B-26K Counter-Invader Restoration ("Special K")

[A26 Special K]

We were pleased to have Big Mike come back to visit us from Florida. Sure tried to talk him into returning to the Republic. He is the only guy we ever saw who could lift the nose gear assembly by himself to place it in the wheel well. He is a bit stout like that. Frank is in the middle of cleaning up the oil cooler compartment while Tim is lubricating the flaps and Rand had just arrived from work. Yup, we are all volunteers and have other jobs that sorta get in the way of doing what we like best... working on Kay!! JR

[A26 Special K]

Meanwhile, the Sparkies had some progress to report. We now have four good fuel/oil pressure transmitters that mount on the firewall. Fuel and oil pressure is sensed there and then transmitted by compass fluid to the gauges so that we don't have fuel or oil in the cockpit. This is a good thing in case the wild hogs learn how to shoot back! Stan the Man is using the 1945 overhaul/repair manual we found out in California. Larry is up in the cockpit running static line checks and prepping to hook up the pressure transmit lines to the gauges. He has a pump to make sure all of the air is pulled out... hence... the manual says there will be "copious quantities of bubbles". JR

[A26 Special K]

Arnold and JR took off the exhaust stacks on the engine we are shipping to Idaho for overhaul later this week. These little jewels are getting a little bit rare, at least good ones. Would appreciate any solid leads if anybody has any. Air Spray in Canada is not one anymore. Thanks, the other JR

[A26 Special K]

And we couldn't finish the day without talking about Larry's balls. Actually, Ray helped on this project too. See those nice white balls on the prop levers in the middle of the throttle quadrant? Ray made those out of wood and painted them. These replaced some metal replacements that somebody had made in years past. They were just fine, but Larry is trying extremely hard to make the cockpit as original as possible. Working from the manual and pictures we have from Joe Maynard, resident Nimrod pilot, he is making a lot of progress. There is a question about the silver left throttle and black right throttle levers. In the K pictures, these both appear black. However, in the cockpit of the restored WWII A-26 in a museum in France, these are silver and black. There is this link to look at the cockpit in 360 deg controllable views that is very nice. Ck out the link. http://www.museeairespace.fr/votre-visi ... ckpit-360/ JR

[A26 Special K]

Ahhhh, JR's favorite thing to find... two items found up in the oil cooler compartment that obviously don't belong there and have been stuck in the muck for years. Looks like original paint on them. It has been awhile since we found any such Easter eggs. So here is another "Whatzit".... game on.... The other JR

[hahnej]

Plugs for wing gun chutes

[A26 Special K]

Plugs for wing gun chutes

Well, that was a good guess, howsumever, just a little bit off. Nobody else was brave enough to try this extra hard one, so you get the pony. When will you come by the hangar to pick it up? The K models didn't use guns mounted in the wings. Maybe it did in WWII when she was a B model, but certainly, OnMark rebuilt the wings on all of the K's. So these are covers for the engine QEC mounting bolts. The paint appears to be original AF camo. Why and how these made their way into the oil cooler compartment is anybody's guess. Perhaps some mechanic just thought it was a convenient place to store them until needed again. They were buried in the dirt and muck in the bottom of the compartment. Now that I think about it, the right wing seems to have had all of these little hidden jewels where panels have been shoved inside the wing only to reappear in daylight maybe thirty or forty years later. Seems to be a pattern here. Wonder if it was the same guy?? Thanks, JR

[A26 Special K]

Interesting enough, if you really squint at the oil cooler data plate, you can barely make out that the last overhaul was in June of 1965. The date is to the right of the assembly number. This would have been after K was delivered to the AF by OnMark 13 April 1965. I suppose we done good then by pulling the oil cooler and sending it off for a makeover because we have no information as to whether it had been overhauled at any other time in the past. It could also be that after the accident in Macon in the 70's that Lynch Air Tankers used one of their spares to replace a damaged one. They are all mil surplus for the most part. We are just lucky there are companies like Pacific Oil Coolers that still service these things. Ta dah! JR

[hahnej]

I'm having a hard time remembering those covers, can post a pic of those in place?

I disassembled the QEC and accessories from the core engine that was sent in for the now-Buba A-26 that lost the left engine in Corsicana. I don't remember those, but it was a -71, not the K setup.

It was quite a conversation piece as neighbors walked by trying to figure just what I had in my garage. I miss those days, but if I survive raising two teenage boys maybe I can get back in it

[A26 Special K]

I'm having a hard time remembering those covers, can post a pic of those in place?

