Duster Rear Window Louvers
I don't really have any fancy metal working tools either. Just Shears, Brakes, Flangers, etc and the good old fashioned assortment of hammers.
You pick up the 'talent' when there are no body parts for your favorite truck. My favorite truck (and used to be daily driver) is an '84 Dodge D50. They make nothing for those trucks anymore, So I learned to make my own body panels early on.
Here's some of what I've got done, not a whole lot, because I'm in the middle of swapping a motor in a Saab 900S (that's a f'in nightmare, you have to drop the k-frame/engine/transmission out from under the car to replace the engine. 15+ hour job just to swap an engine)
Roughly marked the first louver on a piece of leftover stainless sheet. The louver off to the side is one of those Door/Rain Guard things from a truck, I'm using it to get ideas on the angles and curves for my louvers.
Overall dimensions of the first Louver are 17.5" Long x 1.25" Wide
1/4" (x2) for the thickness of the glass
1.25" (x2) for the angle/height increase of the louver
1/2" (x2) for the mounting tabs
Then they'll decrease in length from that point onward (since the window gets smaller toward the back), but the above dimensions will remain the same, except the total length.
Once all the individual louvers are made, I'll connect them together on a frame/base
I don't really have any fancy metal working tools either. Just Shears, Brakes, Flangers, etc and the good old fashioned assortment of hammers.
You pick up the 'talent' when there are no body parts for your favorite truck. My favorite truck (and used to be daily driver) is an '84 Dodge D50. They make nothing for those trucks anymore, So I learned to make my own body panels early on.
Here's some of what I've got done, not a whole lot, because I'm in the middle of swapping a motor in a Saab 900S (that's a f'in nightmare, you have to drop the k-frame/engine/transmission out from under the car to replace the engine. 15+ hour job just to swap an engine)
Roughly marked the first louver on a piece of leftover stainless sheet. The louver off to the side is one of those Door/Rain Guard things from a truck, I'm using it to get ideas on the angles and curves for my louvers.
Overall dimensions of the first Louver are 17.5" Long x 1.25" Wide
1/4" (x2) for the thickness of the glass
1.25" (x2) for the angle/height increase of the louver
1/2" (x2) for the mounting tabs
Then they'll decrease in length from that point onward (since the window gets smaller toward the back), but the above dimensions will remain the same, except the total length.
Once all the individual louvers are made, I'll connect them together on a frame/base
