RV-9A: Front Deck/Firewall - 7/12/2010
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 Installed the heat vent (kind of)
I lined up the 2 inch hole in the firewall with the 2 inch hole in the back of the heat vent to determine where the bolts holes needed to be drilled in the firewall. After drilling the holes, I put some sealant on the back of the vent and bolted it to the firewall. I went into the house to take a break and then it hit me, "Which tube of what stuff did I use for sealant?". I went back out and saw the Permatex 2 tube laying on the work bench. "DAMN", I used the wrong tube of goo. I removed the vent and cleaned off all the Permatex 2 with laquer thinner (God's gift to idiots). Then I grabbed the "right" tube of RTV and redid the installation.
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 Things are getting a little tight in the old garage
Sometimes a feel like a blue crab, walking sideways to get to everything I need. These new garages in homes nowadays are pitiful. Mine is a only 17 by 19 feet. I'd gladly sacrifice some room out of that big ass living room (which we never use) and put it out here. I really want to keep the RV in garage when mounting the engine, but I'm starting to think I may have to move it to the hangar before hanging the engine.
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 Time to install the VA-168 Transducer
I installed the fittings and plugs with Permatex 2 thread sealant. Yeah, I looked at the tube first this time to make sure I had the right stuff.
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 Bolted the transducer to the firewall
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 Time for the motor mount install
This part is kind of exciting and spooky too. The motor mount bolt tube holes don't line up too good with the predrilled firewall holes. Hmmm... First things first, I knew from reading on the RV groups that this nutplate and bolt have to ground down to allow for the bottom tubing on the motor mount. I finally got to use my new pneumatic grinder tool.
UPDATE: 7/12/2010 At this point, I should have drilled a hole in the firewall that goes behind the motor mount. This hole allows you to insert the front gear bolt into the motor mount. The written instructions didn't say JACK about this hole, only vague references to it in the drawings. I've read in the groups where many builders did the same thing I did. So now I have to remove the motor mount to drill this hole in the firewall.
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 Now for the fun part
I decided, after looking at Mike Schippers RV-9A website, that I needed to establish the first hole. So I drilled the upper right hole first. I used my unibit, which worked quite well. After I couldn't go any farther in with the unibit, I switched to a regular 3/8 inch bit to finish off the hole. Next, I decided to establish the hole on the other side. After putting a bolt through the right side of the firewall, I stuck a fine point sharpie inside the tube hole on the left side of the motor mount, allowing the point of the sharpie to stick out enough to touch the face of the firewall. Then all I had to do was move the motor mount up and down against the firewall, using the right bolt in the motor mount as a pivet point. Then fine point sharpie made a nice line on the firewall, somewhat intersecting the predrilled hole in the firewall, showing me where to drill. Oddly enough, a fine point sharpie pen body is exactly 3/8 of an inch in diameter, which makes a nice snug fit inside the motor mount tube hole. I pulled off the motor mount and drilled the upper left hole in the firewall, just as before. Then I temporary bolted the motor mount back onto the firewall and drilled all of the other holes with a regular 3/8 inch drill bit. Piece of cake!
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 Why stop now?
I decided to install these two diodes that came in the firewall forward kit. Now, where did I put that engine?
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