1953 Piper Pacer
This could be your Budget Bush Plane for the Idaho backcountry
This project was supposed to be a simple repair from a ground loop but it turned into a ground up restoration.
Originally converted to a Pacer in 2001 this aircraft sports a 150 HP Lycoming O-320 190 SMOH, 0 IRAN with Plane Power Alternator conversion, Sensenich 74-58 0 SMOH, Sealed struts, Sutton exhaust (field approval), Sky Beacon ADSB-out, Autogas STC, Micro VGs, AV30-C digital display, Big 8.00×6 tires, double puck Cleveland brakes, new 406MHz ELT, shoulder harnesses, new control cables, new interior, fresh recover and paint with all ADs C/W including the rudder AD 2025-02-11 using the global AMOC.
Stits fabric is being installed now using Piper Trainer Blue wings and tails and Insignia White fuselage. A new light grey Airtex interior is in the shop ready to install once the fuselage is covered.
Fresh Annual with purchase.
Asking $75,000 once airworthy
Follow this site for progress. Shoot me a note if you are interested.
After pinning the aircraft together for new cables and rigging, she comes apart for covering. While I was at it, I pulled the ball bearings in the control column and repacked them for super smooth operation.
Starting with the interior, the Stits Poly Fiber goes on. I’m using fabric for the interior to keep the airplane light. Paint will be Piper Trainer Blue on the wings and tail with Insignia White on the bottom. This scheme will carry through to the interior with black vinyl floors and light grey upholstery. It should look great.
1961 Piper Colt
I discovered this 1961 Piper Colt in Quincy CA and flew the Beast to check it out. It had not flown in 5 years but had been hangered in the high Sierras. The logs were sparce and I could not fully check out the engine but the airframe and fabric looked decent. I could pull the plugs and look inside. The small part of the cylinders I could see seemed ok and there was still oil on the walls. I decided to take a chance and bought it for a song. Turning the prop it was clear there was very little compression. I decided to make an offer, trailer it home, and see if I could get the engine running and pass a compression check.
Rather than put the wings on and leave the Colt outside, I grabbed a spare fuel tank, strapped it on the top, connected it to the fuel system and started working on getting the engine running. She fired up on the second try but the left mag was out of sorts. That was the first hint that the well-worn O-235 could be a problem.
Here is the original panel when I bought it. That’s a hand-held for com.
The makeover begins ... it's going to be a Super Colt
I got the little O-235 engine running and checked the compression. It seemed good enough to keep going with the effort. I bought an overhauled propeller, new spinner, and new sealed lift struts. I finally got the airplane into my IA Glenn for an annual inspection. Thirty minutes later I got a text from him. “I’ve seen enough, come get your airplane.” Turns out the borescope inspection showed the cylinders were corroded and pitted. The engine was very high time so there was no hope. Rather than push the little airplane into the Snake River, my son and I decided we’d get the Stewart STC to stuff a Lycoming O-320 150 hp engine into the Colt and make it Super! On top of that we put a 61 pitch 74DM propellor so this will out climb and out cruise any Colt.
The annual inspection was extensive with lots of STCs and updated paper work. It wasn’t cheap but it was a thorough review. Glenn is top shelf when it comes to matching the books to the airplane.
With all the old but serviceable instruments and avionics from my Comanche panel refresh, I decided to modernize the emerging Super Colt to make it a solid airplane for any type of flying, backcountry, cross country, VFR, IFR training, or possibly IFR certified ops. She now sports a GNS430W and a GTX335 with ADSB-out capability. The O-320 going in has only 365 SMOH so there is a ton of value in this bird. I added new sealed lift struts and heavy duty forks from Univair. I also installed a new certified Enersys Hawker dry cell SBSJ16 battery per Svenns STC,
There’s a lot of value in this Super Colt now. My son plans to use it to earn his Sport Pilots License. Once he’s done, this capable bird will be up for sale for $39,000. The only thing keeping us on the ground is an FAA field approval for the rear-mounted oil cooler. The wheels of the government turn slowly sometimes.