Florida man rebuilding 'junk' Cessna 120 says he can't believe what he has to do to make it work
- This guy bought a 78-year-old Cessna
- There’s a lot of work to be done
- One thing in particular left the buyer shocked
Published on May 12, 2025 at 2:48 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on May 12, 2025 at 9:18 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
This plane collector in Florida decided to take a leap of faith and buy a 1947 Cessna 120 aircraft.
Unsurprisingly, the plane wasn’t in good condition.
The buyer couldn’t believe his eyes when he actually looked ‘under the hood’ and realized what he was going to have to do.
There was one thing in particular he wasn’t expecting.
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Jimmy Webb from the Jimmys World YouTube channel recently decided to invest a significant chunk of cash, not to mention time and effort, into an old 78-year-old Cessna plane registered in Florida.
After all, this is the guy who bought Elvis Presley’s jet, turned it into an RV in record time and then even drove it to the McDonald’s Drive Thru.
He bought the plane around a month ago and, even though it is 78 years old, this single-engine Cessna 120 is still airworthy, and it’ll remain airworthy until 2028.
However, if Jimmy wants this plane to still be airworthy after its certification expires about three years from now, he’s going to have to roll up his sleeves and break out the checkbook because it needs a lot of work.
For starters, he had to install a new starter, which also happens to be about 50 percent lighter than the one he replaced.
After all, this is a light aircraft, and that means that even shaving one or two pounds off its overall weight that can make a difference.
On top of that, he had to replace a long list of engine components, including the rubber mounts, magnetos, oil filter adapter and push-button starter.
In accordance with the old adage that if things can get worse they will, Jimmy then discovered an even bigger problem because the wing fabric was damaged and the fuel cap was bent.
But the biggest problem, by far, was the fact Jimmy had to cut a shaft inside the engine, because otherwise it wouldn’t fit.
And he had to do this while also making sure the ‘operation’ wouldn’t leave metal shavings and debris inside the engine.
“Cutting this in a brand-new engine, this is such a bad idea. But they tell me it can be done,” he said in the video.
This is an ongoing process, so we’ll surely have updates in the near future.
Alessandro is an automotive journalist with 10 years of experience covering supercars, automotive history, emerging vehicle technology, and luxury transportation. He wrote the first article published on SupercarBlondie.com when the website launched in 2022 and has since built a reputation for insightful reporting across the automotive and transportation industries. His expertise is grounded in hands-on experience. Alessandro has driven every Tesla model ever produced, from the original Roadster to the Cybertruck, and regularly covers the latest developments in electric vehicles and automotive innovation. His passion for transportation extends beyond cars, he has even flown a Boeing 787 Dreamliner simulator in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His reporting spans everything from classic American muscle cars and rare automotive discoveries to luxury yachts, private aircraft, high-end watches, and cutting-edge vehicle technology. Known for his deep knowledge of automotive history and ability to uncover the stories behind iconic vehicles, Alessandro brings readers a blend of historical context, technical expertise, and first-hand experience.
