so i was looking on my local craigslist and found a "99" xlt with a 98 xlt grill in a 99-03 surround. what gives? is this some rare F150 or a cheap china part knock off grill surround?

 

looks more like an '97 - '98 surround, must have got damaged and replaced it with whatever he could get quick.

 

yea you are right i looked more closely at the pictures, dang black is sneaky sometimes

im sure in person it would stick out like a sore thumb. I mean i immediately noticed the difference in the size/shape, and pattern of the grill.....

 

Yeah that it must. Gap of almost 2"s!

 

It's a '98 xlt grille, the 97 has a 1/2" raise under the honeycomb, but likely a cheap repair from slight incident, possibly a deer.

 

yeah does look like a cheap repair if you notice on the bottom right of the bumper (the black piece) it looks like they hit something

but i like the expy and navi in the back, and the white z71 avalanche

 

sorry double post crappy net

 

Lol, I was one like that, just the other way around. Had a 97/98 bumper, bumperpad, etc, and a 99+ grille shell. They had to have lowered the bumper all the way down to make room for the drop in the 99+ grill shell.

Looked dumb, and THAT was a huge gab.