Oil cooler bracket deburring
I deburred all of the parts that I drilled yesterday and cut out a hole in the back baffle for the oil cooler. I drilled the corners to get a nice radius, connected them carefully with the jig saw, and then filed with the Vixen and sandpaper.
A common customization that I’ve seen is to make a little box for the area above the oil cooler so that it’s easier to attach the baffle material. I’m also hoping that the box reinforces the area a bit. The back left baffle doesn’t attach to the cylinder like the back right does. I made a trial box out of some cardboard from a shoe box. I’m glad I did this as I would have screwed it up a few times trying to make it first out of aluminum. I want the box low enough that the baffle seal has plenty to grip, but high enough so that it doesn’t disturb the air flow into the cooler. It’s a little difficult to see, but here’s a picture anyway.
I also sent back some changes for the panel layout to Ross. I decided to ditch the vertical card compass, and to try to move switches around a bit to make a clear area under the EFIS for a portable GPS like the 396.
I also decided to go for the throttle quadrant. At one time I was going to install it, then decided against spending the time on it. Now that I’ve seen Dan’s install, I want it again. The standard knob set up is just not intuitive. I remember when I was first training actually moving the knob in the wrong direction. It seems weird to push it in to go faster. The levers on the quadrant make much more logical sense and look 1000% cooler. For “only” $180, it’s worth the mony and should only take an hour or two to install.