petehowell
Well Known Member
Building an O-320
Somewhere when you are driving rivets, it hits you, this thing?s not a glider, I need an engine for it??.. When that happened to me, I spoke with a few people and decided I wanted to build a kit engine rather than an overhaul. Robbie Attaway www.attawayair.com spent lot of time answering my dumb questions and pointed me to Richard Fowler of America?s Aircraft Engines www.overhaul.com in Tulsa. I checked some independent references and they all had good things to say about ECI O-320 kit and the guys in Tulsa so I called Richard, placed an order and sent him a deposit. We were hoping to have the engine a few weeks after Oshkosh, but ECI was not happy with the machining of the crankcases they were getting from a supplier, so things were delayed few months. No worries as I am still in a mess of wires on my panel. I met up with Robbie and the America?s Aircraft Engines guys at LOE and they told me the case would be there in a few weeks. Since I had a day off coming up, I asked Richard if I could come down and watch the build. He told me I could watch, help, or do it all myself under their supervision. They called last week and said everything was ready ? and asked what color I wanted the case and cylinders painted. I told them I liked the standard red and black and that I would be down on Friday.
Sooo?..Thursday night I flew from Minneapolis to Tulsa to help with the build of the engine for my RV-9A. Richard Fowler picked me up from the hotel at 7:30 and we headed to the shop. I was given a tour of the facility and got a chance to meet the crew. They have 5 engine builders and assemble or overhaul over 25 engines a month. Richard introduced me to Ryan, the A&P who would be working with me. This guy knows engines, and he is meticulous. He had system for doing everything, with built in double checks for parts and processes. Any time a critical bolt or nut was tightened ? it was verified by one of the other A&P?s. Every time we moved from one operation to another, all the tools were put away and the bench was wiped down with lacquer thinner. He showed me the 5-10 different kinds of goo we would use as assembly lubes and taught me the right way to do many different engine-building tasks.
My kit was neatly arranged on a build cart - lots of little parts. We started by assembling the con rods and steadily worked from there. I pitched in here and there and took lots of pictures. The shop guys have a great time while working and it was clear no one was beyond a good verbal jab ? even me. Soon we had the case assembled, and moved on the cylinders. We installed valves, springs and keepers. Next we got the pistons and rings assembled and mounted the cylinders on the case - lots of bolts and special torques here. Ryan just kept pulling parts off the cart and like magic, they fit. It was clear he had done this more than a few times. The clock and our stomachs told us it was lunch time.
Richard and I had a great lunch at Fuddrucker?s where I found out Richard is a pilot and owns a C-180. We of course talked flying for a while. On the way back to the shop, Richard introduced me to a gentleman named John on his airport that has built many RV?s and in the process of building a 10 and an 8. John answered some of my RV questions and it was then time to head back.
Ryan had begun work on the sump and accessory case and we got those added with no problems. Soon the fuel pump, oil filter and vacuum pad covers were on. We tackled the pushrods and sleeves and got the rockers arms installed next. At this point, I needed to leave to catch my flight back to Minneapolis. I thanked all the guys for putting up with me, and Richard very graciously drove me back to the airport.
What a way to spend the day. Met some great guys, learned a ton about my engine, and have confidence it was done right. My engine will be test run early next week, preserved, and shipped up ready for mounting on the fuse in my garage. UPDATE: The engine ran yesterday with no issues, it is on its way north today via Watkins Motor Fright
I am very happy with my choice of engine source. If you need an engine or an overhaul, Take a look at the ECI kit and give Robbie or Richard a call.
Here are some of the many pictures I took on Friday
Cart of Parts:
Cylinder Work
Nearly Finished
Somewhere when you are driving rivets, it hits you, this thing?s not a glider, I need an engine for it??.. When that happened to me, I spoke with a few people and decided I wanted to build a kit engine rather than an overhaul. Robbie Attaway www.attawayair.com spent lot of time answering my dumb questions and pointed me to Richard Fowler of America?s Aircraft Engines www.overhaul.com in Tulsa. I checked some independent references and they all had good things to say about ECI O-320 kit and the guys in Tulsa so I called Richard, placed an order and sent him a deposit. We were hoping to have the engine a few weeks after Oshkosh, but ECI was not happy with the machining of the crankcases they were getting from a supplier, so things were delayed few months. No worries as I am still in a mess of wires on my panel. I met up with Robbie and the America?s Aircraft Engines guys at LOE and they told me the case would be there in a few weeks. Since I had a day off coming up, I asked Richard if I could come down and watch the build. He told me I could watch, help, or do it all myself under their supervision. They called last week and said everything was ready ? and asked what color I wanted the case and cylinders painted. I told them I liked the standard red and black and that I would be down on Friday.
Sooo?..Thursday night I flew from Minneapolis to Tulsa to help with the build of the engine for my RV-9A. Richard Fowler picked me up from the hotel at 7:30 and we headed to the shop. I was given a tour of the facility and got a chance to meet the crew. They have 5 engine builders and assemble or overhaul over 25 engines a month. Richard introduced me to Ryan, the A&P who would be working with me. This guy knows engines, and he is meticulous. He had system for doing everything, with built in double checks for parts and processes. Any time a critical bolt or nut was tightened ? it was verified by one of the other A&P?s. Every time we moved from one operation to another, all the tools were put away and the bench was wiped down with lacquer thinner. He showed me the 5-10 different kinds of goo we would use as assembly lubes and taught me the right way to do many different engine-building tasks.
My kit was neatly arranged on a build cart - lots of little parts. We started by assembling the con rods and steadily worked from there. I pitched in here and there and took lots of pictures. The shop guys have a great time while working and it was clear no one was beyond a good verbal jab ? even me. Soon we had the case assembled, and moved on the cylinders. We installed valves, springs and keepers. Next we got the pistons and rings assembled and mounted the cylinders on the case - lots of bolts and special torques here. Ryan just kept pulling parts off the cart and like magic, they fit. It was clear he had done this more than a few times. The clock and our stomachs told us it was lunch time.
Richard and I had a great lunch at Fuddrucker?s where I found out Richard is a pilot and owns a C-180. We of course talked flying for a while. On the way back to the shop, Richard introduced me to a gentleman named John on his airport that has built many RV?s and in the process of building a 10 and an 8. John answered some of my RV questions and it was then time to head back.
Ryan had begun work on the sump and accessory case and we got those added with no problems. Soon the fuel pump, oil filter and vacuum pad covers were on. We tackled the pushrods and sleeves and got the rockers arms installed next. At this point, I needed to leave to catch my flight back to Minneapolis. I thanked all the guys for putting up with me, and Richard very graciously drove me back to the airport.
What a way to spend the day. Met some great guys, learned a ton about my engine, and have confidence it was done right. My engine will be test run early next week, preserved, and shipped up ready for mounting on the fuse in my garage. UPDATE: The engine ran yesterday with no issues, it is on its way north today via Watkins Motor Fright
I am very happy with my choice of engine source. If you need an engine or an overhaul, Take a look at the ECI kit and give Robbie or Richard a call.
Here are some of the many pictures I took on Friday
Cart of Parts:
Cylinder Work
Nearly Finished
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