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Old man winter has been coming down on us hard here in upstate NY, with single digits days, below zero temps at night, and an unheated garage, there is not much hope of wrenching on the old truck. I’ve been wanting to fill that big hole in my dash due to the absence of a radio, since I first bought the truck. Since I don’t listen to any radio my intent is to install a hidden Bluetooth setup and a radio blank off plate. I’ve been watching for any bargains and finally ran across a fellow ‘bolter’ selling one on this forum for a good price in near perfect condition, this past fall.

What a surprise (more like disappointment) I had, when discovered it didn’t fit. I found that the dash had been repaired, apparently from the sins of a previous owner installing an aftermarket radio. The opening was just a bit too small.

This past Christmas, my wife bought me a 3D printer after she saw my interest in my son’s printer during our recent trip to see him. I figured that until I spend the time to repair the dash to fit the original blank off plate, I might be able print one that I could custom fit into the dash.

This proved to be a much harder task than I envisioned, with having to learn not only how the printer worked but also designing this plate in a 3D CAD program to send to the printer. I have previously worked with AutoCad made by AutoDesk for many years and they offer a slimmed down version of Fusion 360 to hobbyists. I had dabbled in Fusion a few years back but needed allot of tutoring (which I found on YouTube), to get to that level of expertise required to design such a part.

Well several weeks later, with a few failed prints and allot of trial and error, I finally got a part that fits. I’m thrilled with the result. All that is needed now is a bit of sanding and warmer weather to apply some paint.