Recently purchased “newly built” Model 3. Fuel tank epoxy woes.

[KenLee777]

Here is a cautionary tale! In May this year I bought a pristine looking Kitfox model 3. It was a 1992 project with Rotax 912,that was only completed in 2018. When I purchased it, the engine had been through a thorough inspection and all new hoses, rubber etc. Airframe had been stripped and recovered. Fuel Tanks had been sloshed and sealed with “fuel resistant” epoxy. I had an AnP friend check the plane out. It was just out of Phase 1. Apparently flew very nicely. I bought this for my son to build some time and have fun. I work in China so I thought that I would also enjoy flying it when I come home every six months. The airplane was trailered home to Arizona by the AnP. Upon receiving it there began a series of problems with rough running. My son and a friend started troubleshooting. Checked all the usual suspects, carbs, ignition, air. All fuel lines from gascolator back were checked. They found that fuel flow was very poor. The fuel shutoff valve was in quite a sorry state. Have a look at the picture I’ve attached. The seller had been using 91 octane auto gas. I’m really disappointed and concerned. I don’t think that anything made it past the gascolator. Wondering if I should remove the fuel tanks and install new fuel tanks? I think yes! After reading some of the older threads on this very helpful forum, I suspect that the fuel tanks will be the source of the problem. They are the small 6 gallon tanks. This means opening up the wings. I would probably install the larger tanks 13 gallons and increase endurance. Of course this would have implications to weight and balance, but I suspect there are a few model 3s flying with 13 gallons aside? Does anyone have any advice? I’ll attach some pictures.