My main vehicular gig is old German cars (VWs and Porsches). Due to a recent relocation, my in-progress restoration and the majority of my tools are 1,000 miles away, and I don't have so much as a flat place to work on anything. I'm in the process of acquiring a '57 Karmann Ghia (do a Google image search for "'57 Karmann Ghia" and mine is currently the second result). '57 was the last year this particular car was made by hammering panels over wooden bucks. Custom Shops make one-off and limited run parts in this same fashion. While I don't have much in the way of tools here with me, I do have my antique woodworking setup (another of my myriad hobbies is luthiery). All of this combined with a warm sunny day, an empty schedule, and a neglected 4Runner got me thinking...
Taking a brief survey of the Satoshi mod scene, it appears the MO is to zip tie some expanded steel to the back of a cut out '96-'98 grille; generally the holes left from the removal of the cross pieces are filled with Bondo or JB Weld. Some of the better executions involve bending radii into edges of the expanded steel and placing it closer to the front for a more factory look and feel. What I've not seen, and what I submit to you here, is creating a wooden buck with a curvature that mimics that present in the factory grille over which to form a grille for an even more finished look.
Unlike the majority of my "Crazy Idea" threads, I can actually execute on this one in my present situation! Unfortunately, the blades in my tools weren't terribly sharp and dulled to the point of uselessness before I could finish the buck...
I still need to finish the drivers side profile and add the edge radii (after I locate and utilize my MIA whet stones...), but that's a pretty decent start for half a day's idle musing. Thoughts?
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