Pics of my new custom grille

[LStoudenmire]

Thought I'd share some pics of my new grille I've been working on. It was originally a Limited grille and I cut the slats out and sanded down the sides to remove any leftovers from the slats. Then had it painted to match my Ex'. Also, painted the emblem surround black and used Hartmans thread on changing the backgound of the emblem to black. Also, installed the mesh. I think it turned out pretty good.

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NOTE: The mesh looks sorta garbled, but I think it must be the distortion of the pattern with the digital camera. Too busy for the camera.

Now, if I can just get my custom taillights completed.......

 

[Magicfan25]

looks good man

 

[Hartman]

Awesome. Probably the best DIY 1st gen custom grill i've seen! Nice work.

 

[92exp4x4]

I thought about doing similar work to my grill. How did you get around the hood release latch? I can't figure out a way to get to it with the grill in front of it. The only solution I know is to remove the latch completly.

 

[LStoudenmire]

Thanks Everyone. As far as the latch goes, I carry a small screwdriver in the glove box. I did see a pic on the board somewhere that someone cut a small hole in the mesh, then placed a washer on the front and back of the hole, to make a slot to reach the latch.

 

[dgibson]

Looks good. I am wanting to put the mesh behind the billet grill that I have.

 

[Thorbolter]

Looking good!! Great job!!!

 

[davesexplorer]

SMOOOOOOTH look!

 

[diablo5969]

That is a good looking grill!

BTW, for my hood release latch, (this might be hard to follow, so pay attention ), I attached a metal wire to the top of the latch, the part actually inside the hood. When I pull the hood latch inside the Ex, the hood opens about an inch, which is enough for me to reach in and grab the metal wire and use it to open the hood latch. Works well, and don't need to carry a screwdriver or cut a whole in the grill

 

[jimbo74]

looks good.....

 

[mdriggan]

Originally posted by diablo5969
That is a good looking grill!

BTW, for my hood release latch, (this might be hard to follow, so pay attention ), I attached a metal wire to the top of the latch, the part actually inside the hood. When I pull the hood latch inside the Ex, the hood opens about an inch, which is enough for me to reach in and grab the metal wire and use it to open the hood latch. Works well, and don't need to carry a screwdriver or cut a whole in the grill

That is a great idea! BTW...Does anyone have the Explorer Express Screenfront Grill inserts? If so, please advise what type of material they are made of and if you are satisfied with the looks.

 

[ALYZ1FLR]

Best of show!!

Best first gen. yet. Congrats

 

[AlaskanJack]

Ineed to find a Limited Grill. Anyone got one cheap? hehe, I really like what you have done.

 

[ld50]

Nice!

I attached a metal wire to the top of the latch,

Hmm, good idea that. I use a screw driver through a hole with two washers, and the bloody screwdriver always seems to dissappear on me, so it`s usually a pen or piece of twig that I use!

 

[WakeBoarder]

Check out the grille i just bid on ebay tell me what you think...Dead Link Removed

 

[bdogg23]

sweet grill! if it were for 93 i would bid on it

 

[AlaskanJack]

LStoudenmire - Thanks for watching my back and hooking me up with the limited grill from ebay. I picked it up with the headlight surrounds for $27. I'm happy. I may have to do just what you did to yours since one of the grill pieces is broke off. Then again maybe I can come up with a new idea.

 

[expo5.0]

i did a write-up of how to avoid the hatch problem that is located over at midwest-xplorers.com in the how-to forum or by searching this site. i'm sure it works with the 1st gen as well as 2nd gen.

your grille looks nice

 

[LStoudenmire]

No Problem, AlaskanJack. Hope you can get yours done faster than mine. Seemed like it took forever to complete. Just not ever enough time.

Thanks Expo.

 

[LStoudenmire]

I've had a few emails about the process of how I did the grille.

Step 1: Stock Limited Grille
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Step 2: Remove Inner Slats leaving 1/8" or so for sanding flush.
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Step 3: Sand carefully the slat remainder flush with the grille.
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Step 4: Sand, Primer, Sand, Primer, Sand, Primer, and sand some more. Then Paint.

Step 5: Installed mesh purchased from local hardware store. Most of the mesh I had seen, the diamonds were long from horizontal. But this mesh was in a roll of about 10 or 15 feet and the diamonds were vertical.
I trimmed and formed the mesh around the opening on the rear of the grille and then fastened with silicone adhesive.