This is actually still 11/3, but I needed another entry.
This evening when I got home I went up to the shop, drilled out the side skin to longeron rivets, and bent the metal straps into U shapes so they would fit around the longerons. Then I rigged the cable with a turnbuckle across the longeron ends. By varying the angles I was able to pull the longeron ends inward enough to get a permanent set very close to what it should have been in the first place. Used a wooden brace to keep the proper width at the aft end of the instrument panel.
Removed all the rivet stubs and clecoed everything back together to check the fit. Only minor misalignment remained, well within the ability to pull the pieces into alignment with clecos, something I couldn't do before.
Now ready to re-rivet side skins and drill the instrument base to the longerons. Flying tomorrow 11/4 and dentist on Thursday AM, so will not get back to the project for a couple of days.
