PI-grille install: Help!

[studio460]

[UPDATE: SOLVED!]

Okay, I got the bumper-cover off but cannot figure out how to remove the factory-grill from the facia. There are two large plastic clips on the bottom of the grille retaining the grille into the bumper-cover. Two small tabs on each side on the top of the grille retain the part to the bumper-cover. Any tips?

 

[yaycandy]

It just clips

 

[yaycandy]

Unclip the plastic bumper cover first, then i think theses screws mounting the black to the chrome. Its a 2 piece grille. Its over complicated

 

[studio460]

Thanks! Will attempt that now . . . [will report back in a few].

 

[yaycandy]

They can be tough. Hard plastic clips. I usually use a flathead on them

 

[studio460]

Ha! I was so tired from pulling the bumper-cover after your post, I went to bed and fell asleep. It's now after midnight and I'm ready to give it another try. I have a flat-blade screwdriver and a set of body-pin removal tools.

 

[studio460]

Moved the project to the living room. So, there's two large silver-plastic, grille-frame tabs holding the grille in place. Need to remove the spacer/cover-piece somehow.

 

[studio460]

Finally figured it out!

I only had to depress four retaining-tabs on the spacer/cover-piece. Removing this revealed a ton of clips holding the grille-frame to the bumper cover [to remove: push tabs toward secondary-grille to release]. PI-grille snaps right into same tabs.

 

[studio460]

Voilà!

I only had to remove the spacer-assembly—just four simple clips which I hadn't noticed until after I got some rest. I think the larger grille-pattern makes for a more aggressive look, making the car less look like an over-sized Fusion.

Also really love that it now looks like a Police Interceptor. Although I'm not inclined to mount 18" steelies/center-caps, but combined with my press plates, no one will know what mysterious "official agency" my car may belong to.

It's still only 5AM here so I have to wait until daybreak to put the bumper-cover back on the car—can't f'ing wait! This is the one appearance-mod I was dying to do ever since I found out a PI-grille existed for the SHO. Next: Ford molded-splashguards.

 

[studio460]

Uhhh . . . anyone know where this part goes? Ha! Nevermind (it's part of the factory-grille and isn't able to mount onto the PI-grille).

 

[yaycandy]

There ya go. Your learning. All the experiences learned from the small jobs help with the big jobs later on

 

[luigisho]

Black instead of chrome looks great!

 

[studio460]

Finally!

Bumper-cover back on the vehicle . . . now, the SHO looks a bit less pedestrian. I also like how you can see through the grille and the car's guts are showing. Intercooler hoses look cool!

luigisho: Yeah! The PI-grille's built-in chrome-delete was a nice bonus!

Aha! One more snafu! The factory screws (for the top only) are smaller-thread than the PI-grille's tap. Gotta source some replacements.

Next: The Ford five-spoke, powder-coated wheels I ordered from Detroit will hopefully be here next week. New wheels, debadging (i.e., "Taurus" delete and tinted Ford logos), and maybe a set of H&Rs will mostly complete its custom-look. Then, more photos!

SHO Police Interceptor grille:




SHO factory-grille:

 

[studio460]

SHO faux-Police Interceptor:

The requisite beauty shot: Here's the car in my driveway after a quick hand-wash with a bucket of Dawn. Shot at ~180mm (full-frame) at maximum-aperture (f/2.8) at that sexy low-angle. Lens-height is about 20" off the ground, shooting from across the street ( ~70'). I had the 70-200mm's lens-collar mounted onto a carbon-fiber monopod which both stabilizes the shot and holds your framing.

The sun was low in the sky (approximately 5:30PM PST), the best time to take daylight-exteriors (high-noon is the worst time). Partially shaded, the sun's rays are directly hitting the grille at a low-angle, illuminating the radiator. I posted another PI-grille photo in my "SHO photos" thread, but you can barely make it out due to the diffuse, indirect-lighting.

I wasn't able put the Crown Vic PI-grille on my Marauder (facias are slightly different) but I did enjoy its cop car vibe. But no steelies or spot-lights for the SHO. I did see an all-black Charger with steelies and press plates recently, and I have to admit, it looked pretty cool.

But I do love radios, so that won't stop me from stuffing a bunch of civilian-band RF gear and APCO25 police-scanners in the car. I think vehicle-mounted radio antennas look super cool so it'll be tough to resist permanently installing a few into my SHO's trunk someday.

 

[yaycandy]

[UPDATE: SOLVED!]

Okay, I got the bumper-cover off but cannot figure out how to remove the factory-grill from the facia. There are two large plastic clips on the bottom of the grille retaining the grille into the bumper-cover. Two small tabs on each side on the top of the grille retain the part to the bumper-cover. Any tips?

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A pi trans cooler is right there already mounted to the bottom of your crash bar.

 

[Bronco2fan]

Car looks nice. But the only thing I paid attention to was washed with DAWN. If you don't know, you should start reading the detailing section. Dish soap is for dirty dishes.

 

[SM105K]

Car looks nice. But the only thing I paid attention to was washed with DAWN. If you don't know, you should start reading the detailing section. Dish soap is for dirty dishes.

Yep DAWN and most dish soaps literally strip any protection (quick detailer, wax, ect) that is put on the paint. I would use a good (Meguiar's, Chemical Guys, ect) soap and the two bucket method. I would stay away from any automated brushed car wash for a couple of reasons. First they scratch paint. Second most brushed car washes don't allow SHO's. The side badge is prone to come off, get stuck in the brushes, and proceeded to scrape and bang down the side of the car. The Carwash is not liable for that damage. Brushless/Contactless car washes are okay. Black is a pain in the ass to keep clean, and keep from swirling as well. Ask me how I know. My next nice car will be silver or white.

 

[studio460]

A pi trans cooler is right there already mounted to the bottom of your crash bar.

Oh, I thought that was an intercooler?

 

[yaycandy]

Oh, I thought that was an intercooler?

Whats happenin? Since whens a intercooler got fuel hoses connected to it. Lol
Your lernin your fine.
The trans cooler may work better as an intercooler vs the actual stock intercooler

 

[studio460]

Yeah, learnin' a lot here! I think the stock lower-grille actually looks pretty good. If I could find an actual photo instead of a line-drawing, that would help. The horizontal-bar design on the other grille looks a bit Fusion-ish. Maybe I'll try my 3M black-out tape on the chrome-trim first and see how it looks (will post photos!).