I thought about that Dr1, and yes you are right they do actually come back inside the fuse about 6 inches to form part of the fuel tank compartment. In this application though the instructions suggested postion of straight sideways is the position I want the engine in as well. It will require the least amount of cutting to the cowl, as well as positioning my exhaust right at the bottom center of the fuse where there is allready a built in exhaust escape area. Hard to explain, but I'll try. There is a cut away about an inch wide & an inch deep at the bottom of the firewall that angles back about an inch or so as well, that with the cowl on & the pipe right there in front it, makes a perfect little exhaust port between firewall & cowl, and that's right where my pipe lands with the engine mounted sideways. So as long as my fix will hold & it sounds like it will, there is no need for me to do any cutting or removing on those braces. I looked at the engine setting in every possible position & decided that the original position was the only way to go. That's when I decided to try this fix. I was just wanting to see if anyone else had done the same thing in the past, & with what kind of results. Since ho2zoo has tried it with success, I'm sure it will be fine. I will cut the ends back & sand them flush to the firewall today, then re do it it all with the epoxy & drill the new holes tomorrow after the epoxy has cured. I have plenty to do to keep me busy while the epoxy cures, like routing the smoke system. Other than that, the plane is just about air-ready. All the control surfaces are in & dual rates are set, adjusted & sub-trimmed on my new JR radio Just need to finish the smoke system & the remounting of the engine, cut the cowl, balance her, & she'll be ready to go. Thanks for all your good input.