Stylish grills that aren't ANGRY. Do they exist?

[jmccorm]

It's beautiful! You're a menace to my wallet as now you've got me actually considering the one I posted up earlier...only hitch would be rigging some kind of grill and cutting out the space for the mopar hood lock...

EDIT: Damn, wouldn't work. The big air grille forgoes having an odd number of slots, so I'd be cutting one of the supports partially or altogether, probably would flow as well aesthetics-wise as a Wrangler does aerodynamically ?

Okay, THAT photo jogged my memory!

Here's the vendor's page for your Patriot Fastbacks Big Air Grille. Even more unusual? I wouldn't have guessed it. That grille is FIBERGLASS! That should also tell you something about it's structural rigidity and what kind of possibilities you have there. (That, and it just needs support it's own weight. It isn't like it's holding the rest of the vehicle in place.) But that lock placement does seem challenging.

Now that I've found the Patriot Fastbacks website and looked around... wow! They've got some unusual JK and JL mods for sale over there. Round cowl lights! Extra wide fender flares! Those people dance to the beat of their own drummer.

Seems like a fine retail purchase that manages to step away from the crowd quite nicely.

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[Heimkehr]

Those people dance to the beat of their own drummer.

That's not an angry grille, either. Call it a "concerned grille".

 

[Gunfighter]

You got this!

 

[weeitsmikelee]

That's not an angry grille, either. Call it a "concerned grille".

Determined.

 

[Heimkehr]

Determined.

What we might like to see next is a Marty Feldman grille.

Certainly it would complement a few of the folks that I've seen driving Jeeps.

 

[JP29]

Okay, THAT photo jogged my memory!

Here's the vendor's page for your Patriot Fastbacks Big Air Grille. Even more unusual? I wouldn't have guessed it. That grille is FIBERGLASS! That should also tell you something about it's structural rigidity and what kind of possibilities you have there. (That, and it just needs support it's own weight. It isn't like it's holding the rest of the vehicle in place.) But that lock placement does seem challenging.

Now that I've found the Patriot Fastbacks website and looked around... wow! They've got some unusual JK and JL mods for sale over there. Round cowl lights! Extra wide fender flares! Those people dance to the beat of their own drummer.

Seems like a fine retail purchase that manages to step away from the crowd quite nicely.

They're different for sure. If there was a way to modify part of the center spline of that grille to fold up along with the cap on the hood lock, and still look good, it might be worthwhile...

 

[jeepingib]

Cheap Chinese plastic surgery will always look cheap and tawdry in comparison.

 

[jmccorm]

They're different for sure. If there was a way to modify part of the center spline of that grille to fold up along with the cap on the hood lock, and still look good, it might be worthwhile...

I know I couldn't pull it off. But if I (personally) was determined to make it happen, I'd go back to my local jack-of-all-trades sole proprietor I discovered (auto repair/paint/accident) and see what he can do.

That's an offbeat solution, but I figure that the right expertise for mixing a central hood lock and a fiberglass grille would be found in an accident repair shop. That's some serious determination to make things happen. Locking side hood latches seems like an easier way out, although you'd have to live with something more bothersome.

 

[JP29]

I know I couldn't pull it off. But if I (personally) was determined to make it happen, I'd go back to my local jack-of-all-trades sole proprietor I discovered (auto repair/paint/accident) and see what he can do.

That's an offbeat solution, but I figure that the right expertise for mixing the lock and grille is going to be found in an accident repair shop. That's some serious determination to make things happen. Locking side hood latches seems like a way out, but bothersome.

I'm not even opposed to the locking side latches, but with the hood lock already steel riveted in I have no desire to drill those out. Had enough trouble drilling out the aluminum ones during the soft top swap! Maybe if patriot fastbacks were to make one with an odd number of vents that exposed the hood lock area I'd be in - for now, I'll have to live my cyberpunk grille dreams vicariously through you

 

[jmccorm]

... for now, I'll have to live my cyberpunk grille dreams vicariously through you

HAHA. Hey, I'm happy to share, but my budget for the year is closing rapidly!

Actually, here shortly, I might want to divert your attention to a front bumper that's being installed right now. It's got (amongst other things) an integrated lockable forward-facing storage compartment (letter P below) which they suggest for things like vehicle recovery equipment.

