[LordOfTheFlies]

Quote: Originally Posted by LordOfTheFlies

Ok I ordered my set of the aero grilles today. Looking forward to this project as it has been a long time (about a month) since I last modded my car (last mod was Denso IK22's, Livewires, and Screamin' Demon coilpack).

Will post pics when I am done......

Here's a link to my install experience.........

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=87943

[Gr8Dain]

Great job LordOfTheFlies.

I put the upper grill on yesterday. I will tackle the lower one this weekend when I have a few hours to kill. It already looks better and it still has the chrome lower lip.

Dain

[Gr8Dain]

Some pics from last night's work ...

[BullDög]

I love how almost everyone who changed their grilles don't have racing lights, hahah.

I started today everything was going smooth until I discover the driving lights are basically assembled to the grill. Could someone explain how to disassemble the light or how to remove it from the grill? I read somewhere that the wires have to be cut?!? Please tell me that's NOT true.....

[Baker]

I've done it on mine. No wires need to be cut.

Open up the lights, disconnect the cables. Pull the nut off the bottom and remove the whole lighting assembly. I drilled out the rivets and pulled the brackets out / reinstalled them when I'd got the grill on / cut in the right places, but I've heard you can leave them on with a bit of fiddling.

[BullDög]

Hrmmm, let me take a pic casue my driving lights seem old. maybe?

tell me if it's the same. brb

[BullDög]

[Baker]

Ah bugger, thats right. You have to cut the spades off and fit new ones when you re-fit them.

Not hard to do

While you've got them out you can clean them up and get rid of that rust too!

[BullDög]

That's exactly what I plan on doing. I never noticed how dirty the lights were. I'm so embarrassed.

I might paint them White too!. I think it would look Awesome with the stripes and the new black grill.

i'm going to post instruction on how to do this for the next person who wants to add a grill and has 2002 racing lights. Now that i'm keen to the methods of taking the might apart, I might change the bulbs to something whiter. Lots of mod this year!!

[BullDög]

DONE! Job took 2 days. total of maybe 4 hours.

First 30 minutes were getting the bults off to remove the grill. The next 1 hour and 30 minutes were spent getting the lights off. Since I have 2002 lights, the wires have to be cut then re-suddered (sp?). After I got the aero grill on, I had to re cut the grill because it wasn't lined up to allow the lights to screw back on. Once the grill was in and the light set, I took a look at the car and wanted a little chrome in the middle. With that, I left the S bumper as is. The bumper took about an hour or maybe less. I read instructions on how to remove the bumper but there were about 20 more screws than it had described.

After all that work.... Wa LA! A hot new Cooper! Now all I need are wheels, an S rear bumper and a S or Aero Spoiler. Spring's not over so hopefully i'll have a fresh Summer Ride.

[Gr8Dain]

Looking good Buuldog. So you took the bumper cover off, yet decided to stay with the chrome strip? I went all of the way.



Well, I completed this job this weekend. And I love the new look

What Have I done?


Installed!


Finished, finally


For refernce, what it used to look like

[BullDög]

Well done Gr8Dain! I love the middle grill but the work needed to install it was a bit too much and I needed a little chrome in the middle.

Hrmmm, someone should start manufacturing modified middle aero grills... Idea's up for grabs.

[Gr8Dain]

One was enough for me thanks. I had enough black plastic bits all over my face after dremelling. Of course if I had a moulding process ...... Not worth it. Someone else can take that project.

Thanks for the kind words.

Dain

[..lee1..]

I Got Mine From Ebay For £17 Plus Postage

[The_Bster]

Hi all!

I just need some handy advice here. I don't have a dremel and was wondering if any body out there has used any other tool to shape the lower grill. Reason for this is that i don't want to spend $200 for something i will probably only use once. I'm going to resort to using a stanley knife if there are no suggestions!

Thanks!

[Pobsey]

You could try using a sanding disc or something similar, it would be more difficult to leave the tabs on, but it would be possible, just take longer!!

[Gr8Dain]

Quote: Originally Posted by The_Bster

Hi all!

I just need some handy advice here. I don't have a dremel and was wondering if any body out there has used any other tool to shape the lower grill. Reason for this is that i don't want to spend $200 for something i will probably only use once. I'm going to resort to using a stanley knife if there are no suggestions!

Thanks!

A small drill bit and a steady hand could work. Just have the grill in a vise (still, but not too much force on it) and have a VERY STEADY hand. THe dremel went through that plastic like it was butter.

Good luck.

[Boardingdan]

has any body got any pictures of a hyper blue cooper s with the aero grill. would like to see an example of the end product before starting the job.

[The_Bster]

Here ya go!

Not a bad job done considering i used a stanley knife, mini saw to shape the grill and a power drill to make new slots in the bumper.Plus in addition, i used a hot glue gun to ensure the grill stays on the bumper, not that it wasn't tight enough to leave it alone, but additional strength is always good!

It took me a 4 times as long to get done, but it was done with LOVE, thats why!

[PortRhombus]

looking good

Four spots across the front would set that off nicely