~Cowl Page Two~

Here I decided to go with the Hartwell flush latch, instead of Van's Camlocs...you can see where I filled the holes from the orginal Camlocs.  They stick up out of the door with two little butterfly handles, and really look tacky, in my opinion.  This installation did take about 10 hours of work, though.  You need to build up the underside of the door to adjust for the curvature of the door.  I used Superfill, and sanded the contour.  A highly recommended modification!

The hinges for the cowl should be assembled with a layer of fiberglass between them for added strength.  The hinge is scuffed up with 80 grit sandpaper then riveted to the cowl with the wet fiberglass sandwiched between.

The hinges worked better than I expected.  I was going to go with Camlocs, but they are very expensive.  The only place that I do not like the hinge is on top, where the hinge pin has to go through a curve.  I think I may splurge and get some Camlocs for the top.

The type -s cowl fits pretty good, but did not quite make it to the contour of the bottom left corner of the firewall.  I had to lay up 6 layers of fiberglass and microballoons to make up the space.  It not only was shallow there, but I cut it too short as well, so the glass has to extend as well.  This is why I did this while on the airplane, so that I could match the shape of the fuselage.  Wax paper was taped on  to allow the fiberglass to release when cured.

The lay up is progressively lower as you move forward on the cowl.   This is to provide a smooth transition towards the front.  Bondo or equivelant should not be built up more than about 1/16" of an inch, to avoid cracking.  All of the edges between the layups and the edges where it meets the cowl are ground down with a grinding wheel.

The edges are filled and sanded smooth with a sanding block several times with Bondo, then covered with Evercoat glazing putty.  Do not use the Bondo brand glazing putty in the tube.  It will shrink and crack.  I have learned alot about body work since I began this project.  Largely with the help of my friend Kevin, who is a body man by trade.

You can't even tell that the area was built up as high as 1/4".   It takes alot of patience, and using the right tools.