Forced Rebuild of RV6-A "Alice"

[rvbuilder2002]

Originally Posted by zcv7853

I had a discussion with someone from Vans about this as I was concerned as well. I spoke with numerous other builders and they all said the same thing - the holes wont line up.....

I am going to give it a shot, my old spar doubler and new wings seem to be a dang close match.

https://imgur.com/AOlNnfT

When I go to install them, I am going to try the bolts in dry ice trick to squeeze a little extra room before they expand. According to this site (https://goodcalculators.com/thermal-...on-calculator/) using dry ice should get close to 1/2 thou extra room.

If that doesnt work, ill be reaming and using oversize bolts. New bolts came with my spare kit and oversize bolts cheapest I could find are around $27 ea. =\

Hopefully you are aware that the NAS bolts in the center splice plates are only part of the equation. All of the AN3 bolts were match drilled to the center as well (an then match drilled to the main gear weldments by the build during construction).

I have rebuilt a RV-6A that had been flipped on its back (with more damage than yours appears to have sustained) so I know the level of damage your wings likely have.
I have been working on RV's for a long time and there is no way I would choose replacing the wings over repairing the originals, unless there was some very questionable workmanship from the original builder.

[zcv7853]

Progress since my last post has been a little less than desirable. I spent a few days cleaning up and reorganizing the hangar enough to move around again.

Airframe-
I have begun the process of fitting my new wings. For all who have said it would be easier to repair my old wings, I appreciate your insight and advice! I completely expect to have to undo some of my progress and revert back to using my old wings when I hit an impass. Until then I am going to attempt to use my new ones.

So far, the fit is better than expected. I fitted the pilot side wing last week to check fit and hole allignment. Everything looks spot on! I installed 6 out of the 8 spar bolts without issue. They went in snugly with a rubber mallet after being coated with corrosionX. The remaining 2 were rather inconvenient and I used up my allotment of cursewords for the day so I called it quits. The smaller AN holes lined up as well and I got many started by hand without trying too hard.

I have a new set of landing gear weldments I can use/drill if necessary, but so far I believe everything will line up.


Engine-
There was a guy at my field that started building an rv7 a few years ago and recently gave up. He sold his kit to a friend of mine that insists on an o-360, leaving his pile of o-320 parts needing a new home.

All his parts were either new or overhauled with yellow tags. I got a 320 case, crank, new cam, oil pan, 4 overhauled chrome complete cylinders, OH mags, inverted oil system, and enough spare parts to build 2 engines. All this for a whopping steal-of-a-deal of six thousand bucks ($6000). He had all the paperwork including work orders, receipts, and tags for everything. I lost count after 12k in receipts. I didnt have the heart to even try to negotiate a lower price, I just payed the guy and ran like ****. I took everything over to my engine guy and hope to start assembling this weekend!!!!

Side note: it came with an overhauled dynafocal case with a direct cam lubrication mod. Unfortunately I have a conical mount in my -6A and Vans doesnt sell -6A engine mounts anymore. They do sell -7A mounts but dont guarantee that it will work with the 6's. In everyone's opinion...is dynafocal worth getting a new mount and trying to fit it, or just clean and reuse my old case???? Anyone have experience with 7A mounts on a 6??? If someone out there has a -6A dynafocal mount for sale at a decent price hit me up Curiosity question: Will a 7_ mount work in a 6A if you cut the gear legs off with a cutoff wheel?

Job update-
I was hired by a regional airline last february and then COVID delayed my training. I had my house for sale, wife and I both quit our jobs and packed up our lives and then.... the world stopped. Long story short, my job called and they are reinstating training! I have a class date! Not sure how the -6 rebuild will be affected. Unemployment is stressful and I cant wait to get back in the air again.

Please comment on the engine mount topic as I am at a crossroads! Thank you all for your advice.

[Ironflight]

Originally Posted by zcv7853

Please comment on the engine mount topic as I am at a crossroads! Thank you all for your advice.

It is not very hard (or expensive) to have the case mount modified between conical and Dynafocal - has to be done at a case shop like DIVCO, but I think I have a few hundred dollars mentioned.

[zcv7853]

Originally Posted by Ironflight

It is not very hard (or expensive) to have the case mount modified between conical and Dynafocal - has to be done at a case shop like DIVCO, but I think I have a few hundred dollars mentioned.

This particular case was already modified from conical to dynafocal =\

Im not sure if it can be changed back or if it is even a good idea to keep changing it.

[C-GRVT]

I have a 6A and recently converted to the new revised nose gear, which includes a new engine mount. If you are considering a change of mount, it seems an elegant and well executed redesign.
I do not believe that the 6A and 7A original engine mounts are of different design. When I ordered the 6A finishing kit, the 7A was in production and I believe the mounts were the same.
If you do change the mount, you can expect that the weldment may not be identical to your original in terms of mount hole location, and position of engine, which may involve cowling, baffle and air intake mods. Van's service letter offering and describing the new revised nose gear describes the changes that may result from changing the engine mount. These changes would largely apply whether you went with the original or revised mount. With the revised mount,with a vertical induction engine, I found it necessary to modify the cowling slightly, and relocate the throttle and mixture cables, both to run through the lower part of the governor firewall cut out box. The revised nose gear engine mount incorporates pads at the firewall mounting points that have sufficient tolerance to accommodate the existing firewall bolt holes.

[Ironflight]

Originally Posted by zcv7853

This particular case was already modified from conical to dynafocal =\

Im not sure if it can be changed back or if it is even a good idea to keep changing it.

A quick phone cal to DIVCO can answer that question - and you could share what they say here!

[zcv7853]

Decided to reuse my old case and sell my my new/recert dynafocal one. I would rather not mess with anything and have my engine in the exact same place.

Ordered a whole list from Vans including canopy, canopy frame, a few fiberglass pieces, and am getting the nose fork upgrade with a new front gear leg and match drilling service. All for $2.5k. Expensive canopy. I bought one for my old grumman yankee it was $400 and certified. =\

Also bought some flex brake lines for fuse to caliper run (40 inches -an4) and new wheels and brakes from MATCO.

I also decided to go with dual emags (p model) for ignition and am selling 2 sets of slick mags. 1 set overhauled 0 hrs. and my old set that has time on them. If anyone is interested dm me.

Things are starting to feel expensive.

[raabs]

Be aware that a friend just had a Rocket engine overhaul by a shop in FL that does airboats and experimental engines. At 10 hours after OH the cylinder bolts started breaking and luckily he noticed something awry before catastrophe.

Seems the airboat engine builders like to put silicone as a gasket on the cylinder base. It seems to work ok for airboats which don’t have long constant power output like aircraft and can pull over if an issue.

On an aircraft with constant power output for long periods, the silicone enables the torque on the bolts to vary which results in the bolts getting pounded to oblivion and then breaking.

The engine builder didn’t step up and it was an expensive lesson.

[zcv7853]

Originally Posted by raabs

Be aware that a friend just had a Rocket engine overhaul by a shop in FL that does airboats and experimental engines. At 10 hours after OH the cylinder bolts started breaking and luckily he noticed something awry before catastrophe.

Seems the airboat engine builders like to put silicone as a gasket on the cylinder base. It seems to work ok for airboats which don’t have long constant power output like aircraft and can pull over if an issue.

On an aircraft with constant power output for long periods, the silicone enables the torque on the bolts to vary which results in the bolts getting pounded to oblivion and then breaking.

The engine builder didn’t step up and it was an expensive lesson.

Thanks for the info! My engine guy refuses to use silicone and I have a complete gasket set for reassembly. Really good info though, I thought silicone was better tbh =\