grille removal on a Gen2

[chargedtrac]

Hi. Has anyone attempted to remove the stock grille from a Gen2 without taking off the entire bottom bumper (with grille attached)?



I bought an aftermarket grille for my XLT. After removing all the fasteners for the stock grille, trying to unhook the tabs to detach from the bumper is not going well. The chromed plastic tabs don't have much bend to them if at all . I don't want to muscle them too much for fear of breaking one off,so I can salvage the stock grille. The shop manual has no real info other than showing the front bumper and grille together as one unit...making me think the bumper has to come off to do it right.



Any shared experience or thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Supercharged SVT]

I went througth this process while making the SVT grill - It appeared to only come off with the cover - the good news is that the front cover comes off pretty easy and that made me happy. We had to take it off to mount the intercooler so we were forced to learn.

[Broken External Image]:

 

[chargedtrac]

Thanks Aaron.



I went with the same style grille, and picked up the hood trim strip which I'll paint black. I'll give it all a try this week.



Nice look on your STA. :supercool:

 

[Carey Frennier]

Aaron,



Do you have detailed pictures of the grill mod and install process? I think I'm going to do your grill on my STA. Some links to where you got the products would be great.



I emailed you.

 

[Les]

Try this link for grill removal.

 

[Supercharged SVT]

I got mine off eBay as well and it was for an XLT or Limited - To make it fit, first we had to take it all apart of course but then to make this look, you have to 100% canabalize the Donor Grill - I mean it will make you sick because it is brand new and you are destroying it for parts only - All I wanted from this Donor for $99 was the inserts - I started with a sawzall and grabbed what I wanted then I took a piece of cardboard and cut it to fit as a template for the Adrenalin Grill. Then I took a Belt sander with 80 grit to shape the two pieces i needed. After the basic shape, I then used the sander to get me the right angle for a perfect drop in. Once this was done, I used some 3M black urathane and secured it at a few places and a few screws too. The donor grill is an inch too short on the top so to fill the void, I added a piece of contoured rubber left over from the spitter to make it look better - the SVT Logo is from the Lightning because the Mustang one is way to small. Today coming home from a Dr Appointment - I had a couple of Air Force guys video taping me as I cruised by them.

 

[chargedtrac]

Thanks for posting the link Les. :haveabeer:



The unclipping of the tabs with a thin straight edge is the tough part without risking scratching the bumper. In my case I think I'll try to take the lower part of the bumper off. The prep and paint info is good from the link.



It takes a brave soul to do this to an STA, given what Aaron has shared. :banana: