Next step to getting the control cables sorted is to get them mounted to the panel. I discovered my "well duh" moment of the day as I started this - I had spent a lot of time the other day getting the cables loosely captured at the firewall using the eyeball passthroughs. Since these cables are the vernier assist type, the knob end can't really be unscrewed to slide the end through the panel though. That means they have to be run through the holes in the panel first, then routed forward. So I undid all of firewall eyeballs and pulled the cables out. I'm sure it'll be easier to get the eyeballs back on the second time.
The controls don't mount to the panel itself, but use a bracket that drops down from the lip of the panel. I had painted this bracket back when I painted the panel, but hadn't cut the holes yet since I wasn't sure where the cables would end up. I figured out the locations I wanted and drilled the holes, including a hole for the oil shutter cable that I'll route once I get back to working on the baffles and oil cooler.
I sprayed the same matte clear coat on the bracket as is on the rest of the panel. I decided to put the 3M paint protection film over it as well. I don't love the look of it since it makes it glossy, so I may end up taking it off at some point (it's nested under the panel though, so you don't really see it all that well anyway). I just figured the paint could get a little beat up since the controls get used a lot during a flight, and the film does a good job of protecting it.
The cables also need to be captured at the subpanel to keep them from moving around. There's a similar bracket that attaches to the subpanel, with adel clamps for the cables.
It's a little tough to see, but the bracket is riveted to the face of the subpanel and extends below it. Since I put off attaching this for so long (not knowing where the cables would set), I couldn't use solid rivets and opted for pulled rivets instead.
Here you can see how the cables route from the panel up to the firewall. The throttle and mixture have to cross over each other, since the throttle needs to be in the standard position on the panel but the throttle body on the engine has it on the opposite side. I will see if I need other supports for the cables after I've attached them at the engine and gotten the eyeball passthroughs back in place. These cables are a bit longer than is necessary, so there will be some curves in the routing that wouldn't otherwise really have to be there. That's a small price to pay, given the huge price I didn't have to pay to knock off an inch or two for custom length cables!
I need to go to the store to grab a couple of 10-32 jam nuts for the bearings on the cable ends before I can finish up. I'm sure I probably have some somewhere, but I sure can't find any. In the meantime, I pulled the 3M fire barrier back out and ran a bead around most of the firewall edges. The only reason for this is to seal the stainless foil at the edges so the fiberfrax doesn't get compromised if there's an oil leak or something. That fire barrier is nasty stuff! Sticky! It is really tough to make it look clean and nice given how much stuff is in the way at this point. If I were to do it all over again, I'd probably skip the extra fire barrier layer, just because of how much of a pain it's been. It's added a ton of time and complication. I suppose the messy look of it and the annoyance of adding it won't seem like much should I ever get into a situation where I need it though.
