Before mounting all the available elements on the firewall, I first prime the heater box and the small headset jacks brackets.




ThenI bolt on the fixed part of the eyeballs.




Then I rivet the firewall recess and bolt the heater box. All this parts get sealed with my fire resistant seal which is not very easy to apply being very sticky.




I finish the session by reinstalling the battery and bolting the engine mount. Next operation will be to torque all the bolts and then put on the wheels.

There are some more holes to drill on the firewall, mainly for the engine controls : throttle and mixture. I use the Vans dimensions for carbureted engines.
The eyeballs are easy to install but a lot of holes have to be drilled, these is offset by the fact that this model can be installed by one person as the tightening is done from one side only. they were also quite cheap as I bought them during a special sale on some website.




The spherical part has to be drilled to the correct size. The picture shows the eyeball installed on the throttle for a test fitting.




Then I begin closing some gaps on the firewall, using 3M Firebarrier 2000 caulk. The caulk looks much like caulkd for the bathroom but seems a bit more sticky.
I close the hole near the brake fluid reservoir and the one near the gascolator.

Only one hour in the workshop today, it was enough to install the cabin heat valve. After some measuring I use the step bit to drill a 3/4" hole.




Then I use the 2,25" punch to make the bigger hole (it should be 2", but the tool is easy to use and the larger hole is of no consequences).




And the reseult after 30 seconds of work.




Then two holes were drilled for the mounting bolts, and the valve is installed.





And a picture from the cabin side, the lever is actuated via a cable.

The engine being here it's time to continue working on the firewall forward installation. The plans are a bit more vague, and my engine being different from what Vans sells I have to use the plans for the carbureted engine with minor variations.
I first install the manifold that will be used to measure oil and fule pressure, the castelated metal part on the right of the picture.
I also drill the firewall to install some platenuts that will hold various clamps needed for the all the hoses that will be installed later.

The engine has been delivered this morning after another speedy customs clearing by Schenker-Bax Global.
The (carboard) box is quite heavy but seems plenty strong.




Once the box open the engine is plastic wrapped and all the documents are in a nice black bag. The yellow tag says that the engine was bench tested on Oct, 17th.




At Mattituck, each engine is assembled by only one person whose signature is on the engine case.




Once the cardboard removed, we can see that the engine is bolted to the wooden floor. The two small boxes contain the hoses, the injection system and part of the ignition harness.




And, some happy builder.