# poor man's SAP grills



## 6.0goat (Sep 27, 2007)

SAP grills are outrageously priced, so I thought what could I do with the stock grills and a little time.....

If anyone is interested how I did it I can post the process.


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## 6QTS11OZ (Mar 27, 2005)

That look pretty nice. Yeah post the process because I'd like to see how you did it.


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## 05GTO (Oct 6, 2004)

6QTS11OZ said:


> That look pretty nice. Yeah post the process because I'd like to see how you did it.


:agree


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## 6.0goat (Sep 27, 2007)

Materials needed

Contact cement
Dremel with round cutting wheel (all dremel kits come with this)
bull dog adhesion primer
semi gloss black paint
flat black paint
black thin double sided stick on tape
aluminum bar-b-que mesh (wal-mart)

1. Remove front bumper. In order to do this you will need to take the black plastic thing that covers the radiator off by removing the little plastic screws or whatever they are. After this is off, remove the three silver screws that hold the bumper. There are two screws in the inside of the front wheel wells that you will need to remove as well. At this point, the bumper is held on by friction tabs near the wheel well behind the head lights. Gently wiggle the bumper from the wheel well area until it pops out on each side (you will obviously need to go to each side). After the bumper is loose, lower it to the ground and remove the fog light plug.

2. Remove the factory grills. Turn the bumper on it's front, btw you may want to put a blanket down before even removing the bumper. There are two metal retaining things that hold the grills in along with friction tabs. Take some pliers and a screw driver and carefully remove the silver retaining pieces. You may have to fight with them for a while. After removing the silver retaining pieces, you can discard them because you won't need them. The grills pop off after you genlty pry the tabs that hold them in place.

3. Remove honey comb stuff in middle of grill. I took I dremel and carefully cut the inside honey comb out of the stock grills. What you are looking for is the trim or outside edge from the original grills. Don't cut too close to the rim of the grill as you don't want to damage it. After I cut that out, I took a file and 200 grit sandpaper and made everything really smooth. This takes a while.

4. Paint trim part of grills. When I was cutting / filing sanding, there was a little area of the grill that had a gap as the plastic gave away. It happened on both of them so I am sure it will happen to yours. No need to panic, I took a small piece of plastic (use your imagination to find something that will work) and cut it into the shape of the gap with wire cutters. I took some 5 minute JB Weld and put it in place. After it's in, you will need to sand it really smooth. I used Bull dog adhesion primer to prepare the plastic surface (not really necessary). I bought some Krylon semi gloss spray paint. 

5. My next challenge was to find some kind of grill insert for the inside of the intake hole. Originally, I was planning on putting the honey comb part on the inside of the bumper. After looking at it, I determined that the shape wouldn't allow me to do this. I thought well, maybe I should straighten it so I put it in the oven and within minutes it was flat as a pancake. Still the wrong shape so I went to wally world and looked around for about 30 min's. I went to the bar-b-que section and found some aluminum grill mesh that was in a rectangular shape. It is perfect as it is very bendable. You can make two mesh inserts with just one, but it's only a buck so I got three pieces just in case I screw up. Got home and put the mesh on over the hole on the inside of the bumper. Got a magic marker and traced out the hole. Take some wire cutters and cut about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch larger than the hole itself where you traced. You will need this excess so the grill / mesh will have something to hold it into place.

6. Before doing this step, you will need to have the grill trim pieces popped back on the bumper. Take the cut mesh and bend it around the hole from the inside of the bumper. On the edges you can taper it over kind of like wrapping a present. The goal is to get it as tight as you possibly can. You will see that the trim pieces have tabs that you will have to work around. Take a screwdriver and push the sides of the trim down around the upper area where the tabs are located. Again, you are trying to get a tight fit.

7. Paint the mesh pieces. I used the bull dog AP again to prepare the surfact. I don't know if it really helps it just makes me feel better to do it. After that dries, I used some flat black paint I had. You can go semi gloss but I am going for more subdued look. Plus, flat black blends easier and it is easier to touch up with a q tip when the bugs chip the paint off in the future.

8. Afte the mesh pieces dry, carefully apply contact cement to the folded down areas of the mesh. You don't want to get the glue too close to where the grill will be visible. Apply contact cement liberally to the inside plastic area on the bumper where the mesh will make contact with the folded down edges. Let that sit for about 10 min's and then put the mesh over the hole. Take the wire cutters and cut around the tabs so that the mesh will fit nice and flush over the hole. Use the screw driver to push down the mesh pieces as tight as you can around the contact areas. I used the back part of the screwdriver to tap all the way around the mesh to make it fit as tight as possible.

9. Put bumper back on, don't forget to plug in the fog lights. You can gently pry off the "GTO" from the honey comb part that you cut off the trim pieces with a screwdriver. I removed the double sided stick on stuff and used a razor blade to cut new tape on the backs of them. This is somewhat challenging but if you can do all these other steps this is nothing. You will want to get some black or gray thin double sided stick on tape, not the 1/4 white stuff. Put the "GTO" pieces on the black plastic area on either side. You're done.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

Fantastic! IMO they look nicer than the SAP ones. I love what you did. I'll take them!!


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## 6.0goat (Sep 27, 2007)

Thank Judge! Let me know if you have any questions / problems when you do it.


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## GM4life (Mar 18, 2007)

Looks good. I like.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

6.0goat said:


> Thank Judge! Let me know if you have any questions / problems when you do it.


I'm not going to do it being I have the SAP's already but If I were looking... I'd gladly take those ones you have... I do have a set of SAP grilles in storage... You have me thinking........


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