Facebook Marketplace Scott/ABI Tailwheel Refurb

[ADK-Flyer]

So I?ve been looking around for a tailwheel as my kit was ordered by the original owner as a Tri gear. I was originally just going to order whatever Kitfox sells with their kits but figured maybe if I shop around I could end up with a bit of an upgrade for less money. While looking on Facebook marketplace of all places I came across an ABI tailwheel listed at $875.00 which was less than what I was seeing them go for used elsewhere. I ended up offering $700.00 and he agreed and I just received it. I got what appears to be an ABI 3224 tailwheel, a second tailwheel fork, the wheel, 3 tires, and 2 tubes both holding air. Not sure if I got a deal or not but I'm going to disassemble and clean everything up powder coat what I can and see what I end up with.


IMG_2813.jpg

[ADK-Flyer]

Got it all disassembled and found only a few things I needed to replace. The wheel had the old style metal seals with felt in them so I ordered new rubber seals from Alaska Airframes. I also ordered bolts, nuts and washers to join to wheel halves as they were missing but cheap. Next I disassembled the tailwheel assembly where I found the same old metal seal which I'll be replacing again with rubber. I then found that one of the brass thrust washers was not in place properly when it was last assembled so the pin on the pawl had left a mark in it. The thrust washers were cheap so I ordered 2 to replace both. The only other thing I found was that for some reason the lower dust cap was completely missing for some reason so I ordered that as well. It ended costing under 100 dollars so not too bad so far. while I was ordering I decided to throw a T3 tailwheel suspension in my cart to go with it when it's done. I do my own powder coating and I've decided to powder coat the wheel flat black I also ended up purchasing the gray that was used on my fuselage and I'm contemplating powder coating the tailwheel assembly that color or the flat black as well just not sure yet. I also discovered the Head is a Scott 3200 and the fork is a ABI 3224. If everything works out I should be into the tailwheel assembly with the T3 for 1,600 to 1,700.

IMG_2850.jpgIMG_2857.jpg

[ADK-Flyer]

Sandblasted and almost ready for powder coating just have to give them a good washing. Apparently the flat black I have on hand is textured which seems like a bad idea as it will be hard to wash. I have high glass black and the gray that Kitfox powder coated my fuselage and parts with. I looked at Cardinal where they get it from and it seemed they wouldn?t sell less than 5 pounds of powder which is a lot. I found the color at Prismatic powders and ordered some but not sure how well it will match. So I have to decide between these colors or order flat black and wait for it to come in.

IMG_2922.jpg

[bbs428]

Here's a 2-part epoxy spray-can that comes in a satin black. It might be a good choice, although once mixed left-overs are trash!

Buy 2K AeroSpray Chassis Black Satin Spray Paint | Eastwood Auto

[avidflyer]

Dont want to hijack this thread, but I have a scott 3200 tailwheel up for sale as well. A flying friend of mine passed away, and I'm helping his widow sell off the stuff he accumulated. Should be able to find it on barnstormers. JImChuk

[bbs428]

I found a used Scott 3200 tailwheel on Barnstormers, cleaned it up and rebuilt it like you did.
I painted mine with the same Insignia white Aero-thane polyurethane as the plane.
The paint sure is tough! Holds up well to the abuse!

20181026_095819 (2020_09_21 10_29_07 UTC).jpg IMG_1637.jpg

[efwd]

Ive got 585 hours on that set up without any problems. Still on the original tire but new tube 15 hours ago. I figure I'll get another 500 hrs on this tire. Paved runways mostly.