Just installed my Grillcraft!

thanks guys, i'm lovin it too! i'm feeling kind of plain though without my TRD emblem. i ordered it from ebay on the 4th but i still haven't even got tracking info on it. :/

that might have been the easiest part of the install, actually. while i had the grill out i took some paper and painters tape, masked off the lights and bumper, and went at the radiator with some high temperature Rustoleum matte black paint. i did 2 very light coats, just enough to take the shine off the radiator and give it a good black finish. (i didn't want to clog up the fins on the radiator).

this wasn't hard at all. the hardest part of the install was cutting out the insert of the stock grill. it took me about 20 minutes with a dremel (should have used a reciprocating saw) and a little bit of time afterwards to sand down the cuts. (you don't need to be too clean, because you can't even tell you cut the stock grill when the grillcraft is on.) after that, you need to drill some screws to mount the grill, and that can take a few minutes.

on a difficulty scale of 1-10, this is about a 2 or 3. it's not exactly plug and play, but it's not tough work either.

a satoshi on the other hand, looks to be a 5 - 8, depending on your experience. you have to use fiberglass and bondo, you have to be really thorough with your sanding, and you have to paint after (since all your cutting areas will be visible). I've seen a few posters on Tacoma World that have attempted a Satoshi and failed

Anyway, there's plenty of room for light to show out. It looks pretty closed in the pics because everything behind it is black, but there is definitely enough room and space between the meshing from some good light to show through. Probably won't even effect the brightness too much

 

Thanks. Guess mine will be Grillcraft. The other is not beyond my ability but don't want to chance fucking up a 200 grill. If cheaper to replace that would be different.

 

I think I'll be going this route too.

 

Looks awesome dude. As far as the bottom piece, I think it looks good with or without. What kind of spray paint did you use for behind the grill? Any methods we should know about?