Cam lock installation question

[Steve]

A friend of mine is in the process of rebuilding a Cessna 172 into an experimental category with an automotive engine. His cowling fasteners appear to all need replacement as none of them hold. What kind of professional tool is available to install the new camlocs and remove the old fasteners? Any tips on replacing them? I believe the new ones he plans to use have a Philips head and are stainless steel.

 

[A Squared]

Yeah, there's a special tool, it's a pliers looking thingy, sort of like a Cleco pliers, if you know what that is. YOu can get them from aviation tool supply places, aircraft spruce, etc. I don't know how much they cost, but they make installing camlocs a snap. or, you can take a pair of needlenose pliers and fiddle around with each fastener for about 10 minutes, chasing them across the hangar as thy pop out of your pliers.

 

[mattfish42]

Uh, NONE of them hold?
If none of them hold, I have to wonder if maybe the cowl is bent up so the cam-locks don't line up properly.
I don't own the special-purpose pliers yet, so I usually do the fiddling-around-with-inadequate-tools routine described in the previous post. The only tip I can share is that swearing frequently seems to help.

 

[Hawker rider]

oh, but once you get the hang of it, even with fair sized needle nose pliers, it won't take you but a few seonds to get them in and set.