N951CC goes down for annual and upgrade

There's been no updates with flights for awhile since my airplane has been down for maintenance for almost 2 and a half months with no near end in sight. The engine is still holding up and passed annual although it still has signs that an overhaul is coming in the next few years. That is OK since the engine is quite a bit past its expected life and I have anticipated an overhaul since I bought the airplane almost 3 years ago. We found 2 items that needed to be addressed during the annual, a fuel leak and an exhaust leak. The fuel leak has been addressed, but the exhaust has been more challenging. Hopefully we can have that all fixed up soon.

In addition the the typical annual, I'm doing some upgrades which has caused it to be down for so long. I've replaced all the switches, removed the ADF including the top and bottom antennas, receiver, indicator, and associated wiring. I also removed a lot of dead wires along the way. I've installed wiring harnesses for a UBG-16 engine monitor that I won this year at the EAA and a FP-5L fuel flow gauge. I also installed a mux box to download the monitor information as well as RPM, fuel flow, maniforld pressure, and outside air sensor accessories. I'm also going to hard wire my garmin 296 into the system so it won't use the cigarette lighter anymore and will provide GPS data to the mux for download and to the FP-5L for fuel economy calculations. To install all of this stuff, I had to add a new fuse panel where the ADF receiver used to be. I also disconnected some old headphone jacks that weren't connected to the radios anymore although the intercom was connected through them so the intercom was reconnected to the proper jacks. I installed a comm antenna splitter where the old headphone jacks were so I can use my aircraft comm antenna with my handheld radio for better signal. I also replaced the primer o-rings and replaced the co-pilot vent. I also found a used electric backup vacuum system online. I'm installing that between the back of my luggage compartment and my air conditioning system and running a hose up to tee into my existing vac system. Separately I bought a low vacuum warning light that tees into the vac gauge line and turns a light on when the suction drops below 3.5 psi.

That's all I can think of for now, I'm sure I missed some things. It's been slow going because my A&P has been allowing me to help with the work, but I can't get out to the airport during the week so I'm only out there working on the weekends. I'm really lucky to have a mechanic that works 7 days a week.

I wish I had taken some "progress" pictures, but I didn't; I even have a camera out at the airport...

You can tell your airplane has been down for too long when it's 100+ when you start and you need a swamp cooler and now it's in the mid 30s and I need a heater...