CVPI Grill Insert

[Dan]

I was told that there is a thread about doing a remove and replace with the Crown Vic PI honeycomb grill. Will someone pleease reference that thread for me? I can't seem to find it.

Thanks,

Dan

[woaface]

Yuck:puke:

Sorry, to each his own! I learned that from here:D I think the Marauder grill sets it apart from every P71 out there.

Hey, what about solid headlamp/cornering lamps like the Town car!?!?


This is all I could find and I'm not sure if that's what you were talking about???

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3412&highlight=crown+vic+grill

[Dan]

Thanks. I don't take your comments as insulting. You are right, to each his own. I, personally, really like the honeycomb look on the PI.

So, does anyone know if this is a bolt on or is it not a do-able project?

Best,

Dan

[RCSignals]

I don't think it's a direct swap. Check with Zack, he may be working on something

[woaface]

They're all the same size right? SHOULD be a direct swap...???

[hitchhiker]

They're all the same size right? SHOULD be a direct swap...???

The black Honeycomb with an old Marauder badge would look cool! :beer:

[01 Interceptor]

Nope...the shapes are totally different. Even the top of the bumper cover you can see the differences. The MM cover has a smaller recessed area than the CV. I know because I used a car duster at the Western WA meet to compare the sizes. Also, you will notice that the MM grille takes a sharp angle in line with the headlights. The CV headlights do not share this angle, nor are they flush with the grille like on the MM. If you want to get the honeycomb look...I say buy a used MM grille off of a wrecked one, or see if anyone has a leftover one that is not suitable for their MM due to the vertical slats have been damaged, but the outer edges are in good condition. Once you have that...carefully remove all the vertical slats. Buy some honeycomb material and have fun with your project! If you do this, take pics...personally I like the MM grille the way it is or with the God's Head, but if I ever did change it...I would use a billet insert of some kind.

[Dan]

That sounds like it might be quite a fun project. Thanks for the useful info and the suggestion.

Best,

Dan

[01 Interceptor]

You're welcome!

[Cobra25]

Thanks. I don't take your comments as insulting. You are right, to each his own. I, personally, really like the honeycomb look on the PI.

So, does anyone know if this is a bolt on or is it not a do-able project?

Best,

Dan Hay Dan, It might look good on the Marauder. If you do it could you post a picture on the site so we can see how it looks?

[Dan]

I will do that. Thought this might wind up a winter project due to my busy schedule til then.

Best,

Dan

[studio460]

Dan:

From all reports here, and from other CV owners, the two grilles are different enough that the idea of using the CV honeycomb grille as an "insert" is apparently not workable. I'm about to send mm.net's resident grille expert, Zack, two black Marauder grilles for his "standard" badgeless grille treatment (which is quite nice, and a real quality job). But I'm still vying for the Ford honeycomb cosmetic look as well--I really like the look of the honeycomb material that Ford uses on its Mustangs and trucks as well. Now I'm thinking of ordering a Ford truck grille to see if that would work (with some considerable hacking). Zack's a bit busy with his other Marauder projects to warrant his investigation of this route, so I guess I'm off on a mission . . .

[Amsoil_Dealer]

Nope...the shapes are totally different.

This is a correct statement. I have a CV with a honeycomb grill and before I bought the honeycomb, I looked into the Marauder setup because I like that look better. The upper insert (between the fenders and above the grill), and the headlight shape are different. CVs even have a little body color plastic between the headlight and the grill.

Creating a honeycomb grill for a Marauder/Marquis sounds like a great idea but it will be a custom project.

Don

[warren]

This may help-----
http://www.grillcraft.com/index.asp
They sell alum. material 44"x12"
that could be used for your grill idea
just cut paint and fit.

WarrenB:burnout:

[studio460]

They sell alum. material 44"x12"
that could be used for your grill idea
just cut paint and fit.

Thanks for the link--are you talking about the mesh grille material? That's all I could find on their site during a quick look. They don't sell a Ford-style honeycomb do they?

[Zack]

I have researched honeycomb material until I was blue in the face with zero luck. The closest I got was mcnichols.com but hey have to outsource the material to get the thick gauge needed to make the grill.

