The $130k question is basically used Texan vs. a Midwest Texans restoration. The market for Texans with "hours" appears to be $130-220k. At lower end you get decent flying Texans, but engine may be due soon and some avionics and rust work may be needed. The $220k Texans appear to be racers or < 10 year restorations. The middle ground appears to contain many nice Texans that either were 80's or 90's award winning restorations and engine is due or just partial restorations with new engine and avionics. To a complete noob like myself the Midwest Texans are very appealing. Safety is my first concern, but also headache free longevity. A Texan purchase wouldn't be short-term for me. I know there are many restoration shops out there, but Midwest Texans is marketing itself as going above and beyond while also keeping the price economical because they can do several at once. The current price is $310k and provides the following Firewall Forward 0 SMOH Pratt and Whitney R-1340-AN1 by Covington All accessories overhauled, including magnetos and carburetor 0 SMOH Hamilton Standard 6101 Propeller with full length blades All oil/fuel/vacuum/hydraulic lines newly constructed using new AN fittings. All fittings (with exception of engine specific fittings) replaced with new AN fittings for serviceability New Gill battery All new wiring. Freshly overhauled oil cooler by Pacific Oil Cooler Rebuilt wobble pump All AN hardware new Skytractor Oil Filter Brackett Air Filter Cockpit All instruments overhauled and yellow tagged with original yellow faces utilizing non-radium reflective paint All new instrument hoses and lines with new AN fittings All hydraulic/oil/vacuum hard lines newly constructed using new AN fittings for serviceability. All hydraulic components rebuilt. All new cables. All bearings replaced in all components (including pressed in bearings in castings etc.) All new wiring Rebuilt throttles All AN hardware new. Rebuilt seats utilizing five point Hooker Harnesses New canopy rollers and seals. New glass. Tail Cone Completely disassembled, each individual stringer and frame cleaned, stripped, etched and alodined before epoxy paint. All new skins. All castings examined and painted with epoxy primer and top coat. G-model steerable tailwheel conversion All new cables All rollers in tail section replaced Tail wheel assembly completely rebuilt with new bearings and bushings. New tailwheel tire. Center Section All extrusions replaced with new manufactured extrusion approved by the FAA. This replaces the extrusions we believe that are suspect due to poor heat treating by North America. Entire center section painted with epoxy primer/paint Landing gear castings removed and examined for damage. All new hydraulic lines in wheel wheels. All new skins installed Rebuilt flap actuator All flap rollers/u-joins replaced. New fuel tank pads New hoses and hard lines in fuel bays New flappers in fuel tanks All new gaskets/seals in fuel tanks Fuel tanks epoxy painted. All new hardware in stress doors Main Landing Gear Gear is disassembled, inspected, epoxy painted and reassembled. All new seals New bearings Skyservices Redline Brake Conversion installed New tires Wings All extrusions replaced with new manufactured extrusion approved by the FAA. This replaces the extrusions we believe that are suspect due to poor heat treating by North America. Entire wing interior is painted with epoxy/primer paint All exterior skins replaced with new. Landing gear actuators rebuilt. Flaps are reskinned/rebuilt New cables. Ailerons rebuilt/epoxy primed and recovered with Poly Fiber process. Tail Group Vertical and Horizontal stabilizers are disassembled. Each rib is individually painted with epoxy/primer New strings and exterior skin. Rudder and elevators rebuilt/epoxy primed and recovered with Poly Fiber process. I talked with a long time South African Texan owner this last weekend and he says the Midwest Texans aren't worth the money. What am I missing? These are 50-65 year old planes, they all need some wing spar and rust attention at minimum. A $180k Texan with 1,000 hours on the engine will need engine work before long. Also talk by Mark Clark that Midwest Texans will qualify for a lower insurance rate. What are your thoughts for looking at the used market vs. a Midwest Texan restoration? http://www.courtesyaircraft.com./Midwest%20Texans%20Signature%20Restorations.htm
If you have the money up front, it looks like an incredible amount of materials and labor go into this restoration. Safety will be much greater with new/rebuilt components vs some 50 year plus components. Pride of ownership would be much higher. The old ad that says; "You can pay me now or you can pay me later " for maintenance rings true. And last but not least; are there any comparables of "used MWTexans" being sold. Do they hold their value ?
