My Sad 337 Engine Story

[tomcomet]

So I went ahead and bought the 1977 Reims F337G with the high time engines for what I thought was a good price. I had the knowledge that the engines would "one day" need attention, rebuilding or replacement and I took that liability on. I have to admit, I have flown the $#IT out of the plane racking up 120 hours to date and we have had some fun but it has been a maintenance hog too but I attributed that to "the first year in a new plane" syndrome.

After an oil leak in the rear engine turned into a cracked cylinder which in turn led us to discover excessive cam lobe pitting and wear that day of engine reckoning now today. Less than 9 months after my original purchase I am looking at $46,000USD per engine for a reman direct from Continental. This is before transport, removal and replacement, hose kit and the dozen or so other expenses I am sure. Oh, and I am in Canada so this will be well over $65,000CAD and, of course BOTH engines are the same vintage and have an identical history so... It doesn't take a rocket scientist to guess how the front one really is...

A big part of my problem is the non VAR crankshafts which is severely limiting my options. By the time we replace the crank the rebuild price will exceed the reman engine AND no shop wants to do it.

Oh, and did I mention my bills to date this calendar year for the SkyMaster (AKA WalletBlaster) is just over $100k CAD but, to be fare, I did add a G4, roll steer and an Avidyne 440.

What am I hoping to accomplish from this post? Perhaps a little sympathy and maybe some perspective and advice. I love my SkyMaster and I really enjoy flying her but this is INSANITY!!!

Perhaps this will serve as a warning to future legacy twin AC buyers out there. I don't feel that this has anything to do with the unique design of the 337 at all (except maybe the hot rear engine thing). Maybe someone knows of one or, better yet, two very good, used IO-360 engines for sale? Or, maybe there is someone who wants to buy a very good looking 1977 SkyMaster with one 40 year old 1500+ hour engine in the front and a big, greasy hole in the back... Seriously, all options are currently on the table.

Seriously, I have been keeping it together pretty well so far but the penny has dropped so to speak. I just don't know if I can continue with this...