Hello Everyone,

I have the opportunity to purchase an 1961 C185 w/an IO-470.

In pieces, sat on desert ramp for years
Engine is junk
No flaps or ailerons
No logs
Never registered in US, belonged to Mexican airline in Baja since new, clean title search
Minimal corrosion, will have 3-weeks in sheetmetal work.
Control cables were cut during disassembly
Has old instruments, seats, interior intact

Idea is to build the lightest 185 possible.
No paint, minimal interior and avionics
IO-550 w/MT Prop

I believe it is worth $10-12K. What say you?

Thanks, Alex

Depending on your mission statement my advice comes only from my perspective;

1.) Research and purchase the C-185 that you want to own and fly.
2.) Fly, enjoy and upgrade the 185 as time and money permit.
3.) Repeat step 2.

Enjoy....

I have a mechanically restored C182A w/a PPonk so flying isn't a problem. The guys is asking $20k and I think he's crazy.

An airframe lke that is really only worth parting out. You will be upsidown financially by the time you're done. Like others have said, buy one already done or near done. Another issue against that airframe is the early model year. The early models had some kinda hinky systems. Parts might be an issue. You might have to somehow update to a later model system. Have you priced parts from Cessna lately? Might be a major shock? Little minor parts that cost $25-30 bucks a few years ago now cost a couple of hundred. I replaced a pair of boost pump resistors here last fall. That tore up six Benjamins in the blink of an eye. $300+ for a litlle small hard fuel line after that. Ever price out all the cool trick stc mods? Add them all up and you will go into cardiac arrest. Unless you're comfortable with regularly breaking out several AMUs on a regular basis, forget trying to resuscitate a derelict airframe.

With no logs, MX registration and the mechanical issues, I'd offer to haul it to the dump for him for $500.

For comparison: I bought a P206B this summer. Sat the last 8 years. All logs, complete airframe, minor corrosion that's easy to fix. No engine but came with the bonaire 550 STC, along with lord mounts and exhaust for the 550 and a belly pod. I could put an engine/prop on and go fly the thing tomorrow if I wanted. But I am going to do a nice rebuild and probably have the plane forever. I paid 15k CAD.
So yes, i think he's crazy at 20k. Flaps and ailerons aren't cheap last I checked.

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Don’t walk away RUN away from that plane it’s a black hole for your wallet and a massive headache. Buy the best plane you can find that your budget will allow.

Everybody is pretty much in agreement here but sometimes the heart can take over the head. Look at all the failed marriages you know? I hear you when you write that you've already got an airplane so your case, though a bad one, is different from some of the dumb ass moves I've made. So, if you are willing to risk it just remember, the chances of you actually finishing it are poor, you'll piss off or lose your family if you take on the project seriously, and the project won't make you happy.

Other than that, go for it.

A project like that doesn’t even make sense as a buyer unless it is free...and even then will still cost more than if you just go buy the plane you want.


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+1 what Mr Hamon says! I have one of those projects

gbflyer wrote:With no logs, MX registration and the mechanical issues, I'd offer to haul it to the dump for him for $500.

Damn gb...you come cheap! I'd need at least twice that to haul it to the dump, plus dump fees.

Seems to me that if you have enough money to bring that project to fruition, it doesn't really matter what you spend on the carcass. It's a drop in the bucket, especially if you value your time...say at around $1.25 per hour?

And if you like projects (which you must to even consider this) then it looks like a GREAT one! A person would have to hunt long and hard to find a pile of aluminum that promises the project hours of this one. Just think of the paperwork fun and part hunting, let alone the wrenching!

I think the seller is VERY conscientious to price it so high...if it was free a person caught in a weak moment might think it was worth doing.

Granted I'm no fan of projects...if I had to rebuild an airplane to keep flying I'd trade my log books in for a donkey, then shoot the donkey.

It takes a certain type of crazy to ground up restore an old airplane like this.

You will be in a class crazier than the 51% experimental builders.
Even crazier than the old scratch builders you never hear about anymore.

You will never finish this project unless you accept the fact that you will do nothing else every day of your life for the next two or three years. Two hours every evening and ten hours every weekend.

Estimate how much money you think you will need and put twice that amount into a separate bank account...it will be empty by the end of the first year but at least it's a start.

Start teaching your wife how to rivet NOW. If the two of you aren't still laughing and having fun after a day driving rivets together, serious reconsider. She needs to be just as excited about this project as you are. It will seriously test your relationship.

Have a major life goal tied into the project because finishing the plane wont be enough to keep you going. Mine is to get my A&P. Ours is to move out of the DC area (When the plane flies, so do we).

