[Cubit]

I have been looking at the stock front grill and is kind of boring...
I liked the look of the T-Rex and thought it looked cool! :yes:
But then I checked my bank account and said.... not cool... :no:

So, being the tinkerer that I am I could not leave well enough alone! I started with some expanded metal mesh from homely depot and bent the ends of the hexes in with a double bend technique to create a nice rounded look to the edges. I used a hack saw and dremel to cut the mesh to the correct size. I added a cutout for the hood release. I primed and painted with gunmetal gray to give it a similar look to the headlight background color. It is a metalic paint so it picks up the light nicely.

The grill mounts using the standard black plastic pushbutton things.


I present to you the Home Depot expanded metal mesh front grill:

 

[chompsticks]

Wow, that looks really really good! How much did that compare to the T-rex?

 

[Starbuck]

That's the best grille i've seen. Looks even better than the billett ones and i like those. Anything beats the stock one. you did almost exactlyu what i envisioned myself or someone else doing. I have no metal/prefab exp, let alone a cube at this time....just figured if and when the time came, a few attempts/ideas would yeild something along those lines.

well...........you all WITH cubes..........let's see some more homegrown stuff like this. pardon any mistakes here......i'm using hunt n peck on the keyboard............broke a shoulder last week

 

[Cubit]

How much did that compare to the T-rex?

Hey Chomp,
The T-Rex grill is around $150

For my grill:

The Mesh was $9.99 at Home Depot

The Primer was $3.59 at Fred Meyer (our local has everything store)

The Gunmetal gray was $4.99 at Autozone

Took about 6 hours of labor and a paint headache.
total $18.57

 

[1HoTCuBe]

wow...looks amazing! i am going to try this some time..but in black.. do you think you could make me one in black and I will pay you for it plus shipping?

only thing i would be scared of is it scraping the bottom part..or did u put something in there?

 

[Pube]

:yes: good job!

 

[Cubit]

wow...looks amazing! i am going to try this some time..but in black.. do you think you could make me one in black and I will pay you for it plus shipping?

only thing i would be scared of is it scraping the bottom part..or did u put something in there?

That would look siick on a black cube!

That said, I think the actual cost with shipping and labor factored in would be more the the T-Rex.
PM Sent.

I actually bent the bottom of the mesh so it is not touching at the bottom or sides at all. The bottom is bent far enough back that it comes in contact with the stock mount locations but not the painted part of the bumper. I plan on securing it to the stock location with black zip ties (out of sight.) The only other points of contact are at the top.

 

[chompsticks]

That is awesome, I think I used the same paint on my rims. It is a lot of fun! jk Btw, your Cube looks orange in those pictures. I really like it!

 

[Cubit]

Btw, your Cube looks orange in those pictures. I really like it!

You are right it does look orange! I think it has to do with the lighting in my garage. I did not use a flash on any of the pictures, and when I do use a flash the car looks more red.

 

[Ladybug~]

Love it!!! :yes:

The orangish looking pics make me wish that they had made an orange Cube!!

 

[fotomoto]

I love DIY solutions, AWESOME!

I'd suggest when funds allow you get it powdercoated as that paint won't hold up to rock dings, bugs, etc., and expanded metal will rust PDQ.

 

[Square1]

Beautiful job, what more can I say - Dan

 

[coolguy]

excellent job! i love seeing diy projects here :yes:

 

[inyubasha]

great job!!

6 hours tho, I don't think I have the patience to do it myself

 

[none]

Can I have your stock grille?

 

[Rubik]

Great work! I really like the grille. It is sooo much better than the stock, or even the Nissan "Custom" grille.

 

[ChristineK]

Very nice job. And cheap too.

Looking at the pictures it does not look turned in at the bottom. Will this scratch the paint over time??

 

[Cubit]

Very nice job. And cheap too.

Looking at the pictures it does not look turned in at the bottom. Will this scratch the paint over time??

I actually turned the bottom in with 2 bends totaling 90 degrees (so it gives a dome effect.) all the edges have double bends like this. The bottom of the grill does not contact the paint at all. It just touches the black plastic where the stock grill has the push through tabs at. I used 2 black zip ties to secure the bottom of the grill to the far left and right push through tab slots. Additionally the sides of the grill float about 1/8" from the headlights and do not contact the plastic of the headlights at all. Because of all the double bends the grill is very rigid and does not flex when you push on it even with moderate force.

I do admit, when I was doing the trial fit, the grill was too wide and the edges scratched the headlights a little, but I was able to buff it out with the dremel tool and rebend the edges to be farther away from the headlights.

Can I have your stock grille?

I want to keep my stock grill because I will return the car to stock if I sell it.

i'm using hunt n peck on the keyboard............broke a shoulder last week

OUCHY! Please take it easy! I hope you heal fast!!

------------
Thank you all for your kind comments!

 

[damian666robin]

great job man! i really like it :yes: very inspiring

 

[TrevorS]

I have been looking at the stock front grill and is kind of boring...
I liked the look of the T-Rex and thought it looked cool! :yes:
But then I checked my bank account and said.... not cool... :no:
...

I present to you the Home Depot expanded metal mesh front grill:

Looks amazing! Congratulations on a really nice job !