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Saw this on 'AIrcraft Ownership Solutions' website.
http://aircraftownershipsolutions.com/inventory/1972+cessna+150l+n150la/897

Engine overhauled 3 years ago and only 24 hours flown on it since then. Thoughts?

It would be better if it sat in Western Texas rather than sitting in Western Pennsylvania. Letting an 0-200 sit is not good for it. Flying it an hour every quarter is not much better. You can borescope the cylinders, and it would be a little better if it has chrome or nickel cylinders.

The engine exterior looks ok, but I have never seen the oil filter placed there. The propeller has never been to the shop, that would scare me.



And a note to sellers, remove the iPad holder from the yoke before you shoot the photos.

I know the 150/152 market is strong, and I'm usually the one defending prices, but as good as she looks, I don't see $45k worth of airplane there. $35k maybe. Personal opinion of course. Maybe someone can talk them down a bit and get this bird flying again, and address the concerns Mark has raised (that is definitely a unique oil filter installation).

It'd be a good one either way.

The prices have been increasing quite a bit lately, and I think that has inspired some folks to buy projects, fix them up, and flip them. I just hope there aren't too many of them just "putting lipstick on a pig." It is sad when a first time owner finds out there are a lot of flaws under the skin.

To add my opinion in answering your question, Jeff (sorry that I helped lead the thread off course!), it really looks like a nice airplane. I would almost be willing to bet it won't be on the market long. The low time since 2018 on the engine is a bit of a concern. Our break-in time on our overhauled (just completed last year in January) was 50 hours according to our mechanic. He said use the straight mineral oil. I didn't review the logs, but this one may still be running the mineral oil, although according to Millennium, they said you could switch to ashless dispersant oil when the oil useage stabilized, and ours had stabilized by around 25 hours. If I were looking, I would be interested in exploring further. If that is your position, good luck.

The basic IFR panel is okay for training and proficiency (it is just about exactly what we have), but for real use in IMC it would leave you longing for a good GPS. It does look like there is ample room to add one, though. The paint looks pretty nice from what I can tell, and the interior does also. In my opinion, and I am not a market expert, it is priced too high for the risk you would be taking with regard to the engine. Like Brian said, around $35k would be more reasonable. If you pursue, it would be nice if you could get them to underwrite some kind of a guarantee on the engine.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

That looks like a stock Cessna oil filter adapter. It... works. It replaces the existing screen and has a place for the oil temp probe to thread in. However, it has a recurring AD (AD 96-12-22) where the torque has to be checked every oil filter change or 100 hours, whichever comes first.

Not a deal-breaker, but not as easy or convenient as the Tempest (nee F&M) oil filter adapter.

I'm really having a hard time finding a C-150 that I would be comfortable with in this market. Most of the ones on the market are being sold by people who haven't flown them much and want to cash out fast in a hot market. I talked to a guy yesterday who balked when I said I wanted to see the logbooks and do a pre-purchase inspection if the plane met my needs. Many of the sellers are also first time plane buyers and some are offended when they are asked to provide more than a couple of photos and the basic stats.

I'm looking for a K, L or M model that will be pretty much turn key (I'm not mechanically inclined, so no projects). Paint should be in good shape and engine should be regularly flown. What I'm finding is almost every one of the 15+ C-150's I've investigated in the last few months, has logged so few hours per year since the last overhaul that it begs the corrosion issue. Some of these planes have gone years between annuals. Only a few have flown more than 20 hours per year. The majority of the planes on the list haven't had an overhaul yet this century! I had a couple with the last overhaul in the early 80's! And only one had the originally installed prop overhauled. There's a plane on Barnstormers right now claiming 3900 SMOH. Apparently the O-200 is bullet proof and will run forever.

As to the C-150 at the start of this thread, it is priced at the top of the market. It might even be worth it IF I had confidence that just 24 hours flown over 3 years on a newly overhauled engine wasn't a problem. Is/was the engine properly broken in? Has corrosion set in due to disuse? All this and it is still in the infant mortality range SMOH. I might be tempted to call the shop which did the overhaul and ask the questions, but I can almost guess at the answer. Hopefully, they wouldn't laugh too hard.

I'm patiently looking for the right plane so if anyone knows of good candidate that's available now or may be available at some point in the not too distant future, please give me a heads up.

Jeff, the only perfect airplane is either the one you own, the one you just sold, or the one that someone else beat you to at the last minute. In other words, they’re airplanes. Buy one, fly the paint off it and have fun. If you keep looking for that perfect airplane you’re going to miss out on a lot of flying time. Every airplane is a project. Ask around if you don’t believe me. Good luck, be safe, and HAVE FUN!

This is so true, Lachlan. I bought my far-from-perfect copy last September, named her and have now flown her more than I did anything in the last 5 years. The engine has an iffy cylinder, the paint job looked great but has proven slapdash as it crumbles under the onslaught of CorrosionX, the panel is far from what I want, and I cannot get anyone to install anything new in it because the avionics shops are booked until August.

Hanger space is non-existent or way too expensive. Maintenance services are unreliable, and she leaks fuel like a sieve.

And yet she just keeps flying, as though she has no idea these things are all true. And unless it's too bumpy up there or too windy down here, I'm going flying in my imperfect plane while I slowly upgrade her. Until then, it'll be fine.

The only thing I would be wary of is corrosion, because that you don't come back from. Just about everything else can be restored.