Wild Horses
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- Jan 14, 2014
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If youre good with measurements and rather save the money, you can make one in an hour. Along with some specialized tools like a small sheet metal brake and strong tin snips... you can get one done in an hour.
This is my first attempt, i may make another, but its not bad for an hour of work from idea of doing it to finished product..
Start with your aluminum sheet metal, bending it around the bottom of the old grille, or if you dont have it you can bend it into the grille opening.
Spend some time on this part as the next step is critical in getting it to fit right. Make sure it fits the shape of the opening as perfect as possible.
Should look something like this. Make sure the sheet you start with is wide enough that it covers the holes in the bumper, and can touch the fiberglass part of the core support.
Once you get it to that point you want to mark your brake line for the sharp bend (Sharpie and paint thinner/rag to erase if needed), I just eyeballed it and do not know the exact degree of the bend. I suggest starting with a wider angle, because once you go too far you cant really go back.
Should look like this, Now you can see where im going with this.
The rounded cut line is free hand on one side, I just followed the bumper angle. I made a cardboard template for the other side for symmetry. Take all your measurements from the core support that the sheet is touching to get your cut angles correct. I have no clue how close this thing is to the actual Mach delete, but to me it looks pretty close.
The next part is to cut it out. Double check your measurements. If you have carpel tunnel i suggest phoning a friend, This part can get tiring depending on the gauge of aluminum you use. Clean up the edges with fine sand paper, i used whats called rubber stone. It goes in a drill and its made for smoothing sharp edges.
Once you have it cut out, mark where the bumpers plastic push in clips will hold it in place. Drill it out, then paint it flat black of course.... Install and enjoy... you just saved some cash.
If theres alot of interest in this, i can write up a more detailed version of this. Just kinda thew this one together.
This is my first attempt, i may make another, but its not bad for an hour of work from idea of doing it to finished product..
Start with your aluminum sheet metal, bending it around the bottom of the old grille, or if you dont have it you can bend it into the grille opening.
Spend some time on this part as the next step is critical in getting it to fit right. Make sure it fits the shape of the opening as perfect as possible.
Should look something like this. Make sure the sheet you start with is wide enough that it covers the holes in the bumper, and can touch the fiberglass part of the core support.
Once you get it to that point you want to mark your brake line for the sharp bend (Sharpie and paint thinner/rag to erase if needed), I just eyeballed it and do not know the exact degree of the bend. I suggest starting with a wider angle, because once you go too far you cant really go back.
Should look like this, Now you can see where im going with this.
The rounded cut line is free hand on one side, I just followed the bumper angle. I made a cardboard template for the other side for symmetry. Take all your measurements from the core support that the sheet is touching to get your cut angles correct. I have no clue how close this thing is to the actual Mach delete, but to me it looks pretty close.
The next part is to cut it out. Double check your measurements. If you have carpel tunnel i suggest phoning a friend, This part can get tiring depending on the gauge of aluminum you use. Clean up the edges with fine sand paper, i used whats called rubber stone. It goes in a drill and its made for smoothing sharp edges.
Once you have it cut out, mark where the bumpers plastic push in clips will hold it in place. Drill it out, then paint it flat black of course.... Install and enjoy... you just saved some cash.
If theres alot of interest in this, i can write up a more detailed version of this. Just kinda thew this one together.