hey guys..im new to the mini world and looking for some insight..im thinking about buying the black mesh replacement grills for my factory chrome ones...wonder how much of a p.i.a. this is to do..do you have to remove the front bumper to replace the bottom grill? thanks in advance!

 

Taking the bumper off makes it easier, and it is not that hard to remove the bumper, about 10 minutes or so. The Lower grill is a PIA to do, but its worth it.

 

Concur ... I've done the Aero Grill mod (using the OEM parts) for many GEN1 owners and the lower grill is 2 pieces. One is pressed in with tabs and the other is held with double sided tape. You CAN get them off from the front but if they fight you the temptation is to get something in there to pry and THAT leads to scratching the paint. If you take the bumper cover off you can work from the back and if you slip with a tool you probably scratch the BACK of the bumper and thank yourself for your foresightedness

Take it off and put it on a table/bench/floor on a nice thick blanket

 

sounds like a little bit of a p.i.t.a.

 

Here are directions with photos - not as bad as it sounds, many before you have done this mod as well.

http://www.motoringfile.com/howto/MI...ll_install.pdf

 

Anyone know how to get the oem grill off? the nuts are really thin. should i spray with pb blaster or something? everyone is rusted or something.. can't get a one off..

 

The nuts are more like fasteners. 10mm I think.

They actually spin onto plastic posts. Rather dumb as they never go back on very tight.....

BTW: Lay a huge blanket over your engine bay and radiator / bumper before removing them...otherwise you are bound to loose some in places you will never get them back from

 

Yes, they are 10mm self tapping nuts. And they are very easy to lose; I took my bumper off this weekend to put the aero-grill on, and lost one. I doubt missing one will be too much of a problem though.

They're kind of tough to put back on too; the hood is up, and they fall off easy, especially the uppermost ones, and especially if you use a socket wrench. One thing that I did was use a regular, thicker threaded nut that I had laying around in my tool box on the post a little ways (a regular threaded nut is easier to put on then those thin self-tapping sucker)--it scored it a little, enough so that it was easier to start the self-tapping nuts. They held and went right on with no falling off after that.

And although removing the bumper isn't that hard, it's still somewhat of a PITA--enough so that I went ahead and ordered brake ducts; I'm leaving the bumper off until they get in--really don't want to do it twice.

 

I am having trouble getting the fasteners off. I am trying to do matte black vinyl on the front 4 slats. Decided to try the vinyl on one slat and it was really tough because of the curve.

Is it possible to use zip ties to put the oem grill back on?