MX7-180C project

armascher · Post by **armascher** » Thu Jan 18, 2018 10:10 pm

A project I couldn't walk away from. 1998 MX7-180C, ground loop to nose over. Purchased on salvage and then sold to me (because I couldn't walk away). Prop strike, motor mount crushed, firewall toast, wings top skin(both), left wing struts, left gear leg and vertical fin damage. Fuselage looks to be in great shape, a scratch on the fabric on top. Small bow in the V-brace portion of the frame directly behind the firewall. I have the wings at a friends shop waiting for the word go to repair. Estimates coming in for a teardown inspection (1000 tt A &E). I live in Idaho and luckily have access to some great mechanics. I'm trying to read up here as I'm new to Maules (200ish tailwheel time between 170 and a kitfox). My plan of attack:

1 -get the engine to the shop and torn down (find out if the crank is good)
2- find a used prop
3- get the fuselage stripped to the front door posts, take it to the fuselage guy for inspection and vertical fin repair
4- wings rebuilt or replaced with used (21k each from factory YIKES)
5- find left gear leg (aluminum spring type)
6- get rid of the 29" Air Hawks and find some tundra tires
100- put it all back together

I'm looking for input on....engine shops, prop types, wing mods or available used wings, gear legs, folks I should call (besides the obvious great people at the Maule Factory) anything else I should be thinking about.
Thanks!

bobguhr · Post by **bobguhr** » Fri Jan 19, 2018 2:44 am

You can't go wrong by reaching out to Wup Winn in Joseph,Oregon.
http://www.backcountryconnection.com/about/

armascher · Post by **armascher** » Tue Jan 30, 2018 3:40 pm

There is a chance I could get a hold of some airworthy M-4 wings (30'10") for a good price and utilize the money I save to purchase an O-540. Any thoughts on putting the shorter wing on the MX-7? I believe Maule has Mod kit(drawings) available.

crbnunit · Post by **crbnunit** » Tue Jan 30, 2018 5:51 pm

There is a set of M-5 wings up here with long range tanks. $10K though.

pilot · Post by **pilot** » Tue Jan 30, 2018 6:07 pm

crbnunit wrote:There is a set of M-5 wings up here with long range tanks. $10K though.

For 10K, there is a set of those same wings in Louisiana!

Post by **andy** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 5:12 am

Armacher, the shorter (30'10") wing on the MX-7 matters most on a floatplane or amphib when you need the extra lift of a larger wing to overcome the suction and extra weight of the floats. Otherwise, there's not much difference in performance.

montana maule · Post by **montana maule** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 7:17 am

For what it is worth--
I have instructed in an M5-180 - (short wing, constant speed prop)
And my MX7-160 - (universal wing, fixed pitch climb prop)
The 160hp will break ground quicker, climb faster, and land shorter.
If I had the choice I would always go with a universal or longer wing.
MX7 fuselage + M7a wing + 235hp = M6 ( best Maule around)

armascher · Post by **armascher** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 7:47 am

Ok. Thanks for the replies. I will have the universal wings I have now rebuilt. The motor (C1F) is going to Lycon for inspection. If the crank is good and there's no major damage, I plan on doing the top overhaul with port/polish/balance. Hopefully I can gain a little there. If the motor is toast, I plan on looking for a mid-time 0-540. Right now the motor mount, cowl and prop need to be replaced which leads to the engine upgrade....

MauleEnvy · Post by **MauleEnvy** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 8:16 am

Definitely get the porting from Lycon if you stay with the C1F. The M5-180 I recently bought had an overhaul done there and the dyno sheet with the engine shows 201.2 HP at 2695 RPM.

I don't have any other Maule experience, but it feels stronger than my old 172 180hp with a Powerflow exhaust and MT Prop.

Andy Young · Post by **Andy Young** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 8:46 pm

armascher wrote:Ok. Thanks for the replies. I will have the universal wings I have now rebuilt. The motor (C1F) is going to Lycon for inspection. If the crank is good and there's no major damage, I plan on doing the top overhaul with port/polish/balance. Hopefully I can gain a little there. If the motor is toast, I plan on looking for a mid-time 0-540. Right now the motor mount, cowl and prop need to be replaced which leads to the engine upgrade....

If you end up needing an IO-540 mount for some reason, I'll have one available in a few weeks.

armascher · Post by **armascher** » Tue Feb 06, 2018 7:25 am

I'm looking for a serviceable left main, spring gear leg if anyone knows of one sitting around...

armascher · Post by **armascher** » Sat Jun 09, 2018 11:47 pm

Update:
Crank passed inspection and the o-360 is currently being overhauled by Lycon, no upgrade to the O-540, best I can do is a port and polish/balance with the great engineers at Lycon (sure would be nice to have options for PowerFlow)
Wings are being repaired locally, sticking with the universal wing.

Need some advice on:
Prop and exhaust...
Is Hartzell the only option? Should I convert to F/P? Where's the best place to have the exhaust rebuilt and what should I specify exactly to have done in order to reduce cracks? Finally, There's gotta be a straight left spring gear leg out there somewhere......

DeltaRomeo · Post by **DeltaRomeo** » Sun Jun 10, 2018 5:38 am

MT sells a prop for the O-360 Maules. Its a really good upgrade from the Hartzell.

pilot · Post by **pilot** » Mon Jun 11, 2018 5:32 am

pilot wrote:
crbnunit wrote:There is a set of M-5 wings up here with long range tanks. $10K though.
For 10K, there is a set of those same wings in Louisiana!

Update - there is no longer a set of M5 wings here, thanks to a forum member seeing this and asking me about them. He was a tough negotiator though, did not get 10k for them

armascher · Post by **armascher** » Sun Sep 16, 2018 4:16 pm

project is coming along. The crank was good in the o-360 so I'm looking for a prop. There was one avialable from a member who contacted me...not sure if it still is. Is it worth going down the road of a longer F/P on field approval? sounds like equal performance with less cost..any thoughts out there..

MX7-180C project

MX7-180C project

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