another gen 1 grill post

[dnsherrill]

I have a 3 day weekend; the ball-and-chain (gf) is going out of town Sunday morning, so I get to work on my money pit.....
need to r/r o.f.a.gask and my grill has had a tooth knocked out for a LONG time....figured I'd try to resolve both tasks- I picked up an intact grill awhile back, but the chrome is subpar
1) is there a straight fwd. 'how-to' for the grill r/r on here?
2) has anyone used trim-brite tape to resurface the chrome grill ?
3) should I lose the chrome look and paint my grill, eyebrow, and side light trim the body color? I don't think black would look right- the 'problem' with that is I can't stop at the front, I'll need to do the rear chrome and the trim strips along the door bottoms and bumpers?

:feedback

 

[DieselDan]

To remove the grille, you have to rmove the front bumper cover. The bottom and sides of the grill are attached via Phillips screws that go thru the cover and into the grille.

 

[dnsherrill]

thanks double D, no messin w/ wheel well liners? just the bumper cover...I'm sure once I'm underthere it will be clear as muddy water...lol

 

[Epwillis]

Front fascia has to come off to get at the screws on the bottom of the grille, fairly easy to do.

Removal:
I believe there is 4-5 screws you need to remove in each wheel well( 3 on the inner side and 2 on the bottom, then there are 4 push pins along the bottom of the core support, along with one hidden in the square holes in the bottom of the bumper(you will see the rivet head on the bottom of the bumper holding a "Z" bracket on which is held in by a push pin), then you need to take out your corner marker lights, then the eyebrow, 3 torx screws on top of the grille to be taken out and slide the clips off or take the bracket out completely by the two 10mm bolts on the header panel, and then there are 4 more nuts on the inside of the bumper in the corner marker holes, should be a 11mm? then its the task of getting the tabs to release under the headlights by pushing in and up on the bumper under each headlight light and the bumper should come off. Then I believe there are 7 screws holding the grille to the bumper along the bottom and one on each side.

Installation of bumper: reverse removal process

And thats it I believe, if i forgot anything I'm sure someone will correct me.

 

[keVIIIn]

Just a tip, when you go to reinstall..be careful not to flex the bumper while the new grille is attached. These grilles are old and brittle and crack easily. Especially on the sides where the mounting holes are.

 

[GMAN]

How does the sides of the new grill look? Everyone I see, It always seem to be split, cracked or broken, due to people forgetting the two screws on the side. Don't make that same mistake.

 

[Sapperfire]

I don't think anyone refurbishes grills ... what a strange question.. does that machine you work with put of lots of radiation?

 

[Trippen Out]

I don't think anyone refurbishes grills ... what a strange question.. does that machine you work with put of lots of radiation?

how much for that

 

[Sapperfire]

A bill, with your grill as the donor

 

[dnsherrill]

I don't think anyone refurbishes grills ... what a strange question.. does that machine you work with put of lots of radiation?

none....all ultrasound....in the range of 3-11 megahertz, kids hear up to about 20-22 KHz, old farts like me hear up to about 14-18 KHz........and I'm a giver, not a receiver...although occasionally some techs scan people who were recently injected with radioactive 'chasers' awaiting a pet scan (positive emission tomography) looking for cancer; they tend to emit radiation
and I digress
-----
G-Man; the new one is in great shape structurally, no cracks...the chrome is 'okay'...re-chrome? or re-paint?
I just remembered why I haven't changed the grill yet...it's cold today, easier to crack old peanut-brittle plastic
---
SF, is that extruded metal behind the grill frame? or some sort of composite material? metal=heavy...tape in the picture to prove it's re-chromed?

 

[NoLimit95]

If you're using chrome tape for the front and rear bumper covers, it won't stick to the curves but it will work for the sides. It also will not stick to the grille for long. Not worth the trouble. That's why I went ahead and bought a new one but they were much cheaper 3 years ago. I personally don't care too much for painted Gen 1 grilles, unless they're black. Any other color just doesn't look right. That grill color matching stuff is for Gen 2's

 

[dnsherrill]

I already re-did the bumper covers and fleet sides with a self-adhering, flexible chrome faced strip....I was thinking about just rechroming the perimeter of the grill but painting the fins..my body color is pretty close to black....so painting it black would look bad

 

[NoLimit95]

I already re-did the bumper covers and fleet sides with a self-adhering, flexible chrome faced strip....I was thinking about just rechroming the perimeter of the grill but painting the fins..my body color is pretty close to black....so painting it black would look bad

You can do the main face of it and it should hold for a while, if you prep it to hold. The fins however will not hold the tape for long at all. I tried this back in 05 and it didn't work out so well. On the bumper covers, the curves will bubble up around the edges, front and rear but the sides will remain for years. I agree, painting it black wouldn't look good unless your car was black too.

