Nutplates on the stiffener ring was either stripped, or too big

I had great plans last weekend to close out the left tank by attaching the access plate. I mixed up a batch of proseal, butttered up the cork gasket and plate, and had everything almost completely done when I found out that one of the nutplates on the stiffener ring was either stripped, or too big. What a freakin’ mess – two hours wasted on putting the plate in place, then removing it and cleaning off the proseal.

Today, I drilled out the offending nutplate. Looks like I accidentally installed one that was too large. – d’oh! I installed the correct one this time – and checked all the nutplates in the yet-to-be completed right tank to make sure I didn’t make the same mistake there.

Tank nutplate removed

Did a bit more cleaning up to make sure no rivet residue was left in the tank, then mixed up a batch of sealant and attached the access plate. Had to do some on-the-fly research to find the right torque for those screws, looks like it’s 15-20 in/lbs. And with that, the left tank is complete.

Left tank completed