My First Mod! (Lower Grille Block)

[abell75]

Using the material linked here, I did my first mod today.

Notice the gaping holes along the bottom:


Here's the fiberglass panel, curved to show the edge thickness (.090"):


Tools enlisted:


I planned on just having one sheet across the whole thing, but the curvature across multiple axes made getting it lined up difficult. I ended up cutting the original panel in half at the middle:


Here's what I mean about the curves. Front-to-back and top-to-bottom:


I've got some black paint to make it look decent; that will have to wait for another day. Like others have done, I used cardboard to make a template. Once I had one side done, I used it as the template for the other side.

I used wood screws to fasten it at three locations per side (top and bottom at the middle and bottom on the outside. I drilled holes first to prevent any cracking and to help with alignment. Took about 2.5 hours with my 2 year old son 'helping' me

Thanks to everyone here for your inspiration and tips.

[mcrews]

nice job!

[nemo]

Originally Posted by abell75

Took about 2.5 hours with my 2 year old son 'helping' me

Time well spent. Future ecomodder?

And nice work. On my 06 I blocked the uppers. No testing yet.

[Joenavy85]

Good start, i would suggest getting some plexiglass or lexan and using it to cover the fog lights, it would help smooth the flow around the front corners

[abell75]

Originally Posted by Joenavy85

Good start, i would suggest getting some plexiglass or lexan and using it to cover the fog lights, it would help smooth the flow around the front corners

Yeah I'd like to do that soon; I've looked at it a couple times but can't think of a good way to connect the lexan. I want it to be flush with the surrounding panel and that makes it trickier. Any suggestions?

[Joenavy85]

it would be pretty hard to get it flush with the rest of the panel imho, but i would think that using 4 small machine screws probably wouldn't hurt anything

[Phantom]

I never did a lower grill block on my GP but I did do an upper block by taking thin plexy and cutting it a bit larger than the upper grill then drilled holes and placed the plexy between the grill and bumper.

Fog lights would be hard and the only way I could think to do it is to make a template that will match the hole. Then when you make the plexy cover from the template add three tabs in a Y shape. Cut slots in the bumper that match the tabs and then insert the block starting at the bottom. It will be a little tough to get in but should work.

[abell75]

Phantom, did you notice a change by doing the upper? I'm seeing higher temps with all of the lower blocked; I'd like to stay away from running the radiator fans if possible. Did you put the upper block on the outside or engine side of the black honeycomb? I would think that outer would help FE more but behind would look closer to stock...

For the fog lights, I think I'll try making a cardboard template and then making the plexiglass cover by tracing the template. Running three wood screws at the edges should hold it in place.

[brucepick]

Post some more pics of how it looks now from the front!

[abell75]

Here's a shot after I painted the panels black. I only put the right one back on because I think my engine temp was getting hot enough to trigger the radiator fans. Does anyone know what temp will trigger the fans? I know I'm up above the thermostat trigger temp...

Now I just need to paint the three screws!