The stainless steel attachment hardware showed up from Aircraft Spruce today, to I gooped up the back of the heater box with the 2000ºF fire block sealant that came with this and bolted it to the firewall. I probably spent more time cleaning off the excess that oozed out of the joint than I did actually attaching it.I have no doubts that it’s well sealed though.
Here is a shot on the inside. The specified AN3C-4A bolts were a little long, so I had to stack up a couple of extra washers to be able to tighten them properly. AN3C-3A bolts would have been perfect. The stop nuts are MS21046C3. I originally thought they sent me the wrong nuts because these looked like aluminum. It turns out that these are silver plated.
I used the right vent line as a template and knocked the left line out in about 20 minutes. I’ll probably wait until the subpanel is riveted in for good before installing these permanently.
Before installing the baggage and seat floors for good, I needed to take care of one last tasks that would be impossible once they’re riveted on. I have two conduit runs under these floors that pass through the F-705 and F-706 bulkheads. Vibration can cause the aluminum to cut through the conduit over time, so I used some E6000 adhesive to secure the conduit to the bulkheads. This will prevent any relative motion that could damage the conduit.
Finally, I put the baggage floors on for good and pulled all of the blind rivets. I really wish I had bought a pneumatic rivet puller; my hand is killing me. If you’re just getting started, do yourself a favor and spend the $35 to pick up one from Harbor Freight.
I still have to install the nutplates along the back and center tunnel, but I’m beat.
