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FAQ, How to add radiator bumper grills to a 996 ...

Progress on GT3

Hi Daniel

Not driven the car in ages - initially due to weather/salt, now because it's in bits! :nooo:

However, I found a really top guy to do the work on my car http://www.cumbriacarstorage.co.uk/. He's called Neil McGurk, and from first acquaintance I knew that I'd trust him to work on my car (especially after I saw the work he's done on his own MKII Jag and MGA which are deeply impressive).

The front/rear bumpers, wheel arch lines and undertrays came off. The car has been properly steamcleaned underneath and put in a climate controlled garage to dry properly. The wax is being applied with a gun/compressor, so can be directed with precision and vapourises to a fine spray/mist. The engine and gearbox is being trated with Dinitrol 4010, and elsewhere Dinitrol 3125/Waxoyl. I must stress - it's not being randomly covered in wax though - it's in specific/vulnerable areas etc.

The car was virtually pristine beneath the plastic bits, and there was evidence of the car being waxed before (I have an invoice for this from an OPC in the cars history), although hadn't been disassembled to the same extent previously. It looked as if the car had been dry stored and little used on salty roads, if at all (apart from the last few weeks when it needed to be driven up from London, and then driven a few miles locally out of necessity rather than having fun).

Currently waiting for parts from the Porsche Centre - just replacement clips and screws, that sort of thing and ofcourse the grill (black) - do you have one fitted?

Becasuse Neil's just set up his business at new premises (in a stunning location), he asked if I'd be willing to let him use pics of the work on my car to be used as advertising. I'm happy for him to do this, and as a result, the work will cost me much less (perhaps less than half) the real cost.

When it's all finished I will get some pics together and post a thread.

Looking forward to getting the car back and using in better weather, and look forward to meeting up with some 911Uk members in the coming months.

Cheers

Mark
 
Re: Inspiration

Lavazza said:
When you used Dinitrol on the rads, did you mask off the rad mesh?

Thanks

Mark

Not sure what you mean.

The mesh is fitted on the rear of the bumper and I sprayed the rads "naked" on the car whilst bumper was off.

There is no other mesh.
 
Clarification

Sorry should have made that clearer - when I referrred to masking off the mesh, I didn't mean the protective mesh grill but the mesh that physically forms the face of the radiators themselves.

What prompted my question was when you wrote:
"Dinitrol coat rads and a/c heat exchangers".

My car has been put back together now, and have had the rads waxed too, but not the mesh fronts (is 'matrix' the correct term?) these were masked off first.

Don't know if this helps clarify what I meant.

Cheers

Mark
 
Re: Clarification

Lavazza said:
Sorry should have made that clearer - when I referrred to masking off the mesh, I didn't mean the protective mesh grill but the mesh that physically forms the face of the radiators themselves.

What prompted my question was when you wrote:
"Dinitrol coat rads and a/c heat exchangers".

My car has been put back together now, and have had the rads waxed too, but not the mesh fronts (is 'matrix' the correct term?) these were masked off first.

Don't know if this helps clarify what I meant.

Cheers

Mark

I sprayed everything in sight!

The Dinitrol dries to a clear hard skin, think hairspray thickness, but permanent and anticorrosive properties.

The rads/matrix just have a clear shiney finish now.
 
OK, thanks to Waddesdon I have a pic of my car with the new grills fitted:

grills.JPG


clicky for bigger:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dixonpj/911/grills.JPG
 
Thanks.

I should point out that most of the time the black mesh is invisible.

From a distance, wrong viewing angle or simply when sun is not shining directly on it, it is "invisible". That is one reason it took so long go get a picture up.

All my 120+ detailing pictures, all the iPhone photos I took to try and show them were a dead loss. Only by accident looking through 200 Waddesdon photos showed the grills reflecting not-black finally!
 
Nice thread....thanks.

Can I ask how you cable tied the mesh to the bumper panel? Did you drill through the bumper?
 
Yes, but don't tell the next owner :wink:

Seriously though, 4x2.5mm holes per aperture (Three apertures: L, Mid, R)

Two holes at the top (which would require you to lie on the floor with a torch to see, unless you have a lift). Two at the bottom.

They are tiny, canted rewards (angled away from your eye) and 2mm from rear edge of PU, closest aperture. Due to angle the exit hole "inside" PU is probably 5mm from the edge, so a decent bridge of plastic.

If at some point they need removing completely, just filler the tiny holes (the PU itself is only 3mm thick plastic, erm PolyUrethane!), and dab with a touch-up pen.

They are still recessed quite far back in a dark aperture.

In any case I have a few genuine stone-chips that are the same size or larger that I have successfully touched in. So no real issue.

There is actually one of the black cable ties visible in the above picture. It just caught the light on its flat edge at that camera angle.

On the picture in my thread above, look at the centre aperture, at the very bottom of the mesh, about 1" to the right of the "GB" Euro badge position there is a slightly bright square of pixels. That is one of the 2.5mm ties.
 
Guys - has everyone used GT4's cable tie securing technique or have people tried bonding the mesh to the bumper?
 
6C4GTS said:
Guys - has everyone used GT4's cable tie securing technique or have people tried bonding the mesh to the bumper?

Mine are bonded using Tiger Seal, works fine just make sure you don't fill in where the air vents will slot into the frame inside the PU :thumb:
 
AFAIK the ideal method is a silicone sealant/adhesive bead around the outside of the rear vent lip. It doesn't have to be too much/too strong as pressure is applied to the mesh from the rubber air channels behind once the PU is refitted helping to keep them in place.

Other methods include self tappers from outside of the rear vent lip:

DSCF8264.JPG
 
I used panel adhesive it's black sticks like sh.t i stuck it to th black plastic ducts not the pu looks good no visible fixing at all
 
Timing is brilliant, I bought the mesh a few weeks ago to do the same job so that helps me out :thumb:
 

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