sleeper

Oh well.. I tried.

my Grille, Thanks.. It's by Lund*, a framed perimeter billet....Works for me. But I do collect grilles also..

07azhhr

You tried and were successful so thank you. It is better to see something before the fact when it will be this time consuming and costly to complete. I know what it is that I am not feeling on A&P's grill, it is the round bottom bar. The stock non SS grill just looks like it is missing the bottom part of the frame. The bottom bar is TOO round where it meets the sides of the frame and thus does not look so much like the rest of the frame as it does just another bar like the three above it. I really like the way the SS grill looks more flush with the hood all the way around the edges of the grill frame. I think the SS grill with the grating replaced by billit would look very nice but I do not see any used ss grills for sale and buying a brand new one will just end up costing me almost as much as the $777 one I pic'd above. Of coarse the SS/billit modded one would have that custom look so that does help to justify the costs. Maybe I can expiriment with a reg grill in reshaping the edges where it meets up with the hood and make it more flush/smooth like the SS ones.



One other Q I have is what makes that $777 one so much more expensive then the other vendors that sell the black billit grills for $200? The funny thing is that their lower black billit grill is the cheapest one while their upper grill is the most expensive one between the vendors.

07azhhr

Sleeper, I can't find any links for that Lund grill. Where would I look or who would i call to see about that one? And does it come in colors insted of chrome? If you haven't guessed black is going to be the motif for the exterior of my car.

SmootHHR

If I recall, that Lund grill is no longer in production...unfortunately.

sleeper

Yes it has been discontinued long ago..Obsolete... Although I have seen 1 pop up on ebay..

stock grille: Why don't you cut off the stock lower bar also, & fill the whole center with your cut-down billet grille ?

& $777 is insane..But if the seller gets buyers.

American & Proud

Heres a direct link to my thread with pics, for anyone interested.

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/picture-media-11/customized-grille-installed-34139/

Whatever you do at least with a OEM Chrome Grille that your Not planning on painting is to make Sure were your cuts are they are as Hidden as possible.

Do take Clear paint and seal all the cut edges you make to help keep the Chrome from peeling later on.

If your painting the oem grille part leftover you have alot more options as body work and paint will do all the hiding for you.

The "3 bar" is an Easy one to do, but I wanted a Different look, alot more HHR owners driving around with the 3 bar look.

Get creative and have Fun with whatever you choose to do with yours.

American & Proud

Here is a Black version but with Mesh used as the center.
https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/picture-media-11/psd-hhr-custom-grille-26893/


For me, I liked Billet Grilles, but did NOT like the gaps left in the upper rounded corners on our hoods nor the gap left across the bottom exposing parts of our front bumpers not meant to be seen when the hood is closed.

"Framing" it in worked for me.

You can find new or used Billet Grilles pretty cheap to Experiment with, just do a Google search and you'll find them.

Then just go for it until you end up with what you want yours to look like.

sleeper

or no lower oem grille bar like I posted earlier: & All could easily be Blacked out..

American & Proud

This was the Exact picture I was trying to find Sleeper. Shows the Gap I mentioned.

Had it saved on my Dead PC.

I still havent swapped a ton of stuff over to the New Windows 7 PC yet.

Still installing Software old and new.

Still Happy with the way my Framed Billet came out, I think it visually adds to the lower stance I was after when I lowered it on all fours.

Saw a Book on Amazon - How-To Chop Tops (Old School Skills)
Man that sure would give mine an even lower meaner leaner look by chopping a few inches off.

I was a Body & Fender Man/Auto Painter for 12 years before switching Trades so it would be doable. Still undecided if I want to or not. Blower goes in First tho.

07azhhr

Ya I think I will try a cross between yours A&P and this blue one. I do not want the gap of the blue one but I want a full 4 sided frame but one that all 4 sides look like frame insted of the bar. Your's (A&P) looks very good and the work you did is top notch. I just am not feeling the way the bottom bar meets up with the sides of the frame. The way yours is, is exactly what I was thinking and seeing it has given me some idea's to try to see if I can tailor it to my tastes.

I think I will buy a cheaper chrome billit grill and put that in then start reshaping my satin grill. I am also wondering if I can maybe make the center bar very thin and almost flat like the rest of the new GM cars/trucks out right now. Then have the billit behind that so the billit part looks like two different pieces. Again this is probably like taking a SS grill and replacing the grate/mesh with the billit.

One other thing is this could also allow me to expiriment with paints on the billit other then powder coating. Has anyone tried that yet?