Birkelbach
Member
I have a neighbor at the airport that is selling her dad's estate. There is a hangar full of stuff but one that interests me is an O-320-A3B. She's looking for the log books but the story is that it was freshly overhauled a couple of decades ago. It looks to be in good shape. Not a lot of corrosion on the outside but this is SE Texas so there is no telling what is on the inside.
The engine appears that it was properly pickled. I found an empty can of storage oil and it had plugs of desiccant in the spark plug holes. Every opening that I could find was covered with tape. The only accessories that it has are the mags and a fuel pump I suspect that they are trash. They are just plugging the holes. It may have had a vacuum pump but I have no interest in that and I doubt anybody else would either.
Looking around this hangar it's obvious that her dad was a very meticulous person. Everything was very organized and the Pitts that he was building looks to be of exceptional workmanship. A shame he never got to fly it.
I guess my question(s) is, what would be the value of this engine? Also, what are the odds that it's still in good shape? What would it take to rebuild this engine and get it ready to fly? I may be interested in buying it but I'd also like to make sure that she knows what a fair price is. I have access to a borescope so once I decide if it's in my range I can get a look on the inside. I just hate to uncover the holes before I'm ready with the numbers.
Phil
The engine appears that it was properly pickled. I found an empty can of storage oil and it had plugs of desiccant in the spark plug holes. Every opening that I could find was covered with tape. The only accessories that it has are the mags and a fuel pump I suspect that they are trash. They are just plugging the holes. It may have had a vacuum pump but I have no interest in that and I doubt anybody else would either.
Looking around this hangar it's obvious that her dad was a very meticulous person. Everything was very organized and the Pitts that he was building looks to be of exceptional workmanship. A shame he never got to fly it.
I guess my question(s) is, what would be the value of this engine? Also, what are the odds that it's still in good shape? What would it take to rebuild this engine and get it ready to fly? I may be interested in buying it but I'd also like to make sure that she knows what a fair price is. I have access to a borescope so once I decide if it's in my range I can get a look on the inside. I just hate to uncover the holes before I'm ready with the numbers.
Phil
