Homemade Grille Part II (Pics + How To)

[HFSDevil]

Well I decided to re-do my old grille for a better replacement since I now know a lot more about how it looks/works and decided to help everybody out that wants to do this as well.

 

http://home.comcast.net/~samur_devil/1.jpg

 

http://home.comcast.net/~samur_devil/2.jpg

 

http://home.comcast.net/~samur_devil/3.jpg

 

 

Parts Needed:

 

- Gutter mesh ($2.00 from Home Deopt, Lowes, hardware store)

- 1 foot long allscrew (5/16 is the best)

- 6 5/16 nuts

- 6 5/16 washers

- 6ish 1/2 inch long screw to keep the mesh on the grille

- Electric drill bit

- 5/16 drill

- 8mm socket

- Dremel tool

- Black spray paint (Engine enamel)

- Phillips head screwdriver

- Scuff pad

- Sandpaper

- A piece of wood (Something you can put on the mesh so that when you bend it, it will be a nice 90 degree angle)

 

Installation:

 

Well first off what you need to do is take off your grille. There are 6 bolts that hold it on (8mm) and 1 screw. Once it is off use the dremel tool and cut out all the middle stuff So you are just left with the outer ring of the grille. Be careful because if you put too much weight on the grille now it might break. Once everything in the middle is cut out, use the sandpaper to sand down what you just cut so it's pretty flush with the rest of the grille. (It doesn't have to be perfect, just depends on how good you want it. Then take your scuff pad and scratch up the "chrome" on the outer part of the grille so the paint has something to stick to.

 

Now comes the mesh part. Place the mesh on top of the grille so that the extra is hanging over on the right side. The mesh should have about an inch extra on the top and bottom which is good. Now use a black sharpie to mark the left and right sides on the mesh (the inner sides of the grille so when it is cut, it's flush against it.) Also mark where the grille starts so you can bend the excess underneath. Cut off the extra mesh on the right side so that it is 1/2 inch extra on the right side. Place the mesh on the floor (hard floor like a garage) and place the wood (or whatever you have) on top of the mesh where you made the lines for where the grille is and make the bends there to 90 degrees on both sides.

 

Once they are bent at 90 degrees with the wood, use your hands and bend it to about 120 degrees so it wont hit the grille when you put it in. Once it is bent place the mesh into the grille to see if it lines up. You might need to make little cuts in the top of the part of the mesh that is folded in so it does not hit anything. Trim/bend the mesh to make it flush with the grille.

 

http://home.comcast.net/~samur_devil/7.jpg

 

Now once the mesh is all done, it is no time to reinforce the grille so it is not as flimsy. On either side of the big chunk in the grille on the top middle you want to drill 2 holes (one on either side on the top and bottom)

 

http://home.comcast.net/~samur_devil/8.jpg

 

Take the allscrews and going from the top, put it through the hole and put two washers and 2 nuts and put one set all the way up so that it will meet the top of the grille and one set on the bottom. Place the allscrew through the hole at the bottom of the grille and place the last nut/washer combo on the end of the all screw. Now on the top of the grille you want to cut all the excess of the allscrew off so it will not hit the hood when you mount it back on. Tighten the nuts onto the grille (but not too tight.)

 

http://home.comcast.net/~samur_devil/5.jpg

 

http://home.comcast.net/~samur_devil/6.jpg

 

Now that the support screws are in place, it is time to mount the mesh on the grille. Put the mesh back into the grille and use the 1/2 inch long screws, to keep it in place. I used 6, but you can use as much or little as you want. The more you use, the sturdier it is. They will most likely go all the way through the grille, so you can just use your dremel tool and cut off the excess.

 

Once it is all mounted in place, put the whole grille on some newspapers and spray paint it all black (inside and outside, everything)

 

Let it all dry and put it back on your car, and you now have a homemade grille.

[axis008]

Very nice! Any pics of it from further away? I want to see how the whole front end looks.

[sleepin gt]

ditto! great custom job man. looks better than many of those 'professional' jobs out there!

[Helfrick]

+1. Looks great. I would also like to see a shot of the entire car.

[Guest *Jedimaster*]

[scans007]

Freak'n sweet man..........hope you don't mind Devil, I stuck those instructions on my site.....=)

[ADirtyLegacy]

can i just ship you my grille so u can do that to it? lol i know i'd screw it up somehere in the process!!

 

Kenda

[firedawgs]

My grill will be done this week. The cutting and mesh has been done for a while now. Mine is more like the JDM, whereas, yours is more like the Euro. Just waiting for the paint shop now.

[HFSDevil]

Here you go.

 

http://home.comcast.net/~samur_devil/9.jpg

 

http://home.comcast.net/~samur_devil/10.jpg

 

http://home.comcast.net/~samur_devil/11.jpg

 

 

If you seriously want to send me your grille, I will be more then willing to do it for you, just know that you will be without a grille for a few days.

[ADirtyLegacy]

im looking for a spare one to send ya.

 

Kenda

[PGT]

You don't need a spare!!! It will just look like all them there Kia's and Hunday's for a bit.

[ADirtyLegacy]

You don't need a spare!!! It will just look like all them there Kia's and Hunday's for a bit.

and that we can't have!!!

 

Kenda

[cjk911]

In the pics it looks like you mounted the grill to the hood.

EDIT:or is that just the way they were mounted in the pre-'05s?

[ADirtyLegacy]

thats the way the retarded legacy's have the grille's mounted!

 

Kenda