The Firewall Forward kit was ordered on 18th April 2025. To come up with a list of what i needed, in light of the engine choice i had made, was no mean task!
In essence, i had a couple of options - I was able to order a firewall forward kit directly from Van's, and delete the items i knew i didn't need (such as the exhaust, battery or alternator etc), or i could make up a custom list of what i needed, and just order what i wanted.
To work this out, out came a spreadsheet! I copied all the Kit Inventory sections for each Kit / Bag into a spreadsheet, then went through one by one and priced them up from the store. This took ages!
Since the IO360 is a lot closer to the IO390-A3B6 kit then the IO390-EXP-119, I asked for a quote from Van's for the RV14 FWF kit which is designed for the -A3B6. The quote was for the whole kit cost of $12,146, minus all the things i didn't need as a credit. I then compared this to the cost of just buying what i needed direct from the store. Some items are a bit silly - for instance an alternator from the Van's store is $1691, but they give you a credit for only $821. The worst item was a small rubber hose used to connect Cylinder #3 to the Dynon Manifold Pressure sensor. It costs $22.55 in the store, and they credit you back $4.26!.
Once i had worked that out, in the end, it was around $1000 cheaper to purchase the items directly from the store, than it was to order the FWF kit and delete the items i didn't need.
Since i was going to order direct, i also went through the inventories for each bag in the FWF kits - as some bags are much much more expensive than just ordering the parts i need. For isntance, BAG597 is $89.64, but it contains just a few bits of hardware which adds up to a cost of $8.80 in the store! Another example is BAG512 costs $225.95 in the store, but when i remove the fittings i don't need for the mechanical fuel pump (which i won't have), then the cost comes down to $160.
I also deleted some things i just didn't want - for instance i want to order my master contactors etc from B&C.
The kit i ordered already comes with a baffle kit, designed for the IO360 - this is the same kit used for the IO390. So this will hopefully fit ok! (and was over half the total cost of the FWF kit order). I ordered this kit without change.
So in the end, my FWF kit ended up costing around $6800 USD, which seems a big saving over getting the 12K FWF kit from Van's, but this does not include many big ticket items, such as the prop governor, alternator, battery, engine hoses etc. Once i add all these back on, i am sitting around the 15k mark. It should be said however, i am getting exactly what i want FWF, rather than getting a bunch of stuff i didn't need and having to sell it later on. An example is getting the B&C Alternator, or the Skytec 149NL starter, instead of what comes in the kit. I will also be using integral fire sleeved teflon hoses, rather than the rubber old school ones in the kit.
Summary of Changes
I considered posting my actual shopping list, however i feel that this would probably not help others that much, as everyone's installation will be different. If any one wants it however, send me a DM.
As a summary though, these are the genreal changes i made to the KIT
Kit Deletions:
- Engine Hoses (Oil and Fuel)
- Printed Plans
- BAG 512 (ordered the required items seperately)
- Throttle Cable (i want to use the McFarlane Vernier style)
- Mixture Cable (not needed using SDS)
- Exhaust System Pipes / Muffs (I did order all the hardware for the exhausts)
- Master Contactor / Starter Contactor (want to use B&C)
- Alternator (want to use B&C)
- Battery (will get locally)
- Fuel Flow Tranducer (red cube - not needed using SDS)
- Prop Governor (this was very expensive. The Jhostroj is a lot cheaper)
- All Wiring (i will do myself).
- Hardware bags for the EXP-119 - just in case. Bags 544, 545 and 546
- Harward bags for prop and mixture - Bag 533
- Steel Prop Governor Bracket - VA-153-PC
- Exhaust Heat Shields
- Exhaust SCAT ductings and plenums (VENT DL-04, 00002 etc).
- Second Battery Box / Battery Angle / Angle Seal
- EXP-119 Throttle Bracket (F-14107-1)
- Throttle bracket for the sump VA-173-PC
- Jhostroj Prop Governor / Gasket (Jhostroj Dealer in AUS)
- Master Contactor / Starter Soleniod (B&C)
- Alternator / Regulator / Belt (B&C)
- Exhaust (a custom exhaust from Clint at Vetterman for the IO360 Angle Valve but with the EXP-119 Cowl)
- Skytech 149NL Starter (Aircraft Spruce)
- McFarlane Vernier Throttle (Mcfarlane Direct)
- Aluminium Flange between SDS throttle body and the Snorkle (Aircraft Spruce)
- Monkworkz MZ30 Backup Generator (Monkworkz)
- EarthX ETX900 Battery (x2) (locally)
- Fuel / Oil Hoses (locally)
The Last Inventory!
Anyway, the box arrived on the 10 June - so only 1 month and 23 days. Everything arrived, except one bag was missing 7 x K1000-3 nutplates, and the second battery box i ordered, along with the master contactor copper relay bar are both backordered.
The shipping cost $414 USD for the $6800 kit (6%).
Here are some of the interesting parts of the inventoring process (which took 3 hours!)
The smallest box thus far (not the cheapest though!) |
Mandatory photo |
This is one of the cooler parts of the kit. |
Can you believe these are all that hold the engine on? I will think of that during my first loop. |
Why does Van's do this? Please respond to their survey and tell them this sucks! |
This is every ADEL clamp for sale on the planet i think. |
This was the box the $3500 baffle kit came in. |
Huh? |
I can see why the baffle kit was so expensive now. |
Back to my engine!
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