Engine-To Buy or Not To Buy

SilverEagle2 · #1 08-09-2012, 09:47 AM

After seeing Bruce Swayze's nice find on the front page today, I was wondering when it is prudent to begin looking around for an engine to purchase?

I am no where near where Bruce is in his build, but like him, there is a local engine that looks very nice for sale. It would be a good engine for my project someday. 0 SMOH, ~1500 TTSN IO-360 with a ton of nice accessories. Price seems OK. It was Overhauled in 2008 by a well known guy and originally built in 2000. It has been stored for 4 years but appears to be properly pickled.

So...if you all were me, just starting the wings of a slow build, would you consider buying an engine with the possibility of storing it yourself for an undetermined amount of time? Or would you hold off and see what is out there when you are closer to needing to hang it?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

larrynew · #2 08-09-2012, 09:56 AM

Who knows what prices will do in the future but over the last several years, engine prices went up significantly more than normal returns on a savings account.

Vlad · #3 08-09-2012, 10:02 AM

I would not get into that engine till airframe is on its gears. Unless you have mapped all the financials of your project and are executing the plan. There will be sweeter deals on used motors down the road if you have cash handy. Nice blog Jason btw.

MauiLvrs · #4 08-09-2012, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverEagle2

Price seems OK. ... It has been stored for 4 years but appears to be properly pickled.

A brand new engine is $28k. So it depends on what OK means.
A new engine today would cost us about $5k or more than we paid in 2009.

Appears to be pickled properly and actually may be different. Where and how it has been stored may make some difference to. There may be a number of unknowns and the price should reflect that. It has already been sitting for 4 years and you may add two or more. You may need to replace the top end well before TBO as well as the cam.

The big question is ... would something that burns Jet-A be a viable option when you are ready to install an engine.

SilverEagle2 · #5 08-09-2012, 03:55 PM

Thanks for the info thus far guys...I guess I am just dreading the eventual purchase that will be required and looking now for savings if able.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vlad

Nice blog Jason btw.

Thanks Vlad!

Neal@F14 · #6 08-09-2012, 04:53 PM

My gut feeling is that a Jet-A burning engine suitable for RVs is still a very long ways off on the radar yet. And it will be very expensive when such an animal does get to market.

If the local IO-360 engine has been stored in a dry climate (i.e. Utah), then I would not be afraid of it at all. If the price is right, it could very well be an ideal bargain.

David Paule · #7 08-09-2012, 08:10 PM

If it's a good deal and what you want, I'd be tempted to go for it. Good deals don't necessarily come around when you need them.

Dave

Neal@F14 · #8 08-09-2012, 08:27 PM

One thing I would recommend verifying before further consideration on the IO-360 is that the crankshaft is not affected by the Lycoming crankshaft AD that affected numerous 360 engines that were built after 1999. That would be an expensive problem.