Home-made grille block / bra

[jodydewey]

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

[MetroMPG]

Hi Jody -

See the attached pic.



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).

[MetroMPG]

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.

[jodydewey]

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.

[davidglover]

Looks good.

[pgmomni]

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