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If the grill wasnt already black i would defiantly consider plastidip. but Im wanting something thats different from all the other dakota's. thanks for your opinion i appreciate it
I'm considering taking the plastic inserts out and doing a punched metal piece in there.
Something like expanded metal (one of these)
or maybe some thin metal bars across (to produce a look like this Ford grill
Low priority, though. But I'd still grab a spare one out of the boneyard to play with, so that if you cut it out and don't like it, you still have the old one to pop back in.
Usually, to do the bars you'd have to form them and make uprights to weld them to, bolt the uprights to the current grill mounting points. Possibly with some flat steel to go across above and below.
Where, I dunno. Yet. *grins* As I said, something I have been playing with, but haven't done yet.
I'd be keeping my eyes open at the hardware stores to see if they get anything I could use, like maybe chrome plated plastic rods that could be glued instead of welding together, etc.
You can usually find the bars at a JB auto or a low rider shop, andyautosports also has them. The only issue is that they can be expensive and you will still need to modify them to fit the grill placement. A cheaper place is at a local hobby shop or michaels. "I don't know what you guys call it down in the states."
I would agree with the other posts in using a spare grill for you to "modify." I have build several custom grilles over the years for my dakota and I find the best method is to use some fabric or wraps, micro-fabric or fiberglass matting, and resin. Build a mold from the previous grill. then draw and graph your insert and look that you want. Cut and build a brace in if you want to run bars or a mesh over the openings. Wrap and resin everything in place. Then use auto body fill over everything, sand smooth and then paint.
I can't seem to find any of my pictures of what I made, though it is fairly easy to do, and cost like 50 bucks, minus whatever inserts/mesh you are wanting to do.
They biggest issue is cracking and stiffness of your new grille. The first one I made, I unfortunately broke it while trying to install it to the truck. I soon realized that I had to make it durable for the road conditions, "issue living in Canada." So I tend to make a back frame for it and layer it quite thick. As well I use washers for around the holes so when I install the grille, II don't torque down to much and crack the grille.
Hopefully this gives you a little inspiration, and I will see if I can't post the pictures up.
Here's some inserts I made from expanded aluminum. I made a wooden form the size of one of the grille openings then formed the expanded aluminum over it. That's how I got the rounded shape for the inserts. I could plasti-dip these too, but I haven't decided on that yet.
11-11-2015, 08:24 PM
1990 Dak Grille Ideas
