Hi Bill,
Glad to see the rebuild is going well. In the military we used to say "Fighters, like people seem to get heavier with age". Having built 3 RV's, the first one 20 years ago in the "pre-pre-punched days" and seen the whole HP vs weight arguments...
Smokey
Personally I would consider a rebuilt 0-320 Narrow Deck, Catto prop and light accessories. My 2 cents.
I've been racking my brains regarding the weight gain and a few things came up.
I did not use the same scales, thus the first set may have been off but I kind of doubt it.
Some of the gain came from adding insulation and carpeting to the floor after it was flying with the O-290. The eight pound side panels came with the engine swap.
I also added things like the ANR power supplies, wiring for the auto pilot, additional tie downs, etc. While not a lot of weight by themselves, it all adds up.
Probably the biggest gain was the Dresser re-treads and air stopper tubes. Those things are heavy when compared to the Van's tires and tubes.
The Sam James Cowl may weight a bit more than the Van's cowl because of the rings and the plenum, mostly the plenum.
Other things that changed were large diameter oil lines for the cooler. More Adel clamps throughout the engine compartment, and the like.
Let's see, I also added the EICommander and its wires. That thing only weighs a few ounces, its wires and connectors do add a few more ounces.
I sure wish I had kept track of every little item I added over the years. I went through the entire airframe and didn't find a single mud dauber nest, so I know they didn't increase the empty weight.
You are right and I learned this when I was auto racing, lighter is always better. It makes the machine perform better and handle better.
I always laugh when someone would say my plane or car handles great and it is weighs XXX more than yours. Well, when compared to an SUV or Pickup, anything performs better.
Still, at 1068 lbs, I'm much lighter than many of the RV's out there.
Now that I'm getting ready to replace my D100 EFIS, D10 EMS, and transponder with a 10" SkyView, I wonder if I'll gain or lose weight.