Hey there,
Just wanted to introduce myself to the forum. Just acquired a 1947 Model 35 serial number D-164. Been stripping the 20yr old clear coat off the bird for past 3 weeks in preparation for some serious TLC and polishing. Got a chance to do the annual earlier in the year and was able to acquire many spare parts including a spare set of gear along with two E-series engine blocks with pistons and numerous cylinder heads etc... Anyone on here have experience with these old Bo's? I feel like I recently purchased a flying museum and am looking for some proper advice concerning these planes. All AD's have been complied with.. TT is 4500 hours with 1500 hours on the current engine. I will preface all further statements with I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty, nor am I afraid to spend money on important stuff. The plane flies great and there are few items that concern me other than the oil consumption which runs about .5 to .75 quarts per hour. What is typical for the E-185 series engines? I know old air cooled engines dump some oil in addition to burning some but this seems unusual (to the new guy anyway) This one is an E-185-11 with what I was told a cam upgrade to the 225 specification.

N2772V Sam Cathcart
Middletown, Ohio. (MWO)

Sam,
Welcome to BeechTalk.

There are, in fact, several experts here for those older Bonanzas (I'm not one of them).

Pictures of your stripping work would be nice to see....

Welcome to BT Sam!!!

We really need to see pictures!!!

It aint true until we see pics! But welcome anyway!

Welcome. You've found the right place, wrong guy. That said (stop reading now, right?) oil consumption is way high. Consider this: You have fuel for at least five hours, right? At 3/4 quarts/h, you'd be down nearly four quarts.

Still reading? What little I know is mostly around the 520/550 engines.

Have you checked compression?
Borescoped the valves?

If it's not leaking on the hangar floor, it's burning the oil. To get inside the violent places, it has to get past the rings or the valve guides. From your OP (original post), it sounds like you know this already.

Either way, 1500h seems like a bit of time. How many years since OH?

Welcome aboard. Enjoy your bird. Will we see you at any of the meets/events?

Nick

Welcome. Here is are pics of N2772V from 2007 in Ohio. A good looking bird!

Are you going to keep it all original or modernize it as you restore the polished finish?

Polished airplanes are sexy like bikinis!

Unfortunately, like bikinis, they don't hide hail damage.

Nick

Re: bikinis don't hide hail damage.. still laughing at that one. Stripping work is almost done. Lots of Methylene chloride has done its work to the ancient clear coat and 70's paint job on the bottom of the bird. Took the black erosion tape off the leading edges. Sanded (400 grit) all the filiform corrosion out and then blended these areas all the way up to 2000 grit and then got the Cyclo out with the jewelers rouge and then the Mother's....I'm tired. I was so tempted to get the power tools out earlier but all this work was being done by hand one hour here and then one hour there... plus 43-13 wouldn't let me Git R Done (LOL). Anyway here are a few pics from when I posted this... I have been trying to work, fly, and continue my labor of love all at the same time. I will be ripping out the ancient 30 amp generator and installing a Plane Power gear driven 50 amp alternator this weekend with my AP bud and then installing new oil lines...the source of some clean oil being splashed all along the bottom of the bird. The current plan is to work on this restoration and log the hours as practical experience for my A&P exam. I figure I will fly in with my resume. If it doesn't work out I suppose I can work my day job as a pharmacist...no fun. The plane is very well equipped with ancient radios, GPS, autopilot etc...dunno if I will update the panel right away or not. I promise I will get new pics up once final polishing is near the end.

Yours is a work of love, but we are all with you.

Nice!

Sam,

Im sure you're familiar with Lou Gage and follow his writings in the ABS mag... he's an E series expert.

Don't sand the rivets!



just kidding...



No wait, my Brother's a Pharmacist...Don't sand the rivets!!!


Welcome to BT.

Welomce to BT Sam!

I'll chime in here... Sam and I go way back. I've known 72V for a few years, but now that it's Sam's I have a lot more to do with it. I'm the A&P who takes care of most of the maintenance. Right now I've got the flaps outside, getting ready for some wet sanding on the first coat of primer. The aircraft got an alternator conversion and wiring upgrade late last year, and came up here for annual at the end of February. It has been a time (and money) consuming annual but it was done right. I ran the engine again last week after a mag rebuild, and the control surfaces should get hung this week. That and a cowl patch set (strange corrosion along the baffle seal line) and she'll be back in the air. I am happy to report that with careful attention to both the alternator gasket pad and the left mag pad, both oil leaks went away and we've got a relatively dry engine now. Oil consumption was not internal, it was just poorly cleaned gasket surfaces on the case.

The only problem with having a polished airplane is you get blinded all the time while trying to work on it outside. Standing on an upside down 5 gallon bucket reaching over the oil tank to get at the mag isn't a real party either. Boy do I like this plane though. I've got my eye on a derelict 53 model sitting on a grass strip farther south that I'd like to make a project out of. We'll see.

Adam,

Welcome to BeechTalk. Keep us posted on this project (and yours, if it should become reality).