1 ~\ J\ G J\ Z I I I r' - American Bonanza Society

Tempora ry support for the center throttle quadrantpanel be equal to the original in strength.Check out the picture of a homemadesubpanel that was poorly constructed andunder-designed to the point that it failedin service and, as you can guess. therewas no logbook entry for this bogusinstallation. That's just one example ofthings we can find when we disassemblea panel for something as relativelyunchallenging as painting it. No one eversaid this job would be boring'It is very important to support thelower subpanel structure during thepanel-building process. If not supported,the center quadrant will sag, result-ing in the two support subpanel piecesdropping toward the center of the panel.Keep an eye out for this phenomenon asyou look at custom panels; you willeventually find one with this ai lment.The not-so-high-tech solution tothis problem is cutting a genuine "FAAapproved"I" x 2" piece of wood andsecuring it between the floor structureand the base of the center quadrant. Thiswill support the entire lower panelstructure in its designed position as thepanel is being built.OUT WITH THE OLD ...Now it's finally time to remove theold panel overlay and fixed defroster.We do this with all the instrumentsinstalled and the radios removed fromtheir dust covers. Use an appropriatelysized drill bit and remove the mountingrivets around the perimeter of the paneloverlay and defroster. With these piecesremoved, you now have open access tothe instruments that are mounted on theshock-mounted subpanel. Be Slife to ragaI/wires alld lilies.Be very thorough about taping orcapping off all the pitot, static and pressurelines and fittings. And do the sameon the instruments, too. A little dirt goesa long way.Another tip: The original sixinstrumentcluster contains some verydelicate irreplaceable fuel-quantity temperatureand pressure gauges. Protectthe faces of these obsolete and veryvaluable instruments immediately witha piece of stiff cardboard.If you're dealing with a very earlyBonanza with a mercury vapor oil temperaturegauge, be sure to temporarilysecure the instrument to protect the verydelicate and small-diameter coppervapor line. These old gauges can beexpensive to repair.Properly protected engine and fuel gouges... . BUT SAVE THE PARTSIf you plan to replace these unitswith modem equivalents, make sure tosave the old ones. They could bringgood money on eBay, and you are helpingyourself and another old Bonanzaowner by making these treasures available.We save these coveted pieces forour in-house projects. We won't chargeour customers for these often pricelesscomponents as we've inherited themfrom previous projects.Having these parts allows us towork on these old panels. Sometimesjust painting a panel can cause an oldinstrument to fail, and our on-handstock can save the day.With the instruments removed andsafely stored, it is time to remove the oldshock-mounted instrument panel, shockmountingbrackets, battery box, old insu-All the old stuff removedOur hIgh-tech circuit protection device.Page 10939www.bononzo.orgABS September 2008