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[January 10, 2007]


I did a close inspection on the right tank today and it looks pretty much good to go. There is one spot on the outboard front edge that needs a dab of sealant. Other than that, ribs are done!

I cranked down the fuel return and vent couplings. I used a torque wrench with a crowsfoot on it. I can't say that it worked all that well because you can't move it all that much. But they are torqued within the range they should be.


Next was to cut the wires and connect up the inboard sender. This was a royal pain. First off figuring out how much wire to cut off takes some time. Too much and you are SOL, and too little you have a lot of sags. I got it perfect. I then attempted to put the crimp ends on, which wasn't too bad, but it took some maneuvering. I then soldered them just to be on the safe side. Next was the worst part - trying to tighten up the screw and hold the nut down. I swear it took an hour to figure out the right way to do it -- sockets, long screwdrivers, open end wrenches and short screwdrivers were all used until I could figure it out. Not helping was that big fat fuel return tube that was in the way the whole time, and I will probably never ever use it. Oh well, I cracked the code to getting it on.


I need to also rivet on the antirotation bracket on the access panels. It is a universal head rivet. I figured the head should be on the outside since there is limited room to get it with a rivet gun or squeezer on the inside. I got my squeezer out and the no-hole yoke would of barely gotton the one closest to the edge (the right one in this pic -- the one with the cleco in it). But the yoke wasn't long enough to get the other one. What to do?


Looking at every option I had, I figured I needed to buck and shoot it. I clamped this bucking bar to the table and it seems like it will work like a charm.


It is close, but it will work just fine (me thinks). It is too late to break out the sealant tonight, so I will get both of these and finish up the right tank final interiour sealing touches tomorrow.


One other thing I caught tonight was that Van's jipped me on a washer and 4 spacers for the capacitive senders! This was the only thing I didn't inventory, and it is the only pieces I am missing out of the wing kit! Doh! Its only $1.09 worth of parts, but there is going to be a handling fee, shipping fee and delay involved with it. No biggie, it won't hold up the right tank from being completed.
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Last Modified: August 13, 2023