True, it is not closing all the way. That was my oversight. The blade was printed size on size with the frame / opening. With the snapped connections slightly bulging, it hits before it closes completely. The next version will have some clearance designed in!
I'm not overly concerned about the push rod. First, it is really quite short. As its shown now, the length between control arms is about 1". It will be shorter in the final version. Also, when the grill block is shut, the wind force should equal out between the upper and lower faces since the pivot point is in the center. At this point in time, I have not offset it. Thus it should require very little holding power when fully closed (or fully open). I'm also not sure what I'll use on the final version. I just had a paperclip laying around for testing.
I worked on the grill block design over lunch today and I think I have it pretty much finalized. I was able to move the servo a bit closer to the pivot point. This will leave a lip for mounting around the perimeter with some overlap. Unfortunately, I changed every single part on the assembly in some small or large way, so I have to print them all over again. To print all these pieces takes a good 7 hours or so, and 4 separate runs on the printer.
I'm not exactly sure how I'm mounting it to the car at this point. I suppose that is the next step. It will need to go in the lower grill opening. I'm hoping to create a grill block similar to Darin's Insight grill block. It looked very nice and I should be able to cut a hole in it and screw the grill block right to the foam.
The other solution is good 'ol coroplast like I've done with so many cars. It wouldn't be too hard to bolt the grill block frame to the coroplast. It might be a bit on the flimsy side though.
