vettereddie

Had a request for this one, I wasn't going to share until it was finished but here ya go. I wanted to do a FFF-look and tried my hand at casting one to mount over the stock grill. Due to difficulties, I had to go in a different direction.

My current plan is to fill in a stock grill, then mold the EZ-Baked stock-style eyelids to it, sand and paint for a full custom look. So far I've filled in the main grill. I first used expanding foam to fill in the gaps in the grill. Next, I shaved off the extra that spilled over and sanded the front face smooth. I then applied a layer of resin and fiberglass mat, followed by a thin layer of 50/50 body filler and resin, and a top coat of just resin. The face is still slightly uneven so after the eyelids are bonded I'll add another fill coat.

For the top edge of the grill, I put a piece of tape on the front edge to form a trough and poured in 50/50 mix to fill it in. This was necessary because the stock grill is angled on the top and it needed to be even with the top edge of the lids.

Pics:




Here's the current front end:


And the concept:


I may still change the front look from the curve to a more straight-edged design angling in.

burstaneurysm

Wow, those headlights are dark. Ever get ish for it?

vettereddie

Haven't gotten pulled over or anything yet, they still put out a decent ammount of light at night with the fog lights.

Pacer

If you want it flat that's a great idea.
It will look nice when it's painted and stuff.

I want an insert that plugs the hole that you get when you take the Scion logo off...

vettereddie

Talk to Key Techniques or Delta Customs and see if they'll make one. Delta my be a better option since I believe they do full fabrication with body work material. I have no plans to try and mass produce this or perform paid custom work for other people, I just don't have the time, am inexperienced and still learning things, and would feel bad charging for something that comes out looking messed up.

aalbertson3

Should look pretty cool........ Reminds me of the Tron xB's grill from Hawaii.

leov36

nice idea with the fff, its cool your making your own. i tried making a fff out of fiberglass resin and mat. well, the overal shaped was there, but its difinately not right. i made it a tad to thick and i doesnt form around the ends of the headlights like i would like. this spring im going to attempt again, ive learned from my mistakes and i think ill get it right this time.

vettereddie

Yeah, I tried this before using just mat and resin, but the eyelid bridge was so thin I ended up cracking it. The EZ lids are much thicker. I've already cut them and bonded them to the main grill, using a layer of resin and mat, then following it up with fiberglass laced body filler. To be honest, this will probably cost me close to what an OD grill is, but it will truly be a one of a kind. Already spent 50 on a second stock grill, 55 on the eyelids, I already had the resin, mat and body filler from other projects, and will be using the same paint for my speaker boxes.

I'm taking more pics this evening.

EZ-BAKED

vettereddie

Hot, juicy FFF




Looks pretty bad right now but will look a lot better with more sanding and a bit more fill. Just snowed today so paint's still a few months off I think.

vettereddie

I've had this one on hold until I get the speaker boxes finished. I'll be wrapping them in a spandex / poly fabric to match the neoprene seat cover texture until it gets warm enough to paint. Here's the current state of the box. Speakers unmounted, just placed for fitment. Bottom three square holes are for an amp and two crossovers.

dmpsk8

sweeeeeeet

vettereddie

Had to take a day off. I've been sanding soo much it was starting to hurt my chest. I thought I'd be alright with just a paper mask for the sanding portion and only use the full one when laying resin or body filler, guess I'll have to wear it full time which sucks because the nose bridge limits visibility.

EZ-BAKED

Get that sucker done I want see that FFF

MilfHunter

Dude paint that gloss black and you have the DAMD smoked grill!!!!
How much!

vettereddie

New pics with test fit, it's prett tight but looks good overall. The only issue is where the lid was bonded to the grill it sticks out beyond the hood line, I now have to decide if I want to fill in the rest of the grill more to pull it out the same distance all the way across, leave it the way it is or do some sort of transition line, maybe like the shape of the tC grill but pointing up instead of down.

This is the real deal, no photoshop here.




Can't do too much right now, it's freezing cold. I washed the car right before this pick and it started freezing before I could finish drying it.

1epoXyBox

Impressive! Can't wait to see it finished

keoki

it would look cool if its blackchrome

vettereddie

Trying to keep it body color, if I was going for black chrome I'd just buy the OD grill and paint the eyelids, with no other chrome on the entire vehicle it would look out of place a bit I think. Hyperblack would be a possibility if I could find the one that matches the rims, of the three or so I've found none come close, they're way too dark.

boooosty

sorry for being a noob

but what does fff stand for?