Factory Grille Modification

[SinfulSpeed]

Living in the Philippines, I have limited access to large truck parts. I've been wanting to change the look of my grille for years. I've tried different inserts, even made my own from expanded aluminum.

I finally got some free time to play around with it and here's what I ended up doing. I removed the plastic louvers, painted most of the chrome with bedliner paint, and placed a hexagon shape perforated metal sheet behind it. The sheet metal is secured by 8 huge zipties.

I went with the "retainer" as this would give me more options to change its look in the future. Maybe black it all out or paint the middle bar to match my wheels.

 

[iamdub]

Do you have chrome elsewhere on the truck? I think that grille insert would pop and look much better if the chrome bar on the grille was blacked out.

 

[SinfulSpeed]

Do you have chrome elsewhere on the truck? I think that grille insert would pop and look much better if the chrome bar on the grille was blacked out.

No other chrome at the moment. I might just paint it gunmetal to match my wheels. Maybe when all my cuts heal.

 

[J Mac]

That looks great man! Matching the wheel color sounds like it would look good. Awesome work!

 

[BlackedOutHoe]

How much of a PITA was it to remove the plastic louvers? Any tricks to doing so efficiently?

 

[BlackedOutHoe]

How much of a PITA was it to remove the plastic louvers? Any tricks to doing so efficiently?

 

[05Single]

How much of a PITA was it to remove the plastic louvers? Any tricks to doing so efficiently?

Looks good . Which plastic louvers?

and what part of Philippines ?

 

[915_Tahoe]

Looks good . Which plastic louvers?

and what part of Philippines ?

I think he is talking about the factory grill insert.

 

[SinfulSpeed]

That looks great man! Matching the wheel color sounds like it would look good. Awesome work!

Thank you, sir.

 

[SinfulSpeed]

How much of a PITA was it to remove the plastic louvers? Any tricks to doing so efficiently?

I used a soldering iron to melt the plastic tabs. The factory insert came out pretty easily.

 

[SinfulSpeed]

Looks good . Which plastic louvers?

and what part of Philippines ?

I live in Makati, the central business district. Yeah, I meant the factory plastic inserts.

 

[05Single]

I live in Makati, the central business district. Yeah, I meant the factory plastic inserts.

View attachment 255179

Oh yea I thought so lol. Had me confused for a second.
My wife is from the Philippines. Been there once . Need to go back but Mr. Covid says no

 

[915_Tahoe]

I live in Makati, the central business district. Yeah, I meant the factory plastic inserts.

View attachment 255179

You gonna keep that or throw it away.

 

[OR VietVet]

Went to the Philippines many times when in the Navy. Good times.

Olongapo City, Subic City, Manilla and Clark Air Base. Remember my story in the military thread about chasing water buffalo when flying in a helicopter off the aircraft carrier I was on.

 

[SinfulSpeed]

You gonna keep that or throw it away.

I'd keep it, who knows, I might wanna change it back.

 

[SinfulSpeed]

S

Went to the Philippines many times when in the Navy. Good times.

Olongapo City, Subic City, Manilla and Clark Air Base. Remember my story in the military thread about chasing water buffalo when flying in a helicopter off the aircraft carrier I was on.

Sounds like good times. I love this place, time seems a bit slower down here.

 

[SinfulSpeed]

Oh yea I thought so lol. Had me confused for a second.
My wife is from the Philippines. Been there once . Need to go back but Mr. Covid says no

Nice! I'm sure she misses visiting too. Yeah, this whole covid thing surely did a number.

 

[OR VietVet]

S


Sounds like good times. I love this place, time seems a bit slower down here.

The heat and humidity there will slow anyone down.

I forgot one place. As you pulled into Subic Bay toward the port where the carriers tied up at, there was an island there called, "Grande Island". It was a little like a resort for the ship crews. They had individual cottages and a liquor store, a bar and lots of recreational places there. The island was over run by Vietnamese people fleeing Vietnam and the government put them up on the island and took it away from the ships crews. Luckily I was an E4 at the time and glad of it because the ship crews had to go in as teams and clean up all the devastation the Vietnamese people did to that island. I got out on my last trip there after I got back to Coronado Island at San Diego so I never saw the place again.

 

[SinfulSpeed]

The heat and humidity there will slow anyone down.

Right, I moved here from San Diego, and I tell ya, you never get used to the humid weather.

 

[OR VietVet]

When I would go to Subic City, about 5-7 miles drive in a Jeepny, we ran in to a lot of Americans that got out and came back to the Philippines and opened up bars in Subic City. There is a whole other story about a certain trip there, in the military thread in the Lounge section.