Home-made grille block / bra
 

Can you take a picture of the bra you have on the front of Blackfly? Also, where did you get it? I figure that is the easiest way to close off the front of the geo without permanently changing it. I want to see how much improvement happens when the front end is closed off.

That spray foam would work well to completely close off the front fenders too. I was thinking of making new front fenders that completely go around the front fenders. I would need foam and fiberglass to make them and then maybe I could get someone to make a mold of them so they could be mass produced.


Jody

Hi Jody -

See the attached pic.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...7&d=1197476035

I made this one, actually. It's just a rectangle of outdoor appropriate black vinyl with:

• a cord attatched at each corner with hooks on the ends to pull it taut horizontally towards the wheel arches

• five "tabs" (2 top, 3 bottom) to stretch it taut vertically (you can see the 2 top tabs just inboard of the turn signals - they hook on the top aft edge of the bumper cover)

• a hole for the block heater cord

• one permanent cooling opening, about 6 in. by 4 in, with a mesh screen (which you can't really see in the pic)

• there's a second cooling opening (outboard of the permanent one) that has a velcro secured trap door/flap. I put it there just in case, but I've never had to open it.

This took me about 1 to 2 hours to make, and materials cost maybe 15 bucks from a fabric shop.

If you can find a commercial bra designed to fit your car, that would be the easiest route. But you would obviously have to modify it (it would still have too many openings).

Wait - I almost forgot! This mod cost me more than 15 bucks.

I removed my front licence plate to install it, and somehow (don't ask how) I lost the plate.

I got nabbed by the police in a routine traffic stop / roadside safety dragnet a year ago and was ticketed for the missing plate.

So in fact it cost me more like $110 total. :o

bra
 

That is a nice looking setup. I was thinking though I wanted to cover the entire front end all the way back to the front of the wheel openings. Then the only openings would be the headlights.

Looks good.

This is the best way IMHO to change the front of a car...
 

Inexpensive, reversible.

And if one used Styrofoam underneath the bra to make the shape better custom "noses"
could be created relatively cheaply.

This weekend all i did was cover the upper grill on my Camry with cotton fabric and sprayed it several times with old spray paint. Coolant temps at hwy speeds unchanged and only like 5 degrees higher at complete dead stop idle.

So far my mode has cost my only WTF looks from friends and family!

No A-B-A testing.
Tomorrow I will do my weekly 600 mile round trip from Maine to NYC area to work for 3 days. I also changed the gear oil in manual tranny to "mostly" synthetic. (Accidentally bought 1 qt total synthetic and 1 qt synthetic blend).

I digress, great bra, great idea. I plan on doing similar by summer.

Pete