300 Grille Install

[Johnnyvav]

I've installed a couple of Grille's in the past couple of years (one on my 5.7 & one on my 6.1). It is a relatively easy install and makes a huge difference in appearance. Any 300's thinking about replacing your stock Grille? Check out the write up from my first Grille install when I had my 5.7 .........

From 2006 install:

I installed the grill without removing the front fascia, In less than 2 hours. If I did it again, it would probably take less than an hour (Update:The Grille install on my SRT8 did take less than an hour). It being my first grill install and I wanted to be careful not to F*** anything up.

The infamous stock grill:


Prior to the install I searched for the recommended Husky ratcheting screwdriver at Home depot & Lowes but to no avail. They both had these $60 sets that included 5-7 wrenches + the bit adapter. I couldn't find just the adapter alone (to change a ratched wrench to a ratchet screwdriver). There was one other option that I wasn't so sure about but took a chance. A $10 set made by Task Force, purchased at Lowes. It worked great!

I figured what the hell, I have emergency procedure #1 standing by if it didn't work.

One of the most tedious tasks was removing the last plastic rivet at the beginning of the project. The first 3 came off within 30 seconds total. The last one took about twenty minutes. I tried to be gentle. I tried to push up the middle from underneath. I finally ripped the mofo out!

The Four screws on top and one on each side came out in minutes by using my new faithful friend the "task force". There was really no room to get to the bottom 4 screws so I just pulled the grill out. The plastic holding them in was fairly weak and I knew I wasn't going to be using those screw holes again anyway. After about an hour the front looked like this:

I then needed a few minutes to drill three 1/8" holes and enlarge the six factory holes with a 3/8" bit. After a beverage break I had to work the new grill into its new home & here are the results:

[curlie39]

Looks sweet Johnny.