[studio460]

Zack:

Interesting link! May be some other possibilities I may like here . . . By the way, I keep meaning to ask our art department at NBC about this honeycomb thing (I don't want your face turing blue anymore). They have a way of finding all kinds of odd materials. Of the McNichols fiberglass products, whadduya think of the "Heavy Duty I-Bar Pultruded Fiberglass Grating" or the "Molded Rectangular Fiberglass Grating" stuff? Kinda nifty, huh?

[studio460]

Hey Zack!

Have you checked out this place? http://www.hexcelcomposites.com
They make stuff for industrial/aircraft applications, so maybe it's like really expensive or something, but, it kinda looks like the right place.

Here's a more specific link to their line of honeycomb products:

http://www.hexcelcomposites.com/Markets/Products/Honeycomb/Hexweb_attrib/hw_p05-2.htm

Here's another link to their other products:

http://www.hexcelcomposites.com/Markets/Products/default.htm

Here's an image of one of their products from their website:

http://www.24framefilms.com/hexcelcompositescom.jpg

By the way, I found this site by using the search terms, "fiberglass" and "honeycomb" in Google. The HEXCEL Composites' site was the fourth search result listed.

[jeroger1]

I was told that there is a thread about doing a remove and replace with the Crown Vic PI honeycomb grill. Will someone pleease reference that thread for me? I can't seem to find it.

Thanks,

Dan

I believe the thread would be here. If you scroll down, there is even a picture of one.

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=8757&highlight=honeycomb+grill

Hope this works...

[Dan]

JE,

Thanks for that link. Did you ever do one yourself?

I am going to try to get info about the Ford Honeycomb material from someone that I know who is close to the source. If I can find it I will let you know.

I, like you, am either going to go with the honeycomb or nothing at all. I, like you, and looking for a bump in the "intimidation factor."

Best,

Dan

[jeroger1]

At the time I was looking, I was contemplating an MM vs a CV. I'm actually sorry to say that I chose the CV. It was the price that held me up on the MM. I hope you folks are taking care of the ones you have, because I'll probably be picking one of them up in the next year or so. Anyway, I did go with the CV Honeycomb grill (first thing I bought) and still think that look is awesome. I think that with some creativity, you could marry an MM grill's frame with the honeycomb from Ford. Since the CV grill is slightly smaller, I think you would need to get an F-150 grill, and cut it down. I will say that all threads about grills do eventually lead to Zack! He appears to be the master.

Also, you would not believe the flaming that the intimidation remark will get on the CrownVic.net site. Unbelievable!

Good luck...and if you get something developed, please post it. Thanks

[Dan]

I think that I found a real supplier of the honeycomb material in aluminum. If anyone has a stock PI insert it would help me if they could give me the following info...

1. Honeycomb diameter
2. Thickness of the grill
3. Material it is made from
4. Estimate of wall thickness

Best,

Dan

[jeroger1]

I have an extra grill in my trunk...long story. I'll measure it for you tomorrow and send the specs.

[Dan]

Thanks. A close up pic would also be nice.

Best,

Dan

[studio460]

This is getting interesting . . . DAN, THE MAN!

[Dan]

NBC, were you referring to me? If so, thanks.

More news... I drove by the CSP Union HQ this morning and, lo-and-behold, there were state cop cars outside. Can you imagine that? :rock:

So, I approached an office and asked if I could check out and photograph his front grill and he politely obliged. I got a few good photos and will post them later. For now, here are a few things that I have learned...

1. The PI grill is made of plastic, not metal.
2. The honeycomb of the PI is one-piece molded to the ring that surrounds it. This ring/honeycomb piece is actually the insert that goes in the surround which is usually painted to color match the car.
3. The honeycombs are longer along the horizontal axis than along the vertical axis.
4. Due to the ring that surrounds the honeycomb it would appear as though the honeycomb section would be too small for a Marauder grill.
5. The honeycombs are not at a right angle to the surface plane of the grill, they are angled in such a way as to not restrain airflow to the radiator. My guess is that angle is the inverse of the angle of recession that the grill takes from vertical.

