DIY solid steel grille fabrication. An in-depth look at the grille mod.

I have had this idea in my head and wanted to make it a reality for months now. This past weekend my schedule finally opened along with the time and material to get it fabricated and painted.

Material used:

• 1/8" x 1/2" Flat bar (About 35 feet of it, cut into 15 pieces)

• 3/16" x 3/4" Flat bar (4' long)

• 6 - 1" Wood screws

• "Fine" texture outdoor spray paint

• Bit of Para-cord

This project took about 10-12 hours and was almost free (scrap steel)

I first took rough dimensions for the grille and got a layout done so all 15 bars can be cut to length before fabrication.






Doing simple math: If I want a 3/8" gap between the bars and I have 1/8" material, there is 1 bar every 1/2". The height is about 8" in the middle of the grille so I could fit 16, However I wanted to leave a gap in the top and bottom for clearance. This means I need 15 bars cut at varying lengths with the layout for reference. The backing bars (3/16" x 3/4") are cut to length from layout too.

After cutting, the middle backing bar is marked to keep a set point at which to go from and a 3/8" jig is made to ensure the spacing is even and consistent. 2 vice grips hold everything in place while the bars are lined up and tacked.



I quickly realized entire grill needs to be tilted backwards about 8-10 degrees for it to fit in the trim shroud properly. Therefore the bars can't be at a 90 degree angle to the backing, otherwise the bars will not be parallel to the ground and the airflow. I adjusted the angle if the first bars and made sure to check the angle to be correct.


After each bar was welded on to the backing, I hit the weld with a flap disk to keep the surface smooth and clean. (A grinder and paint, make a welder what he aint'!)


This weakens the weld slightly but will make no difference in a low-stress application like a grille. Each bar is fit up to the jig, clamped, tacked all 3 places, welded out, then the flap disk to smooth it out. The jig had the corners that would conflict with the welds removed to ensure tight fitment and a consistent gap.

The heat all on one side of the bar caused it to warp, I fixed this by adding another 3/16" x 3/4" bar on the interior side at a 90 degree angle.

A few hours later I had a metal shape!



On to taking a recip saw to my only OEM grille!


A flap disk make quick work of any excess plastic left over from the old grille., also removed the front of the mounting arm so it won't be in the way.


Test fit looks perfect.

The next part if the project would be where things took a turn for the worse.

I wanted to remove the "chrome" that was on the trim.... big mistake.


This was a nightmare. There was no way to efficiently separate the chrome plating off the plastic without gouging the plastic that I could find. It was like removing metal paint from a stick of butter when using any power tools. I couldn't damage the plastic any more. So I peeled the entire thing...by hand...with scissors*...for 4 hours.

*(Scissors for the reason that the blade angle is high to make it less likely I dig into plastic, they don't dull as easy as a razor/knife, and they were all I could find in my truck toolbox.)

Fuck me that sucked.... Trust me, NEVER do that. There are other ways to remove the chrome. Hydrochloric acid, sandblasting, multiple days in a lye solution, and a few other process that are far too complex and time consuming to do in an evening.

FINNALY!

99% of the chrome plating was removed and it was time to sand all the scrapes and gouges in the plastic!
I wet sanded to (only) 220 grit due to desire for a textured look, and lack of higher grit.


I cut 6 mounting brackets and welded them on next.


Test fit!

I marked where the mounting holes are on the plastic so I can pre-drill the screw holes before paint was applied. It made final assembly much smoother.

Painting time!

I hit my corner lights too while painting.

Panted steel as it was hanging on wire.



After paint has dried, screws went in and I clipped everything back together on the truck. There was one more problem to solve. The hood latch...

I just cut that bitch off with an angle grinder and ran a pull string with para-cord.






I hit the end of the para-cord with paint to get it to blend and called it done.


I'm very happy with the turn out. I have a few more things to do to the front end before it has the look I'm 100% happy with. (new headlights, painted hood, ARB winch bumper)
I had fun! except for the damn chrome shit... Everything works and looks great. "New" headlights are in about a weeks time and it will look even meaner!

Thanks for reading and I really hope someone gets new ideas or inspiration to make their truck a little more unique. If there are any formatting errors or correction needed please let me know!

Cheers!

 

I'm fixing some of the formatting issues and rotating the images to be portrait. Editing is underway!

Edit: Looks better now. Still tweaking a few small things.