A Wrangler bumper-trunk is bound to create opportunities, and ideas will be most welcome.
But I'd have to continue that in another thread...

 

[JP29]

HAHA. Hey, I'm happy to share, but my budget for the year is closing rapidly!

Actually, here shortly, I might want to divert your attention to a front bumper that's being installed right now. It's got (amongst other things) an integrated lockable forward-facing storage compartment (letter P below) which they suggest for things like vehicle recovery equipment.

A Wrangler bumper-trunk is bound to create opportunities, and ideas will be most welcome.
But I'd have to continue that in another thread...

That's something! If it can still house a winch and ditch the wings on the sides for a stubby look, I'd be intrigued...

 

[jmccorm]

Just got home with it and the weather's turning bad. A few quick shots for now.

I see some things I'd improve upon. Other than that, I'll hold off commenting for now. Some better shots tomorrow!

 

[dragoneggs]

IMO Oracle did a fantastic job of blending function and looks. It's not for me though as I am generally a traditionalist when it comes to preserving iconic features.

I will be soon bolting on aftermarket lights to my to the top of my aftermarket bumper. The OEM bumper is not very attractive to me. To each their own.

 

[JP29]

Just got home with it and the weather's turning bad. A few quick shots for now.

I see some things I'd improve upon. Other than that, I'll hold off commenting for now. Some better shots tomorrow!

That's a good look! Just needs a fender chop DRL to complete

 

[jmccorm]

That's a good look! Just needs a fender chop DRL to complete

As much as anything, this Rubicon is going to spend 95%+ of it's life in the city. I wanted to start with a vehicle that had enough off-road capability in the beginning that I could focus my initial attention elsewhere.

A majority of on-road use sets a minimum consideration when it came to bumpers, and was the greatest reason why I arrived at a full-width bumper. Truth be told, I also happened to like this bumper's full-width appearance in particular, and I was also hoping the extra coverage yielded improved aero versus the stock plastic bumper. As my rock crawling adventures continue and evolve, I don't think it'll ever be too late to change course and go stubby.

We had a dirty rain here, so pardon the incidental hood dust.

As far as grille choices, as you've read here, my use case offered no restrictions. I think the shape and texture of the WESTiN HDX Grille in particular (along with the new color scheme just started) gives me a good hint of where I'd want to go with a cyberpunk sort of vibe. That said, I'm tough critic (and I welcome well-explained dissenting views just as much as I value positive ones).

Here's a quick markup of my concerns...

The one large mistake was in trying to minimize the WESTiN logo itself. I had the metal plate (below the logo's cut-out) painted Hydro Blue in an attempt to conceal an unwanted branding. That did not work out as planned. Instead, the eye still catches the logo and reads it as a poorly quality detail. I'm not a fan of having a big WESTiN logo front-and-center, but may end up looking better if I pop off the underlying nameplate and have it repainted and restored as intended.

I should also point out that for someone who purchases the WESTiN HDX Grille (still only about $330 to $350 shipped on clearance), there really is no need to repaint it. It's supposed to be a tough outdoor steel grille, and it's already painted a dark color that's going to work well for most situations. Unlike your normal Wrangler grille, this one seems designed for incidental impact. Painting it might even be a negative if you're using it for it's (apparent) use as a rugged leading edge which takes the occasional incidental hit from it's surroundings. (The Go Rhino Trailline bumper only doubles down on that.)

The light bar performs well, has it's own protective metal surround, and repainted quite nicely. Again, an atypical choice for most people, but common cyberpunk motifs lend themselves to that harsher and technologically mismatched appearance. That's one sharp block set between two large beautiful eyes.

When I see that big block of grille and two eyebrow pieces... hmmmmm... I think I'm searching for answers. But it was nice to see the Wrangler's historical seven slots carried over as vents in the unpopulated winch plate, of all places. It's a nice detail! And as mentioned elsewhere, the presence or absence of a winch does not impinge on the use of the front bumper's integrated storage trunk for holding recovery gear.

All in all, this seems to mark the end of my exploration into aftermarket Wrangler grille options. I've got a substantially different grille arrangement to build off of. Now is when I'm looking for ideas and what one of my next steps might be. I'd be interested in some of the potential opportunities other people might be seeing here. And acknowledging that I myself am going for a unique style here. ?

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