Created panels for behind rear windows

[abunnyuk]

I have a Shuttle LWB that I've stripped out and I was left with unsightly bodywork next to the rear windows.

After not finding any real solution for them, I decided to have a go at creating a template myself and I'm super proud of how it's turned out!

It involved the following:

1. Using a piece of card, I created a rough template by pressing it against the body work and then kept trimming bits away until it fit exactly how I wanted.
2. Using the template as a guide, I cut out a piece of 3mm plywood.
3. Being much thicker and less flexible than card, I had to trim along the edges and fine tune with a sander in order to get the right fit.
4. Updated the card template with the finessed version and used it mark where the edges of the bodywork were so that I could transfer them to the plywood template by simply scoring a line.
5. I then went to the Fusion 360 and designed little fixings with holes in that I could fix along the transferred lines which meant I could slot the plywood into place. This took a fair bit of prototyping as the fixings needed to be different depths and heights due to the plywood being stiff which made it sit at slightly different distances away from the bodywork.
6. Once all tested and I was happy with the fits, I used the plywood template and a flush trim bit on the router table to very, very carefully make 2 new templates.

So that was my weekend!

I'm making sure to keep the original template safe & sound as I may want to play with designs later, especially as I'll be carpeting the panels.

I'm happy to make panels for anyone else who needs them and I can also share the STL fixings.

 

[abunnyuk]

P.S. I did originally consider just drilling 2 holes into the body work and using trim clips, but I didn't fancy doing that and wanted to challenge myself to trying something new.