I disassembled the QEC and accessories from the core engine that was sent in for the now-Buba A-26 that lost the left engine in Corsicana. I don't remember those, but it was a -71, not the K setup.

It was quite a conversation piece as neighbors walked by trying to figure just what I had in my garage. I miss those days, but if I survive raising two teenage boys maybe I can get back in it

hahnej, if you look back on page 189 of this thread, you can see where the covers go. The bolt holes are not covered. Look on the nacelle behind the QEC in each of the three pictures showing the guys pulling the engine. There are probably others a few pages back that show the plates in place. I will try to get a better pic of the cover in place when I get back from a little trip. If you have teenagers, I'm sure you have developed some patience!! BTW, we ran Buba on Sunday after making some carb adjustments and it ran purty good. The squadron is voting on a new name soon as Buba is just a nickname the Duck Driving Lady needed to differentiate between her black O2 airplane, the Pretty Little Black Airplane or PLBA and the Big Ugly Black Airplane. U see? Thanks for chiming in!! I bet you have some good stories about S of W. JR

[LadyO2Pilot]

I'm having a hard time remembering those covers, can post a pic of those in place?

I disassembled the QEC and accessories from the core engine that was sent in for the now-Buba A-26 that lost the left engine in Corsicana. I don't remember those, but it was a -71, not the K setup.

It was quite a conversation piece as neighbors walked by trying to figure just what I had in my garage. I miss those days, but if I survive raising two teenage boys maybe I can get back in it

hahnej, if you look back on page 189 of this thread, you can see where the covers go. The bolt holes are not covered. Look on the nacelle behind the QEC in each of the three pictures showing the guys pulling the engine. There are probably others a few pages back that show the plates in place. I will try to get a better pic of the cover in place when I get back from a little trip. If you have teenagers, I'm sure you have developed some patience!! BTW, we ran Buba on Sunday after making some carb adjustments and it ran purty good. The squadron is voting on a new name soon as Buba is just a nickname the Duck Driving Lady needed to differentiate between her black O2 airplane, the Pretty Little Black Airplane or PLBA and the Big Ugly Black Airplane. U see? Thanks for chiming in!! I bet you have some good stories about S of W. JR

WAIT WAIT......I did not name the two planes.....YOU DID, JR !!!!!!

Flies in your diet soon !!!!!!

Addendum.......I've been told I can't read correctly and it was not intended to imply I named but just can't understand which one JR speaks about.....HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. I still think he gets flies

[fwnelson]

What does QEC stand for?

[Warbird Kid]

What does QEC stand for?

If I'm not mistaken: "Quick Engine Change"

[A26 Special K]

[hahnej, if you look back on page 189 of this thread, you can see where the covers go. The bolt holes are not covered. Look on the nacelle behind the QEC in each of the three pictures showing the guys pulling the engine. There are probably others a few pages back that show the plates in place. I will try to get a better pic of the cover in place when I get back from a little trip. If you have teenagers, I'm sure you have developed some patience!! BTW, we ran Buba on Sunday after making some carb adjustments and it ran purty good. The squadron is voting on a new name soon as Buba is just a nickname the Duck Driving Lady needed to differentiate between her black O2 airplane, the Pretty Little Black Airplane or PLBA and the Big Ugly Black Airplane. U see? Thanks for chiming in!! I bet you have some good stories about S of W. JR[/quote]

WAIT WAIT......I did not name the two planes.....YOU DID, JR !!!!!!

Flies in your diet soon !!!!!!

Addendum.......I've been told I can't read correctly and it was not intended to imply I named but just can't understand which one JR speaks about.....HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. I still think he gets flies [/quote]

Well, O2 Lady, if you recall the numerous times I was talking about Buba or Kay, you somehow kept thinking the PLBA was in the conversation and I had to stop while you asked which black airplane. So to help keep you straight, I had to start referring to the black A-26 as Buba and well, you sorta caught on afterwhile. I am just thankful your broom is not black. Then it would have been really confusing. Later Broomrider One, over and out. Nimrod 26 aka JR

[A26 Special K]

What does QEC stand for?

Yup, QEC is quick engine change. To expedite an engine changeout, an entire unit could be built up with the QEC ring and all accessories, hoses, etc attached so when needed, it was a simple.... relatively simple... task to pull the old QEC off and stick the new one on. The old fashioned way took a lot longer. In our case, since the engine will purty much get taken apart for overhaul, the QEC would have have been removed by the shop anyway, so we did it up front. Saved some time and shipping weight. We are very anxious to get the engine back and hear that R2800 rumble. Nothing like it. JR