Making hidden panel clips fit 6mm ply

OK, no birthdays today, so straight back out for an early start on the van. First off - figure out how the router works. Now normally I steer clear of instruction manuals cause I is a manly man and we don't need none...grrrr, but seeing as a router has a big sharp thing spinning round really fast ready to chew up and devour anything it even looks at, I figured the manual was a good bet. Health and Safety out of the way, I set up the first panel ready to go.
And then I took a step back and had a think. I'm aiming for the finish on the lining carpet to be as smooth as possible, so I needed the countersink holes to be right first time every time. I needed to mark a 20mm countersink around each hole, with the hole dead centre. To mark the panels up, I ended up using a nut and bolt threaded through an old bearing I had from one of the kids scooters, which gave a perfect marker.

This made really quick work of the marking up and countersinking didn't take much longer as the router was preset to 2mm. A quick skim within each hole with a sharp chisel helped to smooth the way for getting the panel clips fitted and before long, voila - the next panel was in place and looking good.

The next step is to finish the insulating on this side and add the last panel. It's Christmas Eve tomorrow and we're off to see the new Star Wars with the kids, so won't be back in the van for a few days. Insulating was same as before and fairly straightforward. The only difference this time was I had to unscrew the wiring loom holder to fit the insulation right up to the tailgate. A torx bit is needed for this, but there is loads of play in the wires to lift it right out of the way without actually disconnecting any of the electrics. Insulation done, panels countersunk, clips fitted and panel hammered on with the trusty rubber mallet. That's one whole side done, ready for carpeting.

Next job was to fit the wiring for a reversing camera. This is something I've been thinking about for a few days and although I haven't definitely decided to go for a camera, I wanted the option. I've already decided to carpet in one piece, rather than carpeting the panels as I want the cleaner look, so removing the panels in the future to wire a camera up will be a pain. I took a drive up to a local auto electrician and picked up enough AV cable and two core cable to fit the camera, the plan being to put the wiring in place so it's there if I decide to go ahead with it. Sounds a fairly straightforward job doesn't it? I had ordered a Haynes manual a couple of weeks ago, so I already knew which wire on the loom was going to the reversing light (Green and Black, pin 3 in the loom). I'll tackle the actual wiring into the loom after Christmas. Next up is getting the wires into the tailgate. Again - I've already the panels off and can see where the existing wiring is routed, so not a problem. A trusty wire coat hanger will be my friend today. I went out to the van after dinner, planning to slip these wires in and then start insulating the sliding door. Hah! Three and a half hours later and I finally got the wires through to the tailgate.

Those wires that go straight up to the to the top of the back panel? Nope, those aren't the ones you need to follow. You need to go about halfway up, then take a 90 degree turn towards the back of the van and in behind that panel (if you're hands are thin enough to get in there), you can feel another gap. Feed the wires up through that gap. Next up, look to the top of the van, to the crossbeam and you'll see a white plastic trim, about 6" long. It sits behind the rubber hose that the loom goes through to get into the tailgate. Pop that trim off and feed your wires up to there. Pull through enough cable to get you all the way into the tailgate back into the van. Take a breath!

OK,next job is to get it through that rubber hose. Car manufacturers, those kind hearted generous types, they of course have left enough room to fit another two small cables through easily. Mmm... if only. This bit was probably the hardest bit and took a lot of forcing through with the wire coat hangar and not a small amount of swearing. Once through this though, the last bit, passing through the tailgate panel, was a doddle. After three hours of blood sweat and tears, I'm definitely now going to fit that reversing camera. No way I went through that for no reason!

OK, that's enough for today. We're off to see the new Star Wars with the boys tomorrow, so there will be nothing done on the van for the next few days. I reckon I've two, maybe three days left of work before I go in for surgery, so the chances of getting finished before then are slim. No worries - it's Christmas :-D
Now, where's that mulled wine?