Hi Bill,
I understand.
More than a few have been led "down the garden path" by such things.
It appears that the nine gallon terneplate tanks and the nine gallon stainless replacements for Ercoupes up through Serial No. 812 were shaped to closely fit the fuselage curvature to get their capacity without cutting. Apparently ERCO decided this area of fuselage skin was not "structural" when they designed the later nine gallon aluminum tanks requiring the cuts per ESM-39. Both had the gauge assembly shown in Fig. 19 of the Parts Catalog, #19-58 on p. 27.
All the best with your continuing work ;<)
WRB
--
On May 13, 2010, at 10:06, Bill Liggett wrote:
<x-tad-bigger>Bill, I own Ercoupe 415-C, serial number 1211, (N93888). The aluminum tank was installed on the left side where the hole had been cut through the fuselage skin. I was told that this hole was needed to accommodate the extra gallon of fuel compared to the original tank (that’s where I inferred that the original was only eight gallons). The tank on the right side had the original vertical tube coming through a slot in the fuselage which once held a gauge, but had been covered over by a round metal plate. My A&P and I are following Ercoupe Memorandum 39 to cut a hole in the fuselage for the larger aluminum tank. We have found no evidence of leakage from the fuselage header tank, so I hope we have solved the problem. We may have to work on any leakage from the carburetor, but we aren’t quite finished with the airframe work. What started out as an annual inspection has turned into a minor restoration – we’re getting close. Thanks for your interest.</x-tad-bigger>
<x-tad-bigger>Bill</x-tad-bigger>
