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Aero style front grill install with existing OEM rally lights
It's been a while, but I'm going to make a few more mods to my R53.
We installed OEM rally light kit years ago. I recently ordered the matte black aero style grill from Out Motoring but it hasn't shown up yet.
I looked at the rally light installation PDF and it shows cutout templates needed to fit the OEM aero grill so I traced them in CAD so I can scale and print them when my parts show up.
Anyone know if the Out Motoring grill is close enough to the real Aero kit grill to use those cut lines?
The recall that the rally light brackets were riveted in, will I need to remove or redo any of the rivets to get the grill installed?
You will have to look and compare side by side when it arrives. You will need new rivets. Carefully cut or drill out the old ones. Rivets are a one time deal. Let us know. I might get one of those grilles too.
Well, I was able to install the front grills. Instead of grinding off the rally light rivets, I decided to completely remove the lights from the brackets which involved cutting crimps off to get the wires back down thru the hollow mounting bolts. Took a ton of measurements before cutting the new grill to fit the rally light brackets through.
Pretty happy with the outcome. I did mount the license plate frame upside-down because the molded hooks on it were not compatible with the new lower grill. I sort of like the angle and position it sits in upside-down, but if I flip it back, I'll just have to cut off the hooks.
Also got some crappy chinese ebay gloss black mirror covers that did not fit. In fact the left / right pair they shipped me weren't even the same upon close inspection. Look right but unfortunately not close enough.
Up next is to redo my bonnet stripes which have faded over the years.
I looked at the rally light installation PDF and it shows cutout templates needed to fit the OEM aero grill so I traced them in CAD so I can scale and print them when my parts show up.
Myself and future DIY rally light installers would be very grateful!
I can, but I never wound up scaling it 1:1. I’ll see if I can upload what I have.
ultimately I used calipers to measure relative to the old chrome grill to get the height. Height is the hard measurement. Side to side is very easy. There’s a spacing dimension in the rally light installation instruction that I probably followed years ago but didn’t double check. Either way it’s the height that is harder to determine. I’ll see if I can get a measurement on mine. I installed the Outmotoring aftermarket version for non-JCW cars. He did mention the OEM Aero grill has cut likes molded into the back side of it (I don’t know for sure) but the one I got from him doesn’t (which he also said).
Here's a PDF I made of the tracing of the cutout from the template. It might help some people. Use at your own risk. Adjust your print properties until you have it printing 1:1 scale with your grill.
