Ok, I'll try to be as brief as possible:

Bought a replacement fuse for alpha 60 since they are now discontinued and mine's been repaired a few times and is a "little" warped to say the least. Thought I'd use it to teach new people down the road.

The bracket for the nose gear was already installed, so I just tested to see if the screws were tightened: 2 of the blind nuts had pushed through so the screws would not tighten all the way and wouldn't back out. So, I go to take the other two screws out and believe or not, both literally broke at the head trying to loosen them (I'm not that strong a guy). I couldn't get a grip on the blind nuts through the fuel tank compartment with pliers so I had to basically cut the screws off where the two blind nuts were loose. But the other two (the screws that broke trying to loosen) are flush with the firewall and the blind nuts are tight. So I've basically got two holes with no blind nuts and two holes with blind nuts and broken off screws flush with the front of the firewall and flush with the back of the firewall.

So, am I screwed trying to use these holes (no pun intended)? Do I call Horizon and see what they suggest? Or do some of you guys with a lot of experience have a quick fix for this? I could probably reinstall the two blind nuts in the holes where they were loose IF I can get the broken screws out of the two other blind nuts.

Thanks
J

Can't you drive the broken screws out with a punch and small hammer?

Unless I'm missing something it sounds like all you need to do is punch out the blind nuts and install new ones in their place.

www.microfasteners.com is a fantastic source for hardware such as this. Here is the link to the page with blind nuts on it.

Ken

Just take a new screw, place it against the broken screw and tap it with a hammer to kniock the old screw and blind nut out (Remove tank first)

Then go to a hardware store and buy 4 new screws and blind nuts. (Probably 8-32)

I got epoxy in a blind nut on either my Astro Hog or Four Star and broke the screw trying to get it out.
I was able to use a dremel cutoff wheel to make a little slot in the broken screw.
I got my soldering iron hot and held it against the end of the broken screw for a while and it broke down te epoxy well enough that I could use a flat blade screwdriver to remove the screw before it cooled off.

I do not know that your screw is epoxy bound but it might be worth a try. If it doesn't work, a punch and hammer should knock the blind nuts out of the firewall.

Tip for installing new blind nuts in an inaccesible spot. Get some threaded rod and poke it through from the front.

Wind on the blind nut with some 30 minute epoxy [ 5 minute is ok if you work fast ]

Pull the studding out until the nut is up against the back of the firewall, wind on a washer and nut from the front and use them to pull the blind nut up tight.

Thanks for the tips guys. Thought about tapping thru, but didn't know if I'd do more damage than good. I'll give it a try.