This is the place where the majority of the warbird (aircraft that have survived military service) discussions will take place. Specialized forums may be added in the new future
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Sat Apr 30, 2005 12:14 am

Hi Mike:

This is not clear enough, which has led to this confusion. I have all the little parts, and replacing the firewall sheet itself, not many drills are needed for this operation either. Just a heads up, I was a CNC programmer in a machine shop, and had to know this already.

Sat Apr 30, 2005 3:25 am

Build the new firewall if you have the time/skills.

If you don't have one or the other, write a check
and buy a new one.

That being said, when you try to rebuild a spot-welded
assembly, you can pretty much bet on the fact that one
component of the assembly will be sacraficial (you can't
reliably take both spot-welded details apart without ruining
one or the other).

FWIW, a friend with a Harvard IV project has taken the 1st
steps towards fabbing a new firewall for his Harvard. What he
did, was drill the original firewall apart to give him a flat pattern for
the firewall "plate" itself, and then manufactured new (compound
curve) edge pieces using the old pieces as patterns. He had
the luxury of having more than one used (relatively straight)
firewalls on hand to use as patterns. You need a stretcher/shrinker
and a little bit of patience/skill to make the edge pieces.

Bela P. Havasreti

Sat Apr 30, 2005 11:09 am

Thanks Bela:

I appreciate that. :)
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