[SirJuke]

A long long time ago, in a land far away.........
Ok, about 6 weeks ago, and before I had even looked at this forum I was in a local dealership sourcing a Juke
One of the very very first things I noticed I noticed was that the radiator / intercooler or whatever it was was extremely vulnerable
I pointed this out to the salesman, I am unsure from his response whether;

A. He knew all about the potential problem and was playing it down;
B. He had no grasp of the concept I was discussing with him, or, most probably:
C. He did not give a flying f**k

Anyway, we went on to order the Juke ("The Duchess") and I joined the forum
It was obvious from numerous threads that I was not being anal and that many many owners thought that some form of protection was needed
However I am not that keen on any of the installations I have seen
Call me fussy but I did not like the look of cable ties drilled into or stuck on the bumper, infact dont really like the CustomcarGrills ones at all (personal choice I appreciate)
Plastic garden / gutter liner appealed even less

So, weeks before "The Duchess" was due to land I set about working my own solution out
My lovely Mrs, although supportive of me wanting to modify our cars, I am sure would be more than a bit miffed if I immediately put our new vehicle out of comission by having the front end off and convincing her that "it'll only be an hours job' !

So, even before I bought "The Duchess" I had bought a spare lower bumper !
(Watch this space if anyone needs one, as in a short while it will probably be up for sale. Not concourse, but zero damage. )

Project "wine rack" is born

 

[SirJuke]

So....First of all, from eBay, where else, for the princely sum of £40 a lower spoiler was bought

 

[SirJuke]

 

[SirJuke]

Templates were made in card for each of the vents
Most people probably dont realise that the are three completely different shapes !

 

[SirJuke]

Not taken a photo of this next bit
Taped the templates in place and from the front using a piece of string pulled tight as a straight line, marked a striaght line accross the front of the cardbourd templates so that all the mesh on the grills can be lined up consistantly
Used the cardboard templates to cut out mdf templates
The horizontal centre line was marked on each template then the centre marked and a vertical centre line drawn in

The mesh I chose is a substantial sub speaker grill

The grill was laid on the template, centered up and marked so the mesh could be formed in position and at a constant level accross the three.
Holes were drilled in the mdf and the mesh was bolted in place

 

[SirJuke]

 

[SirJuke]

Above pic is grill fixed, centred to template ready to be formed

 

[SirJuke]

First grill was trimmed with tinsnips
Excess metal was removed and tabs created
These were bent over the mdf template then flattened/ shaped with a soft face hammer

 

[SirJuke]

Very very happy with result but knew I could be neater with the bits that are not going to be seen
(bit of a perfectionist)

 

[SirJuke]

So, for the next one I got the dremel out with a cutting disc on it
This is quite an expensive option as I used a disc on each of the nex two grills and they cost £2.00 each
But I am much happier with the result

 

[SirJuke]

Six coats of smooth hammerite later
(This is not one of the ones cut with the dremel)

 

[SirJuke]

This is how the project is panning out to date !

 

[SirJuke]

I will post more pics when I work out exactly I am going to fix them
The middle one and the passenger side ones could possibly be fixed with hidden screws, but the drivers side would be seen
Tie wraps / zip ties are a no no
Blobs of Epoxy / Fiberglass resin are favourites at the moment
I will probably do the final fix to the actual bumper and not bother with a dummy run on the spare
I will do all this when I have access to a garage and not be dropping the bumper off on the driveway (as it will obviousley p!$$ it down if I tackle it outside

 

[Admin3]

SJ I used polyurethane to adhere mineTiger seal or sikka flex available on good old ebay

 

[SirJuke]

Tiger Seal !
Thats a new one on me !
I had also considered sika

 

[SirJuke]

Ps
This is being built to go on a white tekna

 

[TTDegs]

Think it's going to look rather nice

 

[SirJuke]

I am sure white grills have been done, but I am definitely looking for a factory fit look, not a 23 year old Ripspead bolt on look

 

[TheShield]

SirJuke wrote:This is how the project is panning out to date !
Looks great. Is it just my eyes or do those two look slightly misaligned?

 

[SirJuke]

Fair comment, not perfect for photo
But that is jus gaffer tape for the mock up
When sikka'd in place the will be scrutinized before permanent fix