 

[Sapperfire]

Behind the grill is wire mesh.. its metal.. but not "heavy". The entire grill is lighter in weight after the mod. The chrome tape had held on for 2 years I'd guess, I haven't heard anything from the guy I did it for

 

[dnsherrill]

How does the sides of the new grill look? Everyone I see, It always seem to be split, cracked or broken, due to people forgetting the two screws on the side. Don't make that same mistake.

spoke too soon G...
new one looks okay from the front

not so good form the pass side

maybe I can can cut into this damaged grill and steal the mounting tab onto the other one with a good front...

 

[Sapperfire]

Use grill in pic 1 as is, just be careful installing it.. like Operation type careful

 

[NoLimit95]

Just be careful installing it.. like Operation Type Careful!

What he said, up there. If you plan on keeping the car for years to come, invest in a new one while they're still around. I had one that was in great shape. I would have rated it at least 8.5 to 8.8 out of 10 but Pen Gun in Canada bought it for his 93. I hated to let it go because it was my standby grille but went ahead and let him get it. It's hard for people in Canada to get nice parts for Marks and then finding someone to ship to them. If I end up needing another one for some odd reason, it will be another new one. I just wished they were still $285 + shipping. I think now they're around $350 + shipping but they are so pretty when they come out of the box and you get the huge masking tape off the front of them. God that took me forever to do. It was worth it though.

 

[NoLimit95]

Correction, $365.67 + shipping of about $20


[url]http://www.tascaparts.com/parts/1996/LINCOLN/MARK%20VIII/LSC/?siteid=213668&vehicleid=1188547§ion=BODY%20HARDWARE&group=GRILLE&subgroup=GRILLE%20%26%20COMPONENTS&component=Grille[/URL]

Could possibly be found cheaper if you dug around enough, I'm sure. Tasca is where I got mine from in 2010, along with the corner lenses and headlight housings. All that stuff was cheaper in 2010 than it is now but the day is coming when they don't have any of it anymore.

 

[dnsherrill]

eh, 'new' is not NEW, plastic affected by time...not worth the $ imo so r/r this grill is b/c I'm tired of missing a front tooth, fp done ofa gask soon done, a lil life for an old dog
---
...brown car has 180k adding 2k per month...the white one has 109k...mucho trabado tbd y carro de blanco
--- white one needs a grill also, got one lined from KeVIIIn

 

[NoLimit95]

eh, 'new' is not NEW, plastic affected by time...not worth the $ imo so r/r this grill is b/c I'm tired of missing a front tooth, fp done ofa gask soon done, a lil life for an old dog
---
...brown car has 180k adding 2k per month...the white one has 109k...mucho trabado tbd y carro de blanco
--- white one needs a grill also, got one lined from KeVIIIn

New is newer than the 18 year old outdoor element infested plastic from the sun, rain, heat and cold. Mine was in strong condition and still is because it had never been anywhere but inside a box and since it has been on my car, it's been indoors, out of the elements and it's only been wet about 8 times. The sun is our grilles major contributor to making it become brittle and fading the chrome, etc... Now, would I pay $365 + shipping for another? Wouldn't really want to but if it's hit by someone else, they're insurance will buy it. I done it all up front because I wanted the front nose to have a fresh new look and doing just the grille wasn't enough to give it that look. Another reason was because I know my driving habits and I knew it would be in the garage for the most part and retain it's looks on those particular parts. Like I said, they have went up on all of those parts since I got them.

 

[Jacksun]

Theres gotta be some grill shop that would make a Lincoln grill.

What about like a vertical bullet. With a nice polished l star in there.

 

[Sapperfire]

Theres gotta be some grill shop that would make a Lincoln grill.

What about like a vertical bullet. With a nice polished l star in there.

Yeah like Drillers... having a shop make one would be waaaay more expensive thou

 

[keVIIIn]

spoke too soon G...
new one looks okay from the front

not so good form the pass side

maybe I can can cut into this damaged grill and steal the mounting tab onto the other one with a good front...

Just hold out for the one I'm going to ship you..looks much better than the one you posted.

 

[Epwillis]

eh, 'new' is not NEW, plastic affected by time...not worth the $ imo so r/r this grill is b/c I'm tired of missing a front tooth, fp done ofa gask soon done, a lil life for an old dog
---
...brown car has 180k adding 2k per month...the white one has 109k...mucho trabado tbd y carro de blanco
--- white one needs a grill also, got one lined from KeVIIIn

Old plastic........?

You'll never see a grille as shinny as a new one:

 

[dnsherrill]

Just hold out for the one I'm going to ship you..looks much better than the one you posted.

that does look good K!
....currently I have 2 marks and 2 broken grills, ...yours will make 2 good grills...was gonna do it today, but it's pretty cold out now (35 deg)...
---yes, EP...that new grill looks awesome, I might pay 250 for one that still had the protective tape on it....
I have a LOOONG list of repairs and mods to be done; I think I'm jaded on the grill b/c the one I'm replacing broke only about 6 months after I had it put in..that was 4 1/2 years ago! I remember hearing the rock that hit in on the way to Nashville and somehow KNOWING what had just happened