year.:oops:
 
This is me being optimistic but say everything looks good, What kind of money are we talking for a decent deal fair to both parties. I know there are so many variables but I have looked all over and found them going from $40,000 on up for flying ones. After reading about every thread on here I think your right.... just fly it first and put the money towards gas !!
 
Is the plane in the desert SouthWest? That makes a huge difference between a stored plane and a rust bucket. As others have said, check lower longerons for corrosion. Give it a good look see everywhere you can get to. Corrosion in the Lycomings is almost always a problem and varies greatly depending on how it was stored. The cam followers are almost always the culprit as corrosion on them will cause the cam to fail in pretty short order, then you are into a major overhaul. There just isn't a good way to check them without pulling a cylinder to look. Sure would be nice if Lycoming made front and back access ports in the top of the engine as it would be much easier to know what you are buying. :eek:) Spend a year enjoying the plane so you can define for yourself what upgrades you want. If the cam goes sour in the first year, then your first upgrade will be the engine. Other upgrades can wait.

But hey, if the price is right, look at what you can see and if that looks good, buy it and fly it, then deal with the engine IF something happens. If the cam goes away on the O-235, you may be money ahead to overhaul an O-320 and do the upgrade at that point in time. If you make 25 hours and aren't making any metal in the oil screen, you're probably good to go.

-CubBuilder
 
Look very closley for mice making the plane a home. I don't remember how many times this has been brought up on SC.org, but the little buggers, if memory serves, cause corrosion. Not to mention chewing up items in the plane that you would prefer not to be snacked on. Ask lots of questions: Why has it been sitting? Look for indications of nose over or even flip over such as flat wing ribs, fresh/non matching paint at the top of the rudder. Lots of clues. I do hope all is well and you get an excellent deal on your dream machine, just be dilligent here, bring extra eyes. A good deal is a good deal, but a bad deal will drain your wallet faster than a congressman.
 
skukum12 said:
Look very closley for mice making the plane a home. I don't remember how many times this has been brought up on SC.org, but the little buggers, if memory serves, cause corrosion. Not to mention chewing up items in the plane that you would prefer not to be snacked on.
Click to expand...

Like the rib stitching!
 
With the engine sitting that long you have to approach this deal with the idea that the engine WILL need to be overhauled (unless it has been PROPERLY pickled), and approach the owner with that in mind. It does make a difference where the plane is stored with climate in mind but it is VERY hard on these engines to sit around.

A cub I bought years back had low flight time but high calendar time on the engine. Flew it about 20 hours and it coughed up a valve, partial engine failure. No big deal if it happens right over your strip, but if not then you could find yourself in a logistical and financial mess.

Milked it back to a friend's strip, then took the wings off to get it back to my place. Then if you are like me you start to ask yourself how far do I take this thing apart to get things right, Pandora's box syndrome anyone!! That process can take years and cost you a plenty.

The previous posters hit on the fuselage so I will not expand there, but the engine IS the most important item here and I think you must get into this plane as if you are buying it with an inevitable overhaul in mind in the near future.

They are mighty fun but can bite you at the same time, good luck to you!!
 
If the airplane checks out and you buy it, I would put in shoulder harnesses in it right away ( not the ones attached to the seat back that will break your back in impact) then Atlee header tanks. Spend mod money on safety stuff first then performance stuff.
 
Good luck! All I can say is the advice you have been given is very good advice. Especially read and reread the post about the engine (68D). This may/can be the biggest problem you might come across. Don't let the "great deal' cloud your judgement because it will come back and bite you in the end.
Several years ago I purchased a plane under nearly the same exact conditions as you discribed. Within 50 hours I realized I need new cylinders and other items that have totalled up to a lot of money I would have been much better off spending more money in the beginning on something else instead of the 'great deal'. The down time for repairs and waiting on parts can get very discouraging.
Guess I better quit typing and order those 4 new cylinder assemblies I need for my 'deal'. The cost for these will bypass your extra $5,000 you stated you will have in reserve. :(
 
I have seen the engine go both ways. Bought a 1949 PA16 in 1995 with a high time O-235-C1 that had never been apart. Ran it to 2600 hrs TT and when it started using more than a quart every 3 hours I replaced the engine with another mid time O-235. Tore it down and only thing wrong was the rings were worn out. Also torn into an engine that was two years old with almost 200 hours on it with a bad cam and lifters. Dry climate helps and no matter what they are all money pits that have a propensity to turn into a snowball but what else are ya gonna do, buy one already rebuilt for $145K?
 
A "Tango" cub is a batch of special PA-18s which were built for the military. Could have been for the CAP, not positive. I'm sure that someone here will verify. Their registration numbers ran in sequence ending with a "T". One of my first jobs when working as an A&P was covering N250T with Irish linen. Nice airplane.
 
From my understanding they were all made for the CAP. They also had toe brakes on them.
 
Reference was made in post #10 about a PROPERLY pickled engine. What exactly is the proper way to pickle an engine? I've always thought that you just fill the case and cylinders with pickling oil.
 
Tango Cub samples:
attachment.php


attachment.php


toe brakes
53_160_hp_Cub_11.jpg


photo1.jpg


Feb_6_2010_18.JPG


PA-18T_Canon.jpg
 
1934A said:
Reference was made in post #10 about a PROPERLY pickled engine. What exactly is the proper way to pickle an engine? I've always thought that you just fill the case and cylinders with pickling oil.
Click to expand...

I purchased a low time SC 150 engine that was properly pickled, about 3 years ago. Placards, oil, rubber plugs and desiccants in the spark plug holes. I stored it in my dark, dry hanger and we have very low water content in the air.

I let the desiccants turn pink and didn't replace them despite good intentions. Out of sight out of mind.

Now I have rust in the cylinders and who knows what else. Bottom line "pickling" an engine is a continuous process like everything else in aircraft ownership so you better make sure the engine was not "pickled" and then forgotten or the process was probably worthless.
 
Least I can do is give you guys an update.....I pulled the trigger......It looked very nice, nothing crazy wrong. It is the Tango model with a O-235 and no flaps. Had some simple stuff added such as shoulder harness and gear cables. Very exciting.....I have to give it a bath and kill all the spiders that are living in it. I will have it thru annual next week and put some pictures up. Thanks for all the help
 
Congratulations, you will be pleased with the performance. Assuming the engine is rust free, you will be able to get a lot of flying without any major issues.
 
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