DIY Grille Mod - Hasty Ghetto Version

[lateralized]

All I have time to post right now are the before and after shots. I will post a step by step with photos later. This is a modified version of one that I saw on NABISCO (possibly here as well, dont remember). Mine cost about 1/2 as much took 1/2 as long ... and as expected looks about 1/2 as good. Its a vast improvement over my stock grille though, so I dig it. It wont be for everyone though. I have 2 kids and a ridiculous job, so time and cost were of the essence. Positive opinions and hating are equally welcome. I dont claim that this looks super clean and smooth but I did alright with what I had for money and time.

BEFORE

AFTER

More to come later ...

 

[Nate]

came out good man! way to go! dont worry about the cost. i think i have some things done to my car that were free... and i like them more then the expensive ones.

 

[Red40oz]

looks good

 

[GClark]

Awesome! The next thing you should do is clear the headlights

 

[lateralized]

Thanks for the compliments, but you may change your mind when you see the closeups. I did not Bondo any part of the remaining frame and there are lots of marks and holes.

Awesome! The next thing you should do is clear the headlights

Agreed. However, I have a concern about that. My car is 9 years old and therefore so is the sealant on the light housings. If I bake the enclosures and pull out the amber lens, is the sealant going to be too dry to stick them back together after a second bake? I was considering buying a tube of black outdoor sealant just in case. Is there anywhere LOCAL that I can buy the Silverstar turn signals that look silver but flash amber? VIP in So Po doesn't carry them anymore.

Another possible future cheapo mod is my tail lights. Can I clear them as well? I am thinking of blacking out the light bar accross the back except for the lights with a frame of black around the openings for the brake/turn/reverse lights. Ill post a photoshopped pic of what I mean later.

 

[GClark]

My car is 5 yrs old and I didnt have any problem with the sealant, but buying a tube would be a good idea, just in case. I bought my bulbs off ebay for $20 and they were silver and flashed orange. They worked good for two weeks then they both burned out

I emailed him and Im still waiting for the new bulbs to come in, in the mean time Im using my stock bulbs. Clearing the lites was the best free mod, changed the way the front end looked. If I was you Id go for it.

 

[Nate]

yah the burning out of the silver coated bulbs is a never ending battle. i must have gone through 4-5 sets (at over $10 a set) over a couple year span. that's too often to have to change them in my opinion. i think they just take bottom of the barrel bulbs and dip them in a coating. im not sure if its the coating or the crap bulbs they use that make them blow, but it gets pricey.

that's why i went with silverstar bulbs this time. im hoping the brand name of the bulb will stand for something. they have a silverish/blueish/gold tint to them and i think look quite nice, but flash amber. i couldn't find them local though and got them on ebay.

as for the headlights, make sure you just add a bit more sealant. buy large tube of black waterproof sealant at napa/VIP or the like. $5 is cheap insurance for not having to redo them cause they leak.

 

[04wrx]

Grill looks good!

 

[TheNailman]

very nice, now paint the trim body color

 

[Blue GT]

maybe spray the mesh black and add the subie logo? At least black mesh imo would look better.

but hey its your car so my .02 shouldn't matter in the least

 

[westboundjude]

I like it that's the way to go! looks really clean in the pictures too!

home made= unique !