The good news is I found the old Vertical Power installation manuals that had information on removing pins from the kind of connectors used on the Rotax 912iS. I was able to remove the offending pin -- a combination of the VP wire removal "tool" and pushing the shank of a used cherrymax rivet. Oh, I bought a new pair of needle-nose pliers to make the job easier.
The bad news is the pins used aren't the ones I have. This is one is a SQUARE connector. So I'm on the hunt to location a handful of those.
The instructions in Section 37 say to wait until the engine is installed -- Section 46 of the instructions -- before working on the cowling, which actually comes with the finishing kit. I completed Section 46 so I figured I might as well start on the cowling.
For the most part, it was a matter of finding the hinge "mates" of those that were installed on the front of the fuselage a year ago (I actually had saved and labeled them), then finding the hinge pin material and make hinge pins for all the pieces. This is pretty much the same design as I had on the RV-7A, curve the hinges, bevel the "eyes" on the curve to make them fit better and then struggle with the hinge pins to get them in all the way.
This will be a particular pain in the neck early in the plane's lives but, if the 7A is any guide, will become easier to install with time as the pins get worn and the eyes get wormed out a little bit from use.
I did look ahead in the instructions a little bit and alignment of the cowling seems to require the propellor hub be installed so I may be going back and doing a little of that work and dovetailing it with this section.
