Having finished all the electrical tasks in the lower-forward fuselage that I can conceive of, I should hopefully not have too much more crawling under the panel in my future, so there's no reason not to install the fuel plumbing for good. I retrieved the fuel pump/filter unit from storage, touched up the paint on the selector valve plate, and installed the whole assembly in the fuselage with screws:
Next I fabricated the remaining fuel lines that go between the wing tanks and the selector valve. I'm really glad I decided to make these in two pieces, with a bulkhead fitting in each F-783B cover support rib, because it would have been a nearly impossible task to fabricate these lines as a single piece. As it was it was still difficult – even though it's a pretty simple component, the lack of access and the fact that you have to bend and flare it in situ results in a fairly challenging job.
At each outboard side I used zip ties and a piece of rubber fuel hose to prevent the wiring bundle from chafing on the fuel line:
The plans call for a block of styrofoam to support the line that runs forward from the fuel pump to the firewall. I started with some craft foam and a hot-wire cutter:
I split the foam in half and cut out a groove for the fuel line. I like cutting foam with this tool, much less mess than traditional cutting tools – just try not to breathe the fumes.
Fuel line and foam support installed between pump and firewall – the foam block is held together with a strip of clear packing tape:
Out in the wing roots, I fabricated and installed the 1/4" vent lines that run from the tank to the fuselage, snaking around the tank attach bracket in the process. In the background you can see the 3/8" line that goes from the tank outlet into the fuselage:
As a final step in finishing the fuel system, I removed the plastic plugs from the bottom of tanks and installed the fuel quick drain valves:
It's kind of wild to think that, in theory, I could probably fill the tanks and start the engine almost any time I want. Well, a set of working brakes would probably be good first. Still, feels like progress.