Fitting all of the fittings--Son of a #@%&$

Part of the fun of putting together your own engine is finding out what does not want to fit. I am working on the oil cooler bypass fittings and the tach drive. I used the oil cooler bypass fittings before in my other RV-6. It's a special banjo fitting with special seal washers to seal the two sides of the banjo fitting. There are several reasons to use this style of fitting. One is that is can be rotated 360 degrees. So making oil lines fit up to it is very easy. The other is keeping all of the fittings up near to the top of the engine where they can be seen. The other oil line plug is down between the mags and is a little harder to get it. Plus it's more oil line to route and weighs more. The downside to using the banjo fitting is that it's a special thread 5/8-16. They is a special Cessna fitting that can be purcahsed if you don't mind paying 150 bucks for it. I have gotten surplus fittings from the days of old from Jesse at AERO. I cannot use the fitting since it's too close to the oil filter housing. The 90 degree oil filter solves one problem but creates another. I also have an issue with the Van's Tach that I am trying to use. I got the kind for the engine that is for ones without vacuum pumps. I will have to get one for ones with vacuum pumps that is a cable and mounts on the firewall. I had this on my last airplane and it works. It's just one more thing to mount of the firewall. I have also installed the new oil line fitting that goes in between the mags. I will use this one (as most others do as well) to supply oil to my cooler. I have also installed the 5/16 studs for the fuel injection servo on the sump. Studs are used here becasue there is no room for bolts. I have also finished polishing my ports on the cylinder heads for now. I am waiting for some smaller flap wheels to come in so I can get in there in the tight places. I will try and post some pics of the problems I face tomorrow.