On Mar 26, 6:18*pm, wrote:
The older 172's with manual flaps and
simple basic electronics are pretty low maintenance.

Nope. Unless someone has already replaced a lot of stuff like control
cables, pulleys, control surface hinges and many other things, these
will all be pretty old. Pulley bearings seize with age and corrosion.
Cable corrode and the wires in them break, causing fraying where they
run over pulleys, even if the angle change is very small. Any moisture
that's gotten into the airframe, even condensation, causes corrosion
and many good-looking airplanes have been junked because they were
eaten out from the inside. Any animals that nested in it will have
done terrible damage. 172 stabilizer spars crack, usually because
people push the tail down to turn the airplane. A 1950s 172 has had 50
years to get to this state, and if it's been outside with the wind
working the controls a bit, there'll be a lot of wear. The Continental
engines need lots of care where the valves are concerned.
The old wheels on '50s airplanes are almost impossible to find
parts for, as is the rest of an airplane that old. Cessna doesn't
stock or make parts fo.r their old models. Univair has a few of the
more popular bits.
If it was so cheap to run old airplanes, they'd be much in
demand. But, like old cars, they often end up costing more than it
would have cost to buy something much newer in the first place.

Dan (aircraft maintenance engineer)