Installed all the baffles. Had some minor trim issues with the rear baffles which made them fit better.
Set the top cowl in place and started trimming the baffels to let it down to its normal position. Once at its normal height, I can use the paper clip method to figure where to trim it to the 3/8 - 1/2" clearance. Made several cuts on the front and rear baffles. The sides did not need any trimming except the center one which was trimmed to be flush with the front and rear sides. Trimming them without removing them resulted in some rough edges (a neighbor drew blood when he visited).
Looked at Bob's metal plenum top on his -7. Great job, looks very good but I am worried about oil-canning on a much longer 6 cylinder engine top. He put some bends in it that made the open areas smaller, but it would be difficult to do with the larger motor. He used hinges to mount it on the sides and rear by making them straight. I need to experiment on how to make the edges curved with hinges at 90 degrees. Shrink the bottom hinge and make them in short lengths, like three or four tabs and then cut to adjust the gap. Will make samples tomorrow.
Most likely will go with carbon fiber laid up in the top cowl. Fopund some prices about half of ACS on Ebay for fabric. .
