Last Ditch Effort on 303 Problems

[ksatter26]

I've about had it with my 303 problems.

This morning I spent another couple of hours trying to find the problem with the starter kicking over without using the starter button. Frustrated yet again (it's been 3 months), I spoke directly with London Ivy (303 Guru in Tampa). He offered to go thru my beast of a 303 if I sent it to him. So, I just got in from a 3 hour session of disconnecting and labeling everything that passes thru the firewall to/from the engine. I then strapped the engine to my handy Harbor Freight engine hoist in preparation for: removing the wire-tie that straps the overflow bowl to the firewall; unbolting the radiator mount bolts, and removing the 4 engine mount bolts.

Once the engine is separated from the air-frame, I will use the firewall as a template for locating the mounting holes on a piece of plywood that will become part of the shipping crate. UPS Freight wants a bit over $450 to ship the beast (round-trip: Farmersville-Tampa-Farmersville). Somewhat expensive, but I'm finally at peace that London has consented to go thru the entire engine for me as I can't find any service shops closer to North Texas.

I hope to have the 303 off to him by Thursday (October 18th). Just in time for the cooler weather so now my battle will be to keep the shop warm enough to work on the Oratex covering.

[LA F2 Flyer]

On the bright side, you have the Oratex project to occupy you while you wait for the engine to be returned in a running state. But why aren't you using the shipping box and metal frame you received the engine in to ship it to London?

[ksatter26]

Firewall forward with relocated radiator.

My Oratex shows up just in time for the cooler weather. Waiting it out. Forecast is back up to high 80s low 90s this weekend.

I finished the shipping crate this afternoon. A buddy is coming by in the morning to help with moving the beast into the crate.

Pictures to follow.

[ksatter26]

Engine all crated and will go off to London Ivy in Tampa tomorrow. The crate allows London to work on the entire engine firewall forward. He has to remove 22 screws and the entire front, top, and sides of the crate can be lifted away for his access. Somewhat over-engineered, so the plywood crate and engine weighed in at exactly 100 lbs (25"x25"x31"). Then came the real exercise, finding a shipper at a somewhat reasonable price.

I was quoted really high prices and when I asked Chris about this he said his prices were much lower. It turns out that if you are a registered UPS shipper you get considerable discounts. He offered to make the arrangements for me and I'll drop his check in the mail on my way to the UPS facility tomorrow morning. He then emailed me the prepaid UPS shipping label (Farmersville, TX to Zephyrhills, FL). London should have the engine by no later than Monday (23 October). When London gets the beast running, he'll let me know and Chris will email him another pre-paid shipping label for the return.

By late next week I just MAY have a 303 that actually runs.

In the meantime, I will probably remove the flaperons, or the rudder , or the horizontal stabilizer and give the Oratex a shot while we still have some reasonably warm weather here in North Texas.