Home Made Speed Grille

[Campo]

Got this idea from (dead link) in the projects list. I just made a few changes...I dont' have a before pic but ya'll know what that would look like.. anyway here's the pic of the grille on my X..

I cost me about $8.50 at the local ACE hardware and a little over an hour's time to do..

Whatcha Think??

well pics dont work go to My web site

 

[Explorer_2196]

I like it! I plan on doing this to my X too. I have the stuff I am just lazy.

 

[Alec]

Let's see if this works:

Looks nice!

 

[swak6287]

how did u remove the grille? i have a brush guard at the front. can i just slide it in and quick tie it or did u screw it on the grille?

 

[Campo]

Alec - Thanks its working now

swack6287 - after I removed the top black plastic cover I was able to remove the top bolts and pull the grille out far enough to reach my hands in (some places you may need someone with smaller hands), The plastic factory mesh is held in place with push in barb type retainers that also hold a plastic piece that funnels air into the radiator, I used a screwdriver and a interior panel tool, after removing the retainers I pulled the plastic grille mesh out and used it for a template, including holes so I could mount it using the retainers It took 2 pieces of the gutter cap for the grille and one for the air dam. The air dam is held on using zip ties..

Hope that helps..

 

[espnfreak]

i like the street scene ones a lot but those grillcraft ones look nice also! i would rather have cut out the bars and make a solid grille like the f-150, check out the speedgrille pics in my sig, it looks better with the grille black now though

 

[leenjen]

how much does that restrict the airflow to the radiator. i work with similar metal to make speaker grills for installs. each kind is labeled according to how much it blocks (thats really important, because you dont want to lower your speaker's performance too much). i cant really tell from the pic, but it looks like it blocks 40-50%.

 

[Campo]

espnfreak - Couldn't get your site to come up, but I really do like the front end of the new X's and didn't want to change it to much just enhance it's appearence, I like the bars, gotta have something to hold back all that HP...lol

leenjen - So far I haven't noticed any change on the temp gauge, I've been watching it closely, but I haven't been driving in 100 degree heat with it yet either so we'll see this summer how it does.. The pic makes the holes look smaller than they really are..
one plus is that it keeps bugs out of the radiator and the tranny cooler...

 

[espnfreak]

try now campo

 

[Campo]

espnfreak - ok got it to work, Originally I was going to do mine like that but there are 2 X's around here one with a billet grill and the other with that type of speed grille, I wanted some thing a little different then every thing else I've seen.....

 

[yob_yeknom]

Cool! I've been planning on doing the exact same thing myself. I'm just gonna leave the top two middle holes open so I can access the hood latch.

If it's just regular gutter screen, I seriously doubt you'll need to worry about overheating. The holes in it a plenty big enough to let plenty of air through.

 

[espnfreak]

especially doin 60 mph u get plenty of air

 

[Campo]

Thats what I knda figured, the holes aren't any smaller than the aftermarket speed grills, now I just need to figure a way to funnel the air into my airbox....

 

[TarHeel085]

got a question for ya. i already have the stuff right. we already did it to my friends J**p GC, and looks good, then on to mine. i coulnt figure out how to take out the existing grill insert. some one help me! how do you take it off? i know you already said it but i cant figure it out STILL!

 

[Campo]

TarHeel,

Did you get my message and email??

did it help???

 

[TarHeel085]

yeah i just got it, was at school, but im about to go and try that out. but i need to know how to get the grill all the way off. i have the top can someone tell me the bottom??

 

[Campo]

Sorry I didn't take mine all the way off, I would guess a chilton or Haynes manual would tell you how to take it completely off, the bottom center of the grille is held on with spring clips that you can get to from underneath..

I removed those and the bolts and was able to get my hand in there, it was a pain in the A$$ it probably would of been easier to take the grille off...

Sorry I'm not to much help...

 

[TarHeel085]

well i got mine finished this weekend, to lazy to take a pic, but i got one. i ended up takin off the WHOLE front grill/fascia. a real pain, but it looks good. speed grill it looks a lot better in person.

 

[Campo]

Looks Good..

Ya I know It is a pain to do but it sure does looks good..

 

[X24]

grille removal

Tarheel, how did you take the entire grill off? I have been searching the internet for weeks trying to find out.
you can email me at jg24cv@aol.com. thanks.