Anyone mind my asking how much for a grille and where do you get one?

 

fordparts.com 125 bucks; long wait though so i would check w/ your dealer.

 

i got mine at the dealer, i didnt feel like waiting and the 20 bucks difference wasnt that big of a deal for me. it was $155 total at my dealer.

 

The grille looks nice for sure, but you know it kind of sucks that this grille is even available. It would seem like Ford would make this an exclusive item for the Harley trucks and not just sell it to the general public...GM does it with a lot of their special production cars (for example if you want a Camaro SS hood you have to own a Camaro SS to buy one from the factory). I am just looking at it from the stand point of the guys that buy the HD trucks...there paying a priemum for a special truck and IMHO Ford should protect that buy not selling the parts that make it special.

Again this wasnt meant to condem a single person that has bought this grille at all, but rather a critisim of Ford for selling them to just anybody that wants one.

 

its not that i want my truck to look like a harley. i like the look of the grill and certainly those who pay 50k for a truck deserve to have some perks over the rest of us. whether its on the inside, or wheels, or a suspension package - whatever. i do what i like to my truck, and i dont mean to step on anyones toes but if it means 'copying' another model then so be it. but then again, if i can do it, why wouldnt the average owner turn their truck into a harley truck? i guarantee you someone could turn an xlt or lariat into a harley very easy... with a little DIY work and alot less cash... but that takes the fun out of it. i like how ford offers their parts to everyone, it gives the rest of us who dont have 50k for a truck more options, some harley owners may want to switch to a honeycomb, or an fx4 grille - its just a matter of personal preference. it just so happens i like the grill off of it, and if i know a harley owner that wants a honeycomb, they can have mine. no biggie

 

Like I said...I wasnt talking bad about a single person that buys the grille or the headlights (hell I have HD knock off lights). My gripe (I guess thats what you can call it) is that Ford makes these parts so available. How can they justify charging so much for a HD if you can get all the parts for a fraction of the cost? The exclusitivity is not there anymore. Sure you can say "I have a HD F150", but the fact is there is not a single piece of it I can't buy to put on my truck. Do the HD trucks even have the special VINs or are they just Scab Lariats? Hell I don't have a HD and really don't care I guess, but it just seems to me Ford owes the buyers of those trucks more. I have had special edition or limited edition cars all my life...a 40th Aniv Vette, a Trans AM GTA, a Dodge Ram SS/T, and a Camaro SS to name a few, and to be honest with you it would have really pissed me off had the average guy been able to go to the parts counter and buy the parts to make his car a "clone" of one of mine. I know with the GTA you could not buy GTA rims or emblems unless you owned a GTA...with the SS Camaro you could not get SS badges or the hood without owning a SS...same thing with the Ram...if you wanted the stripes or the wheels you had to own a real one. To me that was a nice feature of owning the cars...the manufacture was protecting your cars exclusitivity. I don't have any experince with SVT, but are Cobra and Lightning parts readily sold to just anyone? I certainly would hope not but I suspect they are.

I totaly agree with you though...they are for sell and you want the grille by all means get it.

 

I understand where you are coming from, I have an 87 Buick Grand National and back in the late 80's and 90's a lot of people took a Regal T-Type and made GN clones, now 20 years later you have to do some research before buying one to make sure you are really getting a GN.

 

Man that was a neat car. I used to outrun one every weekend with my 351 C in a 1954 Ford F100. He would come off the line so hard it was amazing, then about the time I hit thrird I would pull by him and beat him by a couple of car lengths. He just ran out of motor on the top end. Had we ever raced 1/8 mile he would have had me.

 

I agree RamSS, Ford claims right on their website that the HD has an exclusive grille, rims etc...yet most of the these parts, if not all, are available to the public. So what is so exclusive about them? Id take the $50k and buy a lariat and add the HD parts if I wanted a HD. Its not like the engine, drivetrain, etc is any different from any other F150 out there. Oh wait, its got a catback..

I mean I really like the look of the HD, but honestly Ive seen alot of trucks on here resemble it, so to me the HD wont stand out. Now if it was blown, had an exclusive engine induction etc. I mean lets face, thats how we differentiated the Lightnings. I wanted to see the engine. My 93 L had an exclusive GT40 induction setup, a very unique setup for that time.

 

RamSS/T - I agree with you there, but i guess in today's marketplace they are willing to make money on anything. If you couldnt buy it from the dealer im sure there would be a knock off sooner or later. I agree, that does suck for those who actually dish out the 50 grand for a special edition truck but for those of us who like it and cant afford it it works out ok, luckily i'm one of them.

 

Or even a better example is the GNX...almost every GNX I see is a GN (or a T-Type) made to look like a GNX. BUT the big differnce is you couldnt buy GNX flares and badges from GM back in the day.

BTW my mom had a 87 GN...I drove it to my Jr prom....she eventully traded in on an Accord!

I agree...the parts would be able to be had...either through junk yards or after market, but again in this case its the manufacture thats selling them (at the same time they are selling the truck on the lot at that) and thats what I have a problem with.) IMO there #1 concern should be to the people that are buying their new cars.

 

Only problem with this is that you can get a HD for around 32,500. And that is with 22" wheels.

 

Guys, I thoroughly see your point, as I've had a "real" 95 Cobra that Ford offered every part of right over the parts counter, then and now. But let's face it, Ford sells and has sold hundred's of thousands of late model Mustangs and there is a huge market for folks wanting the factory performance OEM parts to hop up there "regular" GT Mustangs into Cobra's, Mach 1's, etc., Ford knows it and they make a TON of money doing it. Heck Ford has got to have the most impressive line of OEM wheels available over the counter of any of the big three! Being that Chevy has sold a fraction of late-model Camaro's, I can see GM not offering SS parts to the public, if that's the case, but I guaratee you that if GM had a cash cow like Mustang parts business, every available factory hop-up SS part would be had right at the dealer. As for the Harley, let's get real, there is nothing "exclusive" about this current gen. (which is a shame, for now I suppose), other than AWD, we are talking a trim package on a Supercab, and at the price Ford is offering them for, in most cases cheaper than a Lariat/King Ranch, I can't see actual owners having any real reason to bitch about exclusivity when they see Harley parts on other trucks. OEM aftermarket is big business and guys/gals upgrading their rides to look like their more expensive brethern aint going away anytime soon.

 

"Painted monotone black with huge 22-inch wheels, the 2006 F-150 Harley-Davidson is based upon the SuperCab model and is offered with two-wheel or all-wheel drive.

Decked out in extra chrome trim and a red-and-blue stripe running down the side, the F-150 H-D is easy to identify. The chrome billet grille and smoked headlamps immediately set this sport truck apart from the crowd, while a low front air dam and side tubes visually lower the truck for a custom appearance. At the rear, darkened taillamp lenses, a slash-cut chrome exhaust outlet, and a black bumper continue the theme."

That write-up describes half the trucks on here minus the AWD. Granted I like the truck, especially the interior and AWD option(something that should be currently offered on all F150s)

 

Well thats my point....there is nothing exclusive about the HD....and thats sad because there should be!