Update: A&P/IA got the interiors cleaned up. There was minor corrosion, one broken weld on a baffle (likely from storm damage that resulted in a wing repair in the 70s), and a bunch of reddish-brown residue. The local shop did a nice job of re-welding.
We re-installed the tanks, confirmed no leaks, ran the engine for 10 or 15 minutes, no leaks, good to go.
Not.
He okayed me to put the top skins back in place and said it’ll be as easy as it was removing them (Cessna calls them cover plates - upper wing panel they screws in place). Well, it turns out the tanks are a quarter to half inch out of place and the holes around the filler are not lining up. So we need to move them again.
Plus, after the plane got fuel in it after six weeks of sitting totally empty, the fuel selector valve leaked. Replacing the old o-rings was itself an easy task. The miserable part was accessing it. We had to go through the opening for the flap handle and work around the control and trim cables. Absolutely stupid place for the valve. I suspect that Cessna installed the valve and then riveted the floor in place. It’s 1940s thinking, and I’m sure it worked for 1940s sized people.
Just one more reason why I regret leaving the RV family and stepping half a century backward just to give passengers more room.
As it is, less than a year into owning this plane I’m already in for more than 10% of its purchase price (no awesome deal, it was a decent price for what it has) in just the prebuy and first annual. I’m a bit down right now and wishing I could just be done with this thing and find something designed well within my lifetime that I can afford.
