Details, Details and More Details

Not much to show in pictures, but lots of little things are getting wrapped up. Little things like fixing worn out areas of the cowl and getting all of the seams tight. Finished the inlet for the carb, finish shaped the top cowl, got all of the cowl fasteners in. Scott stopped tonight and helped prep the top cowl for paint, which is scheduled for Friday.

I spent some time working on the right side cooling baffle and got its inlet duct finished. I still have to resolve a clearance issue with the right side intake manifold before completing the rest of the baffle.

Currently working on getting the bottom cowl finish shaped and sanded, but the oil cooler inlet ring needs to be completed first. I spent a lot of mental energy (and time on the phone with Joe ; ) to come up with a workable solution. I tried three or four different methods before abandoning them and making the inlet ring out of aluminum on my backyard milling machine (drill press and router bits). Looks pretty cool so far, but I have to cut in one more radius and freehand milling on a drill press is not much of an exact science. It likes to grab things and turn 12 hours of work into scrap. We will see tomorrow.

Its made from 5/16" aluminum plate. I don't have a saw that will cut 6061 that is that thick so I end up printing out CAD drawing templates and using a small drill bit to drill lots of holes that are close to the final shape. The outside radius is finished as is a lip on the inside to fasten it to the cowl. The black paint on it is to show me how far to grind the inside shape, but it will be polished when finished. Here it is sitting on the front part of the inlet duct:

Ground testing was completed last summer so I don't expect any issues with the engine installation other than possibly having to change the low speed jet in the carb. With any luck, late nights and help from Scott, it should be back in the air on Sunday.

Picts of the rest of the details to follow tomorrow.