Petey - these are panels that will be bonded to the side of my Beetle - after some significant modifications. The construction technique for the panels is the as for a strip built boat.
Oldtool - Yes you do have a good handle on it. There are a few reasons for the precision.
    - The panels need to mate to an existing shape.
    - I'm not aware of anyone doing this before and I'm not sure how much error I can deal with
    - My personality prefers minimizing error as long as possible
Pottz - the next couple parts should help