I figured out that I needed to cut out the flange that was molded into the front of the cowlings. It was so uneven, off by ½ inch on each side, that I was never going to get the cowlings to line up behind the prop. After cutting it out the whole process became much easier. I trimmed the top cowl to meet up with the bottom cowl. I attached the trailing edge of the top cowl to the boot cowl with clecos and temporarily attached the front of the top and bottom cowls with clecos and small pieces of sheet aluminum. I attached the top and bottom cowl together with piano hinge. I bent the piano hinge to shape and then drilled and attached it to the bottom cowl with clecos. After placing the top cowl in position, I drilled and attached it the piano hinge with clecos. I replaced the standard hinge pin with wire that was .030 smaller in diameter. I am able to remove and replace the hinge pin with relative ease. It makes for a nice secure connection.
