Has anyone installed one of the Skybolt camlock kits on an early (1960 or earlier) 180 or 182? Kit uses the 2600 series camlocks which have a 1/4 stud diameter, just eyeballing the existing screw holes on my friend's 182C it seems like the resulting edge distance after one upsizes the holes will be marginal.

If anyone is flying or has experience with one of these kits I'd be curious to hear your thoughts.

Many years ago I replaced the tinnermans with camloks. It wasn't a kit, I just purchased a bunch of receptacles and figured out what length stud was needed in each location. Made a world of difference in terms of ease of removal/reinstallation of the cowling. However, couple issues with the installation - first is the 'flange' that goes around the firewall where the fasteners attach sticks out further on the later years and that would make this a lot cleaner. Second is the rivet spacing on the receptacle is approx. 1/32" or 1/16" different than the tinnerman holder.

I installed one on a later 172 a few years ago and ran into a little edge distance issue in a couple places. It was well worth the effort, as the new fasteners are really nice and the adjustable receptacles are awesome!!!
JH

I've been running those for many years on my '59 180. Wouldn't go back to the old standard screws for sure. It's true that the fit of the receptacles is pretty tight though.