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We are going to see if we can get the rear floor out and the new one in-in one piece. Local A&P says he has done it. Also considering painting trim pieces or wrapping. If they don’t turn out well I will order new ones in just the new standard black from ACA. I did order the door pocket in black. Baggage door and extended baggage are going in. Moving the battery forward. Brake rotors need replacing, gear leg bolts to replace, engine mounts, adding vernier mixture controls. Strobes will either go led or find out why they don’t have a switch. Will put in new sidewalls-I want a hard material in the baggage area instead of just vinyl and foam. I don’t want to jam something up against the side and damage the fabric from the inside out.
 
So the headliner can be replaced without recovering the fuselage at the same time. A lot of labor but doable. A&P IA has signed off on a plan to hand sew through the existing fabric to a stainless wire on the exterior under the wing root then covered with poly fiber tape to attach the sides of the headliner. We removed the glass roof to glue the headliner to attach to the frame forward. Welding in the rear seatbelt attach bracket at the y on the top rear of the baggage compartment and will wrap the headliner around it. Stripped the seat frames, primed and repainted. Baggage door going in-Rainbow Ron’s. ACA extended baggage. Will try to take some pictures.
 
Trying to decide whether to reinforce the bulkhead/formers with the spruce 1x1” that the new formers comes with from the factory.
 
How much spruce you need? I got some from Aircraft Spruce for the Stearman and have leftovers.

Whoever covered that bird did a very nice job. Looks like somebody slipped when pushing it around with a towbar (before you bought it, probably). I did that too - my rudder has never been the same since.
 
Goodyear said:
So the headliner can be replaced without recovering the fuselage at the same time. A lot of labor but doable. A&P IA has signed off on a plan to hand sew through the existing fabric to a stainless wire on the exterior under the wing root then covered with poly fiber tape to attach the sides of the headliner. We removed the glass roof to glue the headliner to attach to the frame forward. Welding in the rear seatbelt attach bracket at the y on the top rear of the baggage compartment and will wrap the headliner around it. Stripped the seat frames, primed and repainted. Baggage door going in-Rainbow Ron’s. ACA extended baggage. Will try to take some pictures.
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There may be a thread with photos from when @Pedro did his headliner with the fabric still on the plane. He might also be able to answer any questions you have. He also added a skylight when they did the headliner.

Please take photos as you go and post them when you're done. Doing the headliner with the fabric still on the plane is a major unknown for a lot of owners of these planes.
Bart
 
1" x 1" is pretty sturdy. I will leave a few pieces with David today. Had good luck with T-88 glue.
 
Hooker is sending the weld attachment kit which is the same as the brand new ACA use. Hopefully weld in next week. Need to get a picture of the headliner area in a new Citabria or Scout showing the treatment around the attach points.
 
Couple pieces of spruce in your cockpit. Lots more in my hangar just inside the door. Can rip them to exact size. Pardon the mess; I am seriously behind on everything - big wingtip project on the Stearman. I am even behind on flying! Won't make 30 hours this month, although still 3% of all ops at MYF.
 
Thanks Bob. I will speak with Dave about the former reinforcement. Flew this morning. Not too crowded. Panel in the Scout is supposed to start today.
 
Welding in the new seatbelt attach kit supplied by Hooker. Matches the ACA new fabrication. 3DDE090D-C86C-40D4-A9B6-6FC1B1A082B7.webp
 
Floor is out. Extended baggage going in. Tubing and welds will all be inspected when we remove the belly.
 

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Found the inop strobe issue. Whelan power unit mounted on the firewall was removed. All the wiring is in place and will use the Aux pump switch for strobes and change to 3 amp fuse since there is no aux pump-even though wired for it. Ordered the Whelan 650 led wingtip lights so no power supply is needed. Will be gluing the reinforcements on the formers and making the other needed repairs, gear leg attachment, engine mounts.
 

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Goodyear said:
Floor is out. Extended baggage going in. Tubing and welds will all be inspected when we remove the belly.
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interesting photo. that aluminum strip across the floor at the back holds the rudder cable guard tubes (or whatever they're called) in place. My '68 ECA doesn't have the aluminum plate and the tubes had to be safety wired into place so the wires wouldn't rub against the tubes. I have a couple of those aluminum plates with the Decathlon project I bought so maybe one will eventually find its way into my plane.

love seeing other people's photos and picking out little details that are different from my plane! :)/:(
 
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