cowlove

As expected, the tractor fuel pickup/valve (like these http://tinyurl.com/p3ncddr ) was crappy enough that I wouldn't want it anywhere near the plane's fuel system.  If it was just a finger strainer and 1/8" fitting, I would have considered working it over a little bit, but the needle valve seems barely adequate quality for lawn equipment.  
 
I've gone with soldering my own.  I'll post pictures and my process in a bit (I settled on hot air soldering after a few nasty attempts at other methods)
 
My Catalina has only the center tank, and the tank bungs are unreinforced and too small to drill out to anything larger than 1/8", so I'm definitely stuck with this approach.  

Thanks.  I'd ordered the ACS part and was going to snip the material off to re-use on a 1/8" elbow, but this looks a lot cleaner. 
 
Also, I did find these: http://tinyurl.com/p3ncddr (ebay)  Looks like some common riding lawnmowers use a 1/8" flange/bung, and this part includes a finger screen and screw valve.  I ordered one to check out the quality, flow rate, and fuel compatibility, but I really doubt I'll go that way.  (Although having a screw valve at each tank outlet would make fuel system maintenance pretty easy.  I'd probably be compelled to safety wire it open, and that would look a little odd)

Thanks guys- I've got a couple of those exact filters laying around.  After seeing the junk that had settled in the elbows, I'm somewhat set on having finger strainers of some sort to protect the intakes and the elbows.   
 
I found the other thread that discussed snipping the strainer off the 3/8 NPT Aircraft Spruce part, and soldering it to a standard 1/8" elbow.  I think this is the way I'm gonna go. 
 
I did find these: http://tinyurl.com/p3ncddr  (ebay)    It seems several riding lawnmowers use a 1/8" fuel tank bung, and the common part includes a finger screen and a screw valve.   I ordered one to check it out for flow rate and quality, but I doubt it will pass muster. 

Hi guys.  I'm up against the same issue with the Catalina's fiberglass tank- 1/8" NPT holes and not enough room to tap a larger hole for the standard finger strainers.  The elbows were pretty clogged, so I'm set on installing finger strainers somehow.  Is the modified strainer above still the best solution out there?  
 
Jim

Just for future readers, here's the link to the aforementioned kitfox article on reinforcing the rib tails with aluminum angle.   http://www.kitfoxaircraft.com/support/service_bulletins/sb9.htm   

Said pictures of Catalina rib tail cracks at flaperon hangers.  http://imgur.com/a/vtt1T#0  
 
How did your repairs turn out?  

My Catalina suffered some similar cracks in the rib tails at the flaperon attachment points while I was trailering her from Florida to Seattle.  Wish I understood better exactly how it happened, because the plane was shrink wrapped pretty well and the control surfaces secured.   I suspect some sort of flutter or long-term vibration damage, because there was additional damage found on the flaperons themselves- the rivets securing the flaperon skin to the flaperon spars were all loose and showing powdered metal. 
 
Anyway, the Catalina's brackets sandwich the rib tail pretty well- it just moved the crack point further up and pulled the rib tail away from the rib top cap.   I'm thinking of making a new bracket that not only sandwiches the rib tail, but also extends up over the top cap.  
 
I'll post some pictures tomorrow when I get home.