The engine was painted to match the Midwest AeroStar that I bought (as a wreck) with it. It was a decent paint job, but you are right about the heat. If I ever finish refinishing the plane I'll probably put a TT 46 Pro on it, so the 40 FP is now targeted for a Stangel Skylark 40 I am building. Between the heat issue and the color choices, the paint hadda go!

My only concern without the baffle is that there might not be enough muffler pressure to pressurize the fuel tank. I recently ran into this problem with a MDS 40 that I solved by bolting on a muffler from a 46 FX. I'll see how this engine runs first before making any replacement decisions.

Thanks to all for your responses.

-Stu