Warbird Information Exchange

Good day people.

I have a question to those who may have any idea what Im talking about.

The problem lies within the Fuel selector valve mechanism. This system can be controlled by a linkage of rods connected to each other, and within this system there is a Fuel cock gear box, with transfer the motions of the fuel selector within the cockpit direct towards the fuel selector valve within the centre section, now my question is this:

In the front cockpit there is a rod connected over the selector valve, and this rod is also directly connected onto the Fuel cock gear box, but the distance does not match. The parts catalogue does not show more detail work of this. Does some one know any thing about this linkage????

A couple of pictures of the restoration (Fist 2 of the fuel system):

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Lady, you want me to answer you if this old airplane is safe to fly? Just how in the world do you think it got to be this old?

Email me the details of exactly what isn't what and I'll compare it to mine and photograph and measure it for you.

Dan Jones
warbirds@shaw.ca

I will give you these detail pictures. I took them today.

In the pictures you can see the gear box, or spur gear that links the interconnection of the 2 fuel controls directly down towards the Fuel selector valve. In the front cockpit there is a rod that is connects onto the fuel selector control. This rod supposed to be the only rod I.A.W: the parts catalog between the fuel cock gear box ( Spur gear ) and the fuel selector control in the front cockpit, but the length of this rod does not match. There is a inch space left over or something like that. In the pictures you can clearly see that we have modified the end of the rod in order to inter-connect the gear box and the front selector control.

But what is the most original thing for this linkage? We thought first that the linkage could be shifted upon the most rear part of this rod in order to obtain a suitable match between the 2 connecting parts, but is was not like we thought, because the end piece of the rod had just only 1 hole to mound it on. So that leaves us with the 1 inch gap between the rod and fuel cock gear box.




The fuel cock gear box.






The interconnection rod which now fit perfectly, but is not original. (The last thicker piece on the tube)






Fuel selector control in the front cockpit. And also the rod that supposed to fit directely onto the gear box.

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Lady, you want me to answer you if this old airplane is safe to fly? Just how in the world do you think it got to be this old?

How long is that entire rod assembly? Yours looks like a modified A model assembly (where it attaches to the front fuel control at least) and it should be about 39 1/4 inches long - more or less. The A's and B's had slightly different adapters, and a B model adapter is about 2.3 inches long, which looks about the size of your gap (less the slightly longer "A" type fitting). The rods themselves have the same part number (63-64021).

BT-13A model:



BT-13B model:



Dan

Just throw it in the toolbox. eventually you'll find out what it's for...

(now that you are getting solutions I can be funny)

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"I knew the jig was up when I saw the P-51D-20-NA Mustang blue-nosed bastards from Bodney, and by the way the blue was more of a royal blue than an indigo and the inner landing gear interiors were NOT green, over Berlin."

Thank you very much for the pictures that you took. From what I understand, is that our rods are welded at the end which is connected onto the fuel selector valve control which you told us about of course. Our welded pieces where a modification for all BT-13 aircraft later on. The previous rods where riveted indeed, but were not good enough because due to some practical weakness on the connection. The welded ones where much more durable.

I manage to find an other rod, which was of the BT-13A model, and compared it to the one we use, well…. It was slightly different is length, so that means that our BT-13B model parts catalog still lags for a clear solution for this gap (Which we fixed by the way).

I waned to thank you for your help, maybe we will get back in the future, or maybe even sooner

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Lady, you want me to answer you if this old airplane is safe to fly? Just how in the world do you think it got to be this old?

That's interesting; I'll have to take a look through the Service letters about the fuel control rod. I don't remember seeing anything in there about that.

Good luck with you Vibrator.

Dan