Ghia Grille Mod - Mk1

Mk1 Ghia Grille Mod

Background

This was a spur-of-the-moment mod that I decided to do on my Mk1 Ghia. I had already fitted some Morettes, but the grille looked out of place. So I decided to take it off and spray it up...

Method

First of all, take the original grille off the car. Two bolts on either side

Around the back of the grille, there are 11 clips which fasten the chrome grille surround to the grille panel, circled in the pictures below.

Unfasten these clips and push the surround out of the front. The mesh should stay attached to the panel (Note: In the pics, the surround had already been painted up...!)

To refinish, don't forget to key the chrome and prime with plastic primer.

Removing the grille and surround should take less time than it's taken to read this!

Adding The Mesh

Remove the chrome oval by using a flathead screwdriver to pop the plastic clips out.

Use a hot-knife or craft drill and cut through the plastic bar in the middle at both ends first. For the middle bit, you can use a Stanley knife to mark out where i was going to cut. Mark it to the shape of the oval under the badge.

Using the oval of the grille (face down) cut the mesh to fit - you can't cut it and bend it in to the oval - you won't be able to clip it together.

Use a black marker to mark the mesh and with a pair of pliers cut the mesh to size.

Because of the plastic clips behind the badge you have to cut the mesh like a half oval, so that the mesh sits under the badge clips.

Once the mesh is cut to size, with the oval face down, and mesh sitting in place, put the other part of the grille down squeezing the mesh in between. I had to use a flathead to gently coax the clips into place.

Submitted by chrisw and FULLAFECT