Project 172, sitting outside, uncovered for 18 years!

The guy that owns the private strip that I fly out of got a 172 project.
What a project, this guy has better luck than me though. The airframe has
less than 1000 hours TT and the plane has been sitting, outside for 18
years! The body looks very good, much of the paint is actually missing but
the metal underneath is actually in very good shape. We tore the cyclinders
off and found only one had very minor surface rust which cleaned up easily
with a hone. Peeking in at the crankcase, we found 3 cotter pins with one
leg each broken off and everything else looks like brand new! The engine had
just 70 hours on it when it was parked and neglected. The case is being
split and checked out my a certified mechanic. When I say it was neglected,
chances are someone walked by each year and turned the prop by hand, but the
lack of damage is totally amazing to me. We removed two big garbage cans
worth of birds nests from the cowling.

The interior although the old gold original, looks like new. It's not
brittle or anything. The only parts that are bad is the windshield, which is
a bit smokey, and the avionics are very outdated. Huge power supplies are
bolted in the rear for the old stuff.

I can't believe the plane is in such great shape after 18 years of PA
winters and summers. This plane is going to end up being one of the nicest
1963 172's around, Cessna really built these things to last. Should I ever
decide to take on a project like this one, I hope my luck holds out as well
as his has.

Wayne