Idea on Auto Adjusting Grill Block

[Shortie771]

Originally Posted by Smurf

Great work! From "idea" to "satisfied" in a mere three and a half weeks?!

That has to be some sort of record, right?

Sarcasm? IMO it feels like I took a long time to figure this out and finally implement it. It turned out to be a very simple solution in the end.

[Smurf]

No sarcasm at all. I'm still plotting everything. Instead of acting, I overthink. You thought it quick, worked it out, and implemented it. I'm genuinely impressed.

[Shortie771]

Originally Posted by Smurf

No sarcasm at all. I'm still plotting everything. Instead of acting, I overthink. You thought it quick, worked it out, and implemented it. I'm genuinely impressed.

Well thank you very much

Still a few tweeks to do on it. Need to find a way to reinforce it a bit, it is starting to sag in the middle slightly. I also need to add a bit of weight to it so that it closes just a bit later.

I was kind of thinking maybe a very thin coat of fiberglass resin (no glass) might be enough to do both jobs at the same time by adding strength and a bit of weight. Anybody think that this would be a bad approach?

[Swordsman]

This is way cool! I wonder if I could rig up something similar with sheet aluminum for the gaping hole in the front of my Mustang?

~SM

[Shortie771]

Originally Posted by Swordsman

This is way cool! I wonder if I could rig up something similar with sheet aluminum for the gaping hole in the front of my Mustang?

~SM

Absolutely, it wasn't very hard to make actually. I will take a few more pics of the nearly finished project. I think aluminum might also have the same strength issues I am having, so you may want to find a way to make it more rigid as well. You can either cut away your grill (if it doesn't clip/screw on) like I did to install this, or you can simply install it behind your existing grill (a bit more drag that way I would assume) for a more stock look. If you decide to install it behind your factory grill, I would suggest removing your bumper to make installation easier. It would be pretty difficult to install behind your grill otherwise.

[Swordsman]

Mustang grilles are actually a bit recessed. I have an aftermarket aluminum one that's ever further back, and it deletes the GT fog lights, so I have a large, mostly flat expanse to work with. Did you already mention what you used to weight the flaps? A thin aluminum bar on the backside of the center area might be enough to stiffen it up, and could serve as the weight (depending on how much weight you need).

~SM

[Shortie771]

Originally Posted by Swordsman

Mustang grilles are actually a bit recessed. I have an aftermarket aluminum one that's ever further back, and it deletes the GT fog lights, so I have a large, mostly flat expanse to work with. Did you already mention what you used to weight the flaps? A thin aluminum bar on the backside of the center area might be enough to stiffen it up, and could serve as the weight (depending on how much weight you need).

~SM

Actually right now mine is not weighted other than a few support bars I have running through the coroplast, which didnt do much good (that is what I get for making this thing for free). I used metal coat hangers that I bent straight and ran them through the coroplast from side to side. One on the top, one on the bottom and then one near the middle (a bit closer to the rear) which is used as the hinge point.

I will go outside now to get some pictures.

[Shortie771]

Ok, so here is the gist of it... I drew this up in Paint in about 5 minutes, so that I wouldn't have to take off the grill block and take it apart to show what is on the inside and how it all worked out. I'm not sure if anybody will understand this drawing, but I hope you get it. It also wouldn't hurt to add a verticle support (like on the sides) to the center. The fishing line is to keep the 2 pivot points (on the rear sides) from backing out of the coroplast without limiting their ability to rotate.

I have attached a few pics of the real thing as well.

[Phantom]

To fix the sagging and some weight with the what you have I would trim a coat hanger and coat it in glue then push it through the coroplast. You could even bend the coroplast a little against the sag to help hold the shape.

One thing you should check is how the grill works with the fans running at full speed. You do not want to be stuck in 5mph traffic then have the fans turn on pulling the grill shut.

I like the idea and now need to think of some way to do that on the last 2.5ft x1in opening left at the bottom of my bumper.

[Shortie771]

Originally Posted by Phantom

To fix the sagging and some weight with the what you have I would trim a coat hanger and coat it in glue then push it through the coroplast.

That is a great idea! Why didn't I think of that?? I will work on that today. I have plenty of fiberglass resin, so I will just dip the rear hangers in that. I will put 2-3 coats on which should give enough stability to the hanger to keep it from bending. Thanks for the suggestion