Well, it isn’t going to be cheap but it WILL be done right which that in of itself is worth a lot. Going to be a sweet airplane when you are done! Thanks for posting and letting us follow along.

Kurt

Got the final bill for the airframe work. Total comes to right around $26K. A little under the initial guesstimate.
Now “just” need the engine and reassemble all the parts.

I gotta say, I thought a name brand shop like Kenmore would've been more than that. I suppose you greatly benefit from their immense wealth of experience and knowledge though - you aren't paying for them to learn.

John there is a wizard with sheet metal. We both worried the donor “chin” would not line up. But he matched them perfectly. Only a very trained eye could tell there was ever any damage repair. It is better than new because all parts were primed before reassembly.
Plus the SPW kit really beefs up the firewall. Makes a better wheel plane as well.
Now I just need a few parts. Left upper strut cuff, RH cowl flap, alternator, static wicks and of course an engine. But that is on order, Delayed for connecting rod bushings.

And the paint shop now says it is 2 weeks behind. So it is a race to see which arrives first, engine or fuselage.
But I am hoping to have the avionics done by the time paint is done. Just adding GDL82 and testing everything.

John there is a wizard with sheet metal. We both worried the donor “chin” would not line up. But he matched them perfectly. Only a very trained eye could tell there was ever any damage repair. It is better than new because all parts were primed before reassembly.
Plus the SPW kit really beefs up the firewall. Makes a better wheel plane as well.
Now I just need a few parts. Left upper strut cuff, RH cowl flap, alternator, static wicks and of course an engine. But that is on order, Delayed for connecting rod bushings.

And the paint shop now says it is 2 weeks behind. So it is a race to see which arrives first, engine or fuselage.
But I am hoping to have the avionics done by the time paint is done. Just adding GDL82 and testing everything.

No pics till weekend when the paintshop says it will be painted.
But the engine is supposed to ship today.
Now if I can find a way to get my 182 rigging across the border from Vancouver, I think I have found a set of 2960s in Arlington.

So next question: dual cap wing tank bladders. The current wings have long range bladders with single caps. The float plane mod crowd seems to believe it needs dual filler caps. It is hard to climb the fuselage and reach the caps on a 182. The extra filler goes inboard, like a 172. It does only allow adding standard fuel from the inboard fillers, but gives a way to accurately know how much fuel is added, standard or long range.
I have the bladders from the donor which has dual fillers. Is it worth the trouble to change them? How much effort to swap bladders and add the extra filler? Any special tools or tricks beyond the advice on replacing bladders?
I have read the posts on replacing bladders but none mention the second filler.

On straight floats I’d characterize the inboard filler caps as essential. Climbing out to those outboard caps while at the dock will be a continuous PITA.

I fly 2 C206s on floats, one in each configuration. The inboard caps are indeed much easier, you can stand on step and strut easily to fuel those. The one with only outboards basically requires you to sit on the wing to do it safely. Lucky for me, we have ground crew to do that.

The difference in capacity filling to the different levels isn't astronomical, a few gallons per side right?

You shouldn't have to swap the whole bladder. The hole is there in the one you have, you just take the top plate off and put the plate/filler cap from the donor on. Shouldn't be much more then an hrs work and all you need for parts is a new gasket. The inb9atd cap allows you to fill a lot more then standard tanks. The outboard only adfs 3 or 4 gallons per side. Not much at all.

aqua wrote:On straight floats I’d characterize the inboard filler caps as essential. Climbing out to those outboard caps while at the dock will be a continuous PITA.

Amen, well said. And, get somewhere you want to use fuel from cans, and THAT is a LOT of fun with those outboard fillers.

I've flown both on 185s on floats. The airplane with only outboard fillers was modified (not a big job) after a few hundred hours of me cursing those outboard fillers. I never fell off a wing, but it was darn close more than once.

Add the inboards, you won't regret it.

MTV

PNW Flyer wrote:i will post these just because I have been frustrated trying to find cost numbers in the past. The labor cost to the first of June was $16,600. There was, of course, a couple weeks more work to get it to the point of the "off to paint" picture in mid june. I will update when that bill comes in. That does not seem too bad considering the addition of the SPW kit alone is estimated at something like 120 to 150 hours.
And then paint will be somewhere in the $15K range depending on how much corrosion they find.
And then assembly (wings and tail, engine, float install) is estimated (guesstimated?) at about 100 labor hours. I will update those as they turn to actuals.

That is a lot of money for sure but actually for the amount of work done and the high quality work Kenmore does it seems pretty reasonable to me. Going to be nice when done! Thanks for posting and letting us follow along.

Kurt

Some assembly required. While the floats are about the last major assembly needed, today was the best day to get them. 2960s in good shape. Paint scheduled for next week. Engine supposed to ship on Tues.

Seems like taking forever but finally some visible progress.
Rebuilt XP470 engine just arrived.

Airplane in a Box. Well we forgot the box but it is all at the shop now, painted and ready for assembly.

Looks great! I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that I'm excited when I see a new post in this thread - love following along. You are more brave than most of us to take this on but so far it seems like it's going smooth (well, smooth enough).

-asa

There is a very fine line between brave and stupid.
But progress. The seat tracks (ridiculously expensive for a wear item) are now in and the last few rivets on the floor boards.

Finally!
After 5 months chasing this, the 182 rigging has arrived!
The last "known" assembly is now at the shop. "Known" because there are always unknowns.
How long does it take a good shop to assemble a floatplane? They started Monday so we will soon know.

Did your floats come off a 180? If yes then the deck fittings need to be swapped diagonally for the 182 attach gear. There’s 2 AN7-72A bolts holding each one down and if they’re at all corroded it can be a real beat to get them out.

There is no “should” to how long a shop takes to assemble a bunch of disparate 50-60 year old parts into a floatplane, time and materials. The setup you’ve selected is especially esoteric and very few shops have built up your particular combination. A multitude of subtle differences will pop up.

Yes the floats are off a 180 but the are just the barrels. The rigging is in a box, now next to the 182 rigging. Thanks for the tip on the 182 assembly differences.
Yes the build will prove interesting. I am optimistic that Kenmore has the experience to do it right. Engine should hang next week.

Now we are making progress. Engine mount installed and new lower cowl fitted. Note engine is in the photo, far right. It should be mounted today. While we have 2 mixture control cables, both are broken. $250.
Also received the STCs and all the paperwork from SPW for the SPW float kit, engine mount, and float install, along with install instruction. Have to credit SPW (Paul), class act. Air Plains wanted $2500 to "transfer" the IO-550 STC, Paul asked only that we pay the FedEx to ship it all.