Engine mount bracket not welded right?

[bmellis11]

This relates to my RV-8, but I think all RVs have the same structure in this area. I am at the stage of match drilling all of the fuselage skins to the internal structure and longerons. After clecoing everything together, I realized that the finger on the upper right engine mount bracket was welded at what looks like too much of an inboard angle. The result is that the finger does not align with the straight line running from the bracket corner where it meets the firewall to the gear towers and center section bulkheads. The upper left bracket doesn't have this problem.

If I were to use it as is, I would have to use a lot of force to hold the longeron and bracket together. Instead, I ordered a new bracket to fix the problem and lo and behold, this new bracket has the same problem. Is this the way it is supposed to be or should I go for a third bracket?

 

[PaulvS]

The brackets should be a mirror image of each other, so can you place them on something flat back-to-back or side-to-side to confirm that the angles are indeed different? If so, then it may be that Vans had a batch of bad brackets and I would contact Support for assistance and replacement.

 

[Zach]

This was the best angle I captured from my build photos. I THINK the angle may match yours. I remember having to clamp it tightly to the longeron with a C-clamp before drilling.

 

[nohoflyer]

I had the exact same problem on the right side. I made a shim out extra longeron flange.

I often hope that this does not bite me later on in the build.