I would like to echo Al's comment about when you "need" to dump money into your Ercoupe. Some people on this forum have heard my sad story of the stuck valve. My original A&P told me I had two stuck valves and that I needed to rebuild the entire engine. When I complained that the log books showed only 800 hours SMOH and only 200 hours since the last top end overhaul, he conceded that we could just rebuild the heads. He wanted $6K to get started on that job. Through discussions on this forum, I learned that stuck valves are reasonably common due to the burning of 100 LL (Lots a Lead) in our vintage Continental engines.
After finding a new A&P, the problem was recast as a single stuck valve (funny how that changed from one mechanic to another) and would be remedied by pulling the cylinder and sending it to a shop for repair. Including the two hours labor charged to remove and reinstall the cylinder, the repair cost just under $450.00. My point is that we cannot assume that the FAA tested the ethics of a mechanic when they issued that individual a A&P certificate. There are A&Ps out there that do not like to work on "old" planes. And since they know little about an Ercoupe, they are quick to offer open heart surgery when a daily dose of Aspirin might be all that is needed. My engine runs quite well now and I use TCP when using 100 LL. I also have the STC for Mogas and plan to use it when I figure out the logistics of getting or deriving gasoline without Ethonol. Frank Nelson N51DV - 415C TOA --- In [email protected], "AJ DeMarzo" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > That's from a mechanic who needs to make a boat payment, or a Mercedes payment or a house payment, or ---- you get the picture. I would suspect much more of this fellow's maladies have the same cause. > Al DeMarzo > Visit the Ercoupe Swap Page > Free, Easy and No Membership Required > http://www.ercoupeowners.com/swap/swapbook.htm > >
