Hello to everyone, and what a wonderful group this is! I am currently a CFI in Chino, CA and recently retired after 20 years in the Marine Corps (Infantry, not aviation). While acquiring my ratings at MYF in San Diego using the G.I. Bill I worked line on the weekends as a way to network and be near aircraft. The whole time I worked there I always admired a neglected little Sundowner that sat by the fence with faded paint and flat tires. I eventually asked the boss man if he knew anything about the airplane and he told me he technically owned it as it was in one of the hangars his company bought, but the owner had passed away 4 years earlier. He asked if I was interested, I said I was, and he told me it was mine if I wanted it! But he had no ownership other than past due hangar rent. So after $1500.00 dollars in lawyer fees and a quiet title petition, I am the proud owner of a 1981 Sundowner! She has 1600 original hours, and you can tell the previous owner loved this airplane! The paint is sun faded from being on the fence, but the interior is immaculate, and all original equipment works flawlessly! Pulled all the panels and interior with an IA, and verified no corrosion. The best part is all the original logbooks were in the seat pocket! Compressions were all 78 over 80, fresh oil, plugs and she fired right up! Now I know there is a good chance I could have some interior cam corrosion in the engine, but getting a fresh overhaul will still have me under budget if I wanted to buy an airplane outright! Going to be diving into it's first annual in a while and then hopefully get it in the air again! Any advice you guys have to offer is welcome with open arms! So happy to be a part of this group as I am sure I will be asking for a lot of advice!

That's awesome! well done!

Thanks for bringing one back to life and thanks to the FBO owner for being so reasonable. What a great outcome.

Erik, your post has brightened my day. Good job on you new little bird.. You are going to have a good time together...

Yeah, we needed a good post like this today. Great find - have a blast flying it.

Erik, you've checked out the Beech Aero Club, right?

http://www.beechaeroclub.org/home/

Awesome Save!

Congratulations! You are going to love owning and flying your new Sundowner. They are a blaast.

That panel is immaculate. It's like a look back to when KX170s were new. What is the instrument under the turn coordinator?

One suggestion would be to have a look at the landing gear shock donuts. I don't know what those would do sitting that long. BAC has leads for good replacements.

We have some 3,500 hours operating ours in a club environment and about 300 of those are in my logbook. If I can help in any way, please ask.

Sweet! That left side door makes me jealous

That's going to be the cheapest airplane you could ever dream of. Like you said, you can get a fresh overhaul and still not touch current market numbers.

Congratulations and welcome to BeechTalk!

I love the "/ ALFA" on the radio call placard. And the (probably intended?) typo.

Congratulations! I just moved out of a 76 Sundowner which I had 4.5 years and put 550 hours on her all across the country, great plane.

I think Beech stopped using the black duct by 81, but if you see any blact ducting down under and behind the pedals, get all of that ripped out immediately. Check for corrosion on any part of aluminium it touches and if it touches brake lines, look for leaks. Big +1 on Beech Aero Club, will save you even more thousands in just your first annual.

GMA350
GNX375
GNA355
GNC255
This'll get you adsb in and out, dual gps, dual com and a nav.
Add in:
3 or 4 GI275s
GFC500 (when the 275s will run it)

(I love spending other people's money)

Congrats on the great find/rescue!

Eric,

Thank you for your service.

Congrats on the Sundowner! We flew our 1980 Sundowner for nine years, all over, from Delaware to South Dakota, Florida, Texas and many other places in between. They are certainly an easy keeper if you did a detailed prebuy inspection and do annual upgrades along the way.

I have since sold our Sundower, my bride an I wanted more speed for our retirement travels. We both still miss our her, but she is now living on the west coast at KCMA, Camirillo, CA. We hope to one day visit her on a west coast swing.

Do yourself a favor and join the Beech Aero Club, plenty of great info, and members that are more then willing to help answer any questions.

Ahhh super cool! Well done!

Jack,
The panel is immaculate indeed! You can definitely tell the previous owner was proud of this little bird! I am keeping the original tail number and his custom dash plate as a tribute. The instrument under the turn coordinator is actually a analog "clicker" that you can put in your MEA, FREQ, and Headings for quick reference in instrument conditions. Actually a nifty little device for the time. I will most definitely be looking hard at the donuts. Is there a specific way to check their serviceability? A measurement or something similar? Thanks for the reply and I will probably be reaching out to you frequently for advice! Thank you Sir!