My conclusion is that we are not going to find anyone who can supply an exact duplicate of the PI honeycombs because it is a one-piece mold. Therefore, there is no "PI Honeycomb" produced. Further, finding a copy is going to be limited by finding someone who makes an oblong honeycomb design. Possible but not likely. Finally, the way that the PI honeycomb is "angled" for airflow will not be reproducible by a tractional honeycomb mfgr. I could get into more detail about the research into honeycomb mfgr that I have done in the last day or two but I won't. :)

Conclusion: If we are to do this it will very likely need to be done in aluminum due to cost,, availability and weather resistance. We will have to settle for something which is close but not quite exact to the Ford product.

I will keep you up to date as I go along. I will also get my photos up later.

In the meantime... if someone were supplied the materials and a test grill do we have anyone willing to attempt such a project?

Best,

Dan

[01 Interceptor]

The PI honeycomb grilles are not usually painted to match the car. If they are painted, they were done so by the agency or person...not Ford. They come in flat black only. The "ring" or edge does look far better when painted to match the car...been thinking about it myself.

[Dan]

Yes. I hope that what I said did not confuse. Let me be more specific.

The honeycomb is molded together with a surrounding ring out of plastic. That ring is then mounted in the middle front facsia piece and it is that fascia piece that is painted to match the car. The car I was was silver. The middle front fascia was silver but the one-piece plastic honeycomb ring and honeycomb were flat black.

Best,

Dan

[01 Interceptor]

Ok, so you mean to say that the header panel is painted to match. The way is was written made it sound like you meant the outer edge of the grille. But yeah, I think everyone already knows the header panel is painted along with the rest of the car. Good luck in your quest to find honeycomb goodness for the MM grille. :up:

[jeroger1]

Actually, you will see CVs with the grills done both ways. The reason I have 2 is that one will be going to the paint shop soon, to be painted. The look is not that much different, but a finishing touch, in my opinion. As to the issue of the honeycomb material, Dan is correct in all of his observations. However, the Ford F-150 also a honeycomb design, and has a much larger area than the CV. That's why I speculated that it could be done with the truck grill. There should be enough material to fully insert into the MM frame, after all of the bars are removed. The honeycomb shape is actually a hexagon, and it is 3/4" tall, 7/8" wide at the top and bottom, and 1 1/4" at the middle. The depth appears to be about 5/8". The only potential problem with the truck grill is the angle may not be steep enough to lie parallel to the ground, but may not be far out enough to allow plenty of air flow.

[jeroger1]

Second set, limit was 5 pics.

The last 2 pics are of other cars and are for comparison sake. The point is moot on a black MM, but the 04s might need to see it.

[Dan]

The honeycomb shape is actually a hexagon, and it is 3/4" tall, 7/8" wide at the top and bottom, and 1 1/4" at the middle. The depth appears to be about 5/8". The only potential problem with the truck grill is the angle may not be steep enough to lie parallel to the ground, but may not be far out enough to allow plenty of air flow.

A couple of questions....

1. Is the F150 comb the same size comb as teh PI?
2. In the last sentence do you mean to say that it will or will NOT allow plenty of air flow? It reads a bit funny to me and I would like clarification

Thanks,

Dan

[jeroger1]

I'm not really sure about the F body trucks grill size. I gave the CV numbers for comparison. Several guys here at work drive those trucks, so I'll measure one this afternoon. The other comment was a reference to your observation that the honeycomb material needed will not be at a right angle to the holes. In other words, it must be angled so that when installed, it lines up in a parallel to the ground orientation. The truck grill will also be angled, but I'm not sure if it will be to the same degree as the CV. I was simply speculating that even if not exactly parallel, it shouldn't cause a concern with air flow.

[Amsoil_Dealer]

Second set, limit was 5 pics.

The last 2 pics are of other cars and are for comparison sake. The point is moot on a black MM, but the 04s might need to see it.

Jeroger1,

Do you have any more photos of that silver CV. I have one like it with a honeycomb grill but with a black rim rather than painted. I really like the look of the painted rim and I'd like to see more. I also am intrigued by the wheels on that car. Do you have a sied view?

Don

[jeroger1]

Don,

Sorry, those were just some pics I gathered while I was deciding on black vs body color on the honeycomb grill. I though it would be a good idea to show the body shop what I wanted, rather than try to explain it. I can't even tell you where I got them, but I would think it was CVN. I imagine if you were to post there, someone would recognize tha car and put you in touch with the owner.

[Amsoil_Dealer]

10-4, Thanks......