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Engine Vendors

pilot28906

Well Known Member
I am planning on going to Sun-N-Fun this year (1st time) and will be looking for a source for an engine for an RV-7. While new would be nice I will probably end up with a mid-time or rebuild.

For those of you who are SNF veterans, will there be many vendors there who sale rebuilt or mid time engines?

Thanks,
 
I am planning on going to Sun-N-Fun this year (1st time) and will be looking for a source for an engine for an RV-7. While new would be nice I will probably end up with a mid-time or rebuild.

For those of you who are SNF veterans, will there be many vendors there who sale rebuilt or mid time engines?

Thanks,

You're going to get many opinions.

I highly recommend Barrett Precision Engines. Give them a call and ask to speak to Rhonda. I don't know if they have a booth at SnF. They do at OSH.
 
Rhonda and Allan have a booth at SNF. They are right across from the Jimmy Buffet food pavilion usually. Usually have a nice big radial engine in the booth.
 
Barrett Precision Engines is an excellent option. As mentioned, they typically have a booth at SnF.

Titan/Continental will be there too. They sent me an offer for a show discount.

Obviously, Van's will be there with good deals (and usually a show discount) on factory new Lycomings.

Relatively speaking, the costs through BPE, Van's, and Titan are within a few percentage points. On an IO-540, a new Titan, a first run rebuild from BPE, and a new Lycoming through Van's were within about $3k comparing engines with identical accessories.

But, to directly answer the original post, if you're looking for a mid-time engine, there are a handful of businesses set up to part out aircraft. They are the most likely to have a mid time engine that is a fit for the stated need. Dallas Air Salvage, Atlanta Air Salvage, and Wentworth all come to mind. I don't remember seeing any of them at SnF, but I wasn't looking for them either...
 
Aerosport Power

don't rule out this renowned Canadian engine builder....probably hundreds of RV's with their engines over the last 25 years.

with the current exchange rate, even tho most of the parts come from the US, you may still find a good buy, and the after sale service is well documented.

...and they are typically at all the major shows, including SnF....check the vendors list?
 
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Superior is also in attendance at SNF.
They are usually 1 row north & east of the Margaritaville pavilion.
 
I found a decent deal on a wind damaged 2002 Piper Archer in AZ.

O-360-A4M (solid crank) with all the accessories attached for 8k plus shipping. Watch the weather channel for deals :D
 
Thanks for the input. Looks like I will be taking lots of notes and doing a lot of comparisons. Very exciting!!
 
Thunderbolt

Do take a look at the Lycoming Thunderbolt Division. I just went to the factory yesterday to watch my new engine for the RV-10 get run in the test cell. That was way cool!
I was really impressed with the experience. They quoted me 6 weeks, and beat it by a week, and they build it anyway you want it. Jeff Schans is the contact. A true professional to work with.

Vic
 
Will do Vic, thanks for the info.

On the mid-time side of things: What are some important things to look for or things to avoid? I would imagine needs logbooks, no prop strike, no odd-ball engine model. Any info appreciated.

Thanks,
 
Will do Vic, thanks for the info.

On the mid-time side of things: What are some important things to look for or things to avoid? I would imagine needs logbooks, no prop strike, no odd-ball engine model. Any info appreciated.

Thanks,

I searched for a while for a used engine or a core for my RV-10. Never found one that met my needs, so ended up sending money to Barrett Precision Engines for a high end rebuild. Before that, I bought and rebuilt a core for my RV-6.

Looking at used engines, I wanted no prop strike, complete logs, and the engine model I needed. Those were the initial filters.

Next, I preferred a first run engine. One that hadn't been rebuilt multiple times. Those are fairly hard to find.

If a first run engine wasn't available, I wanted the rebuild information from the last rebuild. How many TT hours on the engine? How far was the crank turned at the last rebuild? New cam or regrind? How much repair work was done to the case? Stuff like that. I didn't want a worn out case or a "last run" crank. That gets expensive.

If I was looking to bolt the engine on and go flying, I'd look for one that hadn't been sitting for a long time. And I'd borescope it if I could, even better - pull a cylinder, looking for internal rust. Rust would be a show stopper.
 
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Here has been my experience with a couple of the companies recommended in this thread:

Call for info, nobody answers, leave message. Wait; never get a return call.

Call again next week, someone answers but not who I need. They take a message to give to someone else. Never get a call back.

Send email, never get a response.

Call again a few weeks later, talk to same person again, they acknowledge my message was received the first time and will follow up. Never hear back.

Email again, no response.

Call one last time, FINALLY get the person I need, tons of questions answered. Very helpful. Lots of considerations and some more research to do.

Wait a few months - now ready to actually place order.

Call, call, call, email, call, call - never get any actual response again. Messages indicate I'm ready to place order.

---

I ended up ordering from Vans directly. Was as easy as ordering anything else from them.
 
Over 100hrs on the Continental Motors Titan in the RV-10 and over 150 hrs on the Titan in the Carbon Cub. So-far seem to be good engines.

They had the best advertised warranty when I was shopping several months ago.
 
Here has been my experience with a couple of the companies recommended in this thread:

Call for info, nobody answers, leave message. Wait; never get a return call.

Call again next week, someone answers but not who I need. They take a message to give to someone else. Never get a call back.

Send email, never get a response.

Call again a few weeks later, talk to same person again, they acknowledge my message was received the first time and will follow up. Never hear back.

Email again, no response.

Call one last time, FINALLY get the person I need, tons of questions answered. Very helpful. Lots of considerations and some more research to do.

Wait a few months - now ready to actually place order.

Call, call, call, email, call, call - never get any actual response again. Messages indicate I'm ready to place order.

---

I ended up ordering from Vans directly. Was as easy as ordering anything else from them.


Exact opposite from Thunderbolt and Jeff Schans. I had a call back within a couple of hours and a quote the same day.

Vic
 
Lycoming

As a follow up to Vic, I live 3 miles from the Lycoming plant. Bought new 0-360/prop through Vans with a 'will-call' engine pickup at Lycoming. Backed pickup up to loading dock, signed a few papers, and was home with new engine all within an hour! Great service.

Jim Diehl 7A
 
Exact opposite from Thunderbolt and Jeff Schans. I had a call back within a couple of hours and a quote the same day.

Vic


Ditto from Rhonda at Barrett--both when I did my initial purchase and when I had to send it back a few years later for a complete tear down due to an overspeed. BPE's customer service, along with their motors, is top notch. I can't recommend BPE enough.
 
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