Think of the project with the same grandness as going to night school to get your Bachelor's and your Master's.

Buy it for 5K and part it out for 20. There are plenty of guys way too deep into better projects than this that could really use the parts this plane offers.

A few thoughts, not that you needed any more but....
I’d talk to the FSDO or be sure you fully understand how your paperwork trail will go to get it airworthy and legal in the US.
If you are paying to have it restored, you can’t get a truck big enough to carry the money you will spend, run away.
If you are an A&P or can work under the supervision of an A&P who will he kind and patient you will be able to do this project for about $100k, maybe. That does not include the 2000+ hours you will spend. So, a $10k offer would be about the outside of reasonable. It can’t be done feasibly on a pay per hour basis.
If you are good with doing it as a hobby, go for it. I’m writing this while waiting to meet a guy about buying another similar project. I’ve done three now and love it. I just know that my time is purely donated to the universe and that’s okay.
Post pics if you get it!
And, good luck.

Run away from that beast. Your time is more valuable than that black hole of a project. By the time you are finished, you will have spent much more than your “best case” calculation you’re likely telling yourself, and you are still dealing with an airframe that is always going to be valued considerably less than a US-based airframe with logbooks.
Not to mention the fun you’re going to have with the FAA and the ensuing paperwork.
Relax. There will always be projects available.

I'm sure you could get it cheap enough, that wouldn't be the issue. You could part it out if all else fails, most salvage yards would give in the 8k range I would think. It would be the history that would be the issue. For what you'll have into it you'll be looking to get a good chunk back on resale down the road sometime. You may not be looking at top dollar when you go to sell either but I think most in the market for this type of plane will shy away from something so extensively rebuilt by a non professional re builder and then with the history it would put it over the top for being too hard to re-sell. But each to their own, if you're the sort of person that takes on a project like this, you know you'll do it anyway!

Patches wrote:I have the opportunity to purchase an 1961 C185 w/an IO-470.

Never registered in US, belonged to Mexican airline in Baja since new, clean title search

I'm not a 185 guy, so I can't comment on the plane. But it seems like many others already have, so no loss there.

I do live in Mexico though.

You are right to be wary of the Mexican registration. Right or wrong, if you complete this project and do a ground up restoration into a perfect plane with an N registration, that logbook history will still be a drag on the final value. Some buyers will be able to look past it, but others won't.

Depending on where in Baja you are talking about, corrosion could easily be an issue. Make sure the parts you think you are buying with this project are actually still airworthy, it sounds like he might have sold off a bunch of the stuff that is airworthy already.

The biggest deal will be negotiation. Do not hesitate to offer what you can do the deal for. Do not couch it in apologies. Someone on this thread suggested buying it and parting it out. If that's a possibility, then it's also a possibility that the current owner knows that value as well (as supported by the fact that some of the valuable parts are already missing). You won't be able to lowball that guy in that case, but neither is he likely to be offended by any serious offer. If you say "I'm going to restore it and that doesn't make sense unless I can get it for $2,500, so that's my offer" then leave it at that. The Mexican culture tends to not say "no" to things. So if he doesn't want to accept it, you very well might get a response along the lines of "let me think about that and I'll get back to you", then never hear anything again. Seems rude in the US, but it's pretty normal there.

Crazy deals happen. Stay in touch with the guy. If he goes silent today or even does say "no", ping him again in 6-12 months if you're still interested. The hangar next door to mine had a 90's vintage VFR 180HP Maule in it that was probably worth $40-50K or so USD. He got a new girlfriend, they got serious, she said no more flying, the Maule needed new plugs so was out of annual. Between all those factors he ended up selling the hangar and the Maule for a combined $30K/USD.

Things in Mexico rarely go at the same speed as in the US, but if you learn a few things about the culture then you can be successful within the system.

I know the airplane you’re looking at. I’ve tried to buy it twice. In fact I gave a standing offer.

I have some really good contacts as far as MX registration goes, and my dads first language is Spanish. We may have been able to get it deregistered but we gave up.

Maybe when I finish my 2 current 185 projects, I may go have another look. For now, I don’t need it that bad.

It sounds like a great project! That would be very cool if you could pick it up for 12k. It doesn't sound like structurally it's hurt that bad.

Minimal corrosion, not a whole lot of sheet metal work, sounds exciting. I think we may even have flaps and ailerons here that would work on that. I'm sure the boss would deal with you.

I hate seeing stuff parted out, that thing deserves to fly again!

Would love to see that Skywagon fly up here to Montana in a year or two, will show you some cool spots!


Richard