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I've been looking for a little radiator protection and thought I'd share for those who aren't filling the large open bumper vent with a light bar or a winch. It seems that every single bumper grille insert I found was for chrome bumpers only. So rather than fool with fabricating this thing from scratch, I ordered a chrome bumper grille insert off CarID and wasn't exactly surprised when it didn't fit.
However it did /almost/ fit. The little mounting hook locations were correct to grab the vertical bars in the body-matched bumper, the insert was the correct height, but it was about 6" or so too wide. Any attempt to bolt it up direct without modification would've been hilariously awkward. So I did what anyone would do, I broke out Ye Olde Cutoff Wheel and gave the insert a little trim. It took a few tries to get everything on the mark, but I did all my precision guesswork to err on the side of having to take another trimming pass. Once I had the shape about right, I smoothed the cuts with the grinder, shot the bare metal with whatever black Rustoleum was sitting in the shed, and bolted it together.
With a little cleverness and prodding with a screwdriver, I managed to get it bolted up without removing the upper grille. (glue the nut to the mounting hook and it acts like a trapped nut just long enough for the metal to grab against the hook's finish and stay in place. Use a screwdriver to hold the hook in place with one hand, and spin the screw down with a screw gun in the other hand.) We're not talking a real custom shop mod over here, but something quick and pretty easy to help keep the debris out of your radiator/condenser/trans cooler.
Pics attached.
However it did /almost/ fit. The little mounting hook locations were correct to grab the vertical bars in the body-matched bumper, the insert was the correct height, but it was about 6" or so too wide. Any attempt to bolt it up direct without modification would've been hilariously awkward. So I did what anyone would do, I broke out Ye Olde Cutoff Wheel and gave the insert a little trim. It took a few tries to get everything on the mark, but I did all my precision guesswork to err on the side of having to take another trimming pass. Once I had the shape about right, I smoothed the cuts with the grinder, shot the bare metal with whatever black Rustoleum was sitting in the shed, and bolted it together.
With a little cleverness and prodding with a screwdriver, I managed to get it bolted up without removing the upper grille. (glue the nut to the mounting hook and it acts like a trapped nut just long enough for the metal to grab against the hook's finish and stay in place. Use a screwdriver to hold the hook in place with one hand, and spin the screw down with a screw gun in the other hand.) We're not talking a real custom shop mod over here, but something quick and pretty easy to help keep the debris out of your radiator/condenser/trans cooler.
Pics attached.
