Like the thread by SalRanger2, I want a custom grill. This is the vision I have for my truck, just not sure how to start The hood has already been made and is currently on my truck. I do KNOW how to work with fiberglass. But how do i start this project
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idk anything about this, but I would say buy the grille close to this and mold in the design or cut out and mold to what you like based on the grille you buy
i would cut your grille or buy a the top molding so then you can just make your design then screw it or do like bwad did and cut the center part out and add your own design.
My design was inspired by the Taurus Police Package Grill. But this grill is nearly impossible to find. Some people call it the SHO grill, even though it was never used on the SHO. The cop car grill is not the right size to be successfully attached to the Ranger Grill. To make the center, the standard Taurus grill may be the way to go.
if you neatly cut out the center of that grill and fiberglass it in with a ranger grill, take your time and do all the sanding/bondo/more sanding correct, it could come out really sweet. brad made his own 3rd gen edge grill, said it was a complete pain in the ass.
I would do exactly what Morgan said.. Get a doner grill from a jy truck, lay some fiberglass matting to make a solid grill(sand it to make it all smooth obviously), and then draw out what you want. Rotozip/dremel tool would probably work well for cutting out what you want.. As Morgan said, just take your time but I'm sure since you said you know how to work with fiberglass/bondo you already knew that..
It may be easier to start with a generic grille, cut out all the inside portion & make a plywood insert to fill in the hole & give support to hold the fiberglass. Fiberglass over the wood (use some type of release agent to make it easier to get the wood off) to have a good solid base to work with. Then, start cutting away everything that doesn't need to be there & add more glass to make the contours & give it a 3d look. Sand like crazy to smooth everything out & fill in any imperfections with bondo. A cheap JY grille would be a good starting point, or check online... sometimes you can grab a new aftermarket one really cheap. I've had a few grille ideas in mind myself, but I've never worked with fiberglass, so I need to learn a bit more on how to use it properly before I jump in.
And for god's sake, take your time! Lol, my grill was a pain in the ass to make. But that's because I took my time and made sure I did it right. I think it's worth it though.
I am a patient person and I will take my time. For example, my SVO hood got started in December 2010 and did not get finished until August 2011. Or was it July? Point is it could have been done faster. I just added the valence so I need to finish it before I start on the grill. Brackets and foglights are the current priority (and a cracked driver side turn signal lense)
How is this coming along ? There was an Escort Grille that looked close to that. Pick-a-Part JY might be a good place, walk about, although a lot of JYs dump everything so fast, don;t leave much laying around.
