Aftermarket Grills

by **Batman** » Mon Dec 16, 2002 4:53 pm

Does anyone know where you can get a aftermarket grill for a 2000 Toyota Solara? :evilbat:

by **Peter** » Mon Dec 16, 2002 5:21 pm

http://www.schung07.com/products.aspx

ask him, i think its like 130

or you can do what i did. i just spray painted my factory grill. you just sand off the chrome and spray it. looks pretty clean. i like it

by **Yanks0114** » Mon Dec 16, 2002 5:37 pm

Peter wrote:http://www.schung07.com/products.aspx

ask him, i think its like 130

or you can do what i did. i just spray painted my factory grill. you just sand off the chrome and spray it. looks pretty clean. i like it

Schung is currently not offering his grill. I will post when it does become available, i'm still waiting on one also.

by **nkx1** » Mon Dec 16, 2002 6:19 pm

You could also do what Optimus and I did and make your own. It's fairly easy to do, inexpensive, and imo, looks excellent. All you have to do is buy some guttergard mesh from Home Depot for $5.29, cut it out with tin snips, and secure it on top of the factory upper grill with black zip ties. The lower grill is even easier. You just insert the mesh and secure with clips, or drill 2 tiny holes and secure with zip ties.

Mine:

www.geocities.com/nkx1/page3.html

Optimus':

www.geocities.com/optimus826/GrillMod.html

Website · by **TITO** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 12:01 am

Or you can go alittle further and do what I did.

http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/v ... a%20Solara

by **MonkieX** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 12:09 am

so how did you do that tito??

Website · by **TITO** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 7:29 pm

on the top grill I cut out the center grill part, sanded it smooth, insert the mesh. On the bottom, I cut the center bar out, at the ends of were I cut I curved out holes for the fog lights, then insert the mesh. I did need the body shop to do some smoothing and painting on the bumper area.

by **dbanker** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 10:30 pm

Both of those grill jobs look great. Just curious, TITO...where did you get that steel mesh you used? Also, I'm assuming the mesh go directly over the existing vertical gill bars?

by **Optimus** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 10:41 pm

TITO cut his centers out. The ones by nkx1 and myself are attached with zip ties and can be removed to get back to stock. do a search for mesh grills and you should find all the information you need for those.

TITO- your grill is sweet. nicely done.

by **dbanker** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 11:04 pm

Are those zip ties that you and nkx1 applied easily visible or do you really have to look to see them? From the pictures (very nice might I add) I can't see them but wasn't sure... Did you consider any other options securing the mesh or figure zip ties were the best way to go?

by **Optimus** » Tue Dec 17, 2002 11:10 pm

you really can only see the ties from a certain side angle or up close (<2 feet). I even have white zips, i think the blacks make it even harder to see which is what nkx1 used.

Once i make a better version, i am considering using an adhesive of some sorts (i have seen some post about the adhesive to use). The zip ties just make it easy to go back stock if you ever have the notion.

by **dbanker** » Wed Dec 18, 2002 9:23 am

I was wondering if some sort of adhesive/epoxy would work as well.
Probably would take a little work to make sure you use the right adhesive and that it holds well. I bet those zip ties you have on there now would work great to help add pressure while the adhesive is drying.

Just curious...when you make a better version of your grill what do you plan on doing? I like the version you made with the gutter guard that has the larger holes. I have a black '99 as well and think the way you did it looks pretty sharp...

by **nkx1** » Wed Dec 18, 2002 11:19 am

I don't really see the purpose in epoxying the mesh to the factory grill. The black zip ties I used work perfect, and they are practically invisible. People always ask me how I attached the mesh, and they're surprised when they look really really close and they can almost see the zip ties. Epoxy turns yellow after a while, is messy, and it would be nearly impossible to go back to stock if you wanted to. I'm sure we all plan on selling our cars someday, and I would venture to say that most people are more inclined to buy a stock car than a modified one. So do whatever works best for you, but imo small black zip ties work best.

by **Jackass-Jeff** » Wed Dec 18, 2002 11:36 am

wanna help me fence up my grill neil?

by **dbanker** » Wed Dec 18, 2002 12:12 pm

nkx1- Where did you buy the zip ties you're using for the mesh? I don't think I've ever seen any that small before. Though I bet home depot would probably carry them...

Ever thought about just spray painting those zip ties to match the mesh color? If the black ties are barely visible maybe doing that would help them blend in even more. You made a good point about using epoxy. I think I might try the zip tie route first and see what it looks like.

Aftermarket Grills

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