your factory's are 2 1/4? now I am really confused. They had no taper at all, but the replacement ones do?

 

Sorry, I was posting from my phone. 1 1/4" factory. And yes, the replacements have a 1/8" taper

 

grille is here, very please so far. im hoping to put it on this weekend if everything goes right

 

Hey Marshall, how does the grill look as far as the curve in it when the grill is vertical? Mine came dam near flat on the vertical, and took ALOT of persuasion to give it the proper curve. It more or less had the proper horizontal curve, but the vertical was almost non existent. It should be kind of bubbled. Once you cut your grill, you're married to the idea of fitting the new one. Also, be aware of those top clips in the hood.... they are a beeotch. Good luck.

One quick and easy thing you can do to check its curve is to make yourself a cardboard cutout of the curve of your factory grill surround, and compare that to the replacement. Should give you a fairly accurate idea of how it will fit without modification and bending...

 

whats the easiest way of getting the top clips to release?

if im picturing what you mean by "vertical" curve, mine is also almost non-existant, though im sure this grille isnt too hard to bend if coerced the right way. i assume its aluminum, though i have no magnet to check.

here is the "horizontal" curve you talk about

 

I can tell by one glance at your pic here that you will have the same trouble I did. Mine was also aluminum, but it was much more difficult to shape properly than I though it was going to be. Without exaggerating, it took me laying mine flat on the floor, smiley face up on cardboard and standing on each end, flattening it to get the proper horizontal curve, as it was less than perfect when I took it out of the box, and I created the proper vertical curve with a couple 10 or 12 inch 2x4 chunks covered in a towel and some precision bending. Don't try and gain it all at once, or in just one area, slow and steady, constantly moving it, and through the entire grill, not just the edges.

I'm a journeyman bodyman, as I'm sure many on here are. I've had to adjust many aftermarket panels through the years. This one was really no different, but it was a littler more unnerving as it was on my personal brand new toy, with less than 1000K on it. Have patience, with the mods you have done, I'm sure you can convince it to move where you want it to go.

The hood has several small slit like holes in it, maybe 3/4 an inch back from the lip where the hood meets the grill. I can't remember exactly but I think there were 7 in total? Give or take. The clips that go into these slit type holes have prongs that once snapped in, grab both the top and the bottom of the slit. They are small but powerful clips, and require dental pick size tools to pick them free. You need to apply a little pressure from say the left side, and pick both fingers on the first clip. Once it is free, slide a 3/16 shim, or something like it near that clip to keep it from snapping back into place. Not too much pressure, or the next clip will be too tough to release. Work along until you free them all. It might be a good idea to put some 2 inch masking tape along the front edge of the hood where it meets the grill to avoid scratching it.

These holes and clips are all absolutely blind from what I can remember. The outside ones were the easiest. The middle one was the toughest.

 

im not really clear on how you gave it the vertical bend to bubble it. could you clarify a bit more? or post pictures if you have any? also, do you have a picture of your grille? id like to reference it

 

Hi Marsh, the only pics I have I put in my albums. The pic of the grill before installation is actually the first one they sent me, but arrived damaged. They sent me a second one after that, packaged a whole lot better. Hopefully you can somewhat reference my grill to yours by the pics I have there.

As far as how I bent it, I don't have any pics of it, butI simply just cut a few short peices of 2x4, and stood them either on thier side, or on end when I had to, and carefully rounded the vertical bars on the grill by placing the bar on the 2x4, (grille face up) and applying downward pressure to bend the bar slightley. Then move the 2x4 location, by about an inch or so, and repeat, and repeat, and repeat. Then move to the other end, and do the same to the bar on the other end, then the second bar in on both sides. Do it progressively slowly, and when you get all the bars slightly curved, go back to the outside bars, and do it all over again, until you get the curve you need.

It really helps if you make a 12 or 14 inch cardboard cutout of the shape of your red grill surround, and use that to compare to your replacement, as you bend it. If you get too agressive with it, and try and take too much of a bend in one shot, it will just kink it, and give it a sharp (and ugly) bend that won't conform smoothly. Slow and steady is the key.

Once I got the proper vertical curve I was happy with and set it in my cutout grill, I found that from the factory, it had too much of a curve across the horizontal line, and when it was flush with the outside edges, it stuck out1/4 inch in the center at the top. This part was scary, and after numerous attempts to try and fix it, I had to resort to violence. The only way that worked for me, was to put cardboard on the floor, put the grill face down on the cardboard, and stand on the outside edges. It has ALOT of flex built in it, and dam near needed me to bounce on the edges to get it to move, and had to do it several times. Again, move in this direction with extreme care. I did have several of the aluminum welds break on me, but just JB Welded them back together.

The fit turned out near perfect. I personally think it was all worth it.

 

thanks for the help. im still trying to figure out how you had the 2x4's positioned - oh well i suppose i'll figure it out on my own.

in other news:

 

i spent some time with the grille this afternoon for about 10 minutes. i confirmed that mine is made from aluminum, but the way its constructed is quite a bit different than canadianelbow's. i have 6 main rods that were actually threaded through each bar along with being weleded, because of this i was able to easily bend the grille without causing excessive strain. i now have about 3/4 inch of deflection and it could be easily added or lessened. im pretty happy so far. the grille looks better with a slight bubble to it

 

I am happy to hear that you are confident that you can get the end result you are looking for. I wish you the best of luck. I am curious to know how the top edge lines up on the manufacturer you chose... Might be hit and miss, but I hope for your sake it lines up better than mine, from the start. Remember... Slow and steady wins this fitment race.

 

Marshall, sorry to be beating a dead horse, but against your initial advice in a prior posting, I have decided to make my own blocks. I have them already cut and milled to the size I want, but I need to know where to put the dowels in the top side, and where to drill the alignment holes in the bottom, or vice-versa. I have access to block steel, and all the tooling toys I could ever need at work to make them better, stronger, and best of all...... free at work. What I would really like from you, if you could is 4 pictures. can you lay a tape measure across the length and width of both sides of those blocks you took out? That would allow me to see where the center of the holes exactly need to be, and the size of them. I am anticipating that the holes in the bottom, and the nipples on the top line up perfectly, but are a slightly different diameter.

If you could spare a few minutes away from your grill project, it would help me immensely.

 

my advice was against welded plate blocks, if you're milling it from a block of steel then yours will be even better than OEM.

i will get your pictures for you tomorrow if thats ok

 

To answer your question, tomorrow will work fine, beggars can't be choosers, but today is better...

I cant mill it totally out of one piece, would be just way too time consuming. I have my block already milled (2 x 2 3/4 x 5), and I am going to drill into it and countersink the dowel, to become the short nipple that it needs, and weld it solid in the hole from the bottom side. I know alot of aftermarket blocks don't have the nipples, or dowels, or alignment pins, or whatever they are called, but I'm on the better safe than sorry block. My pins will be countersunk into the block by an inch and a half or so, and welded so they cannot move.

I got my 5100's today. Now I just need a day off with the wife not home to install them. She doesn't know I bought em.

When I get the blocks finished, I'll post a pic. I was hoping to finish them tomorrow, but I'll wait for your pics. Thanks.

 

grilles done! all i need to do now is make a mesh backing and instal my lights