Got my billet grilles from Carriage Works the other day and finally got time to install them. Ordered through Autoanything.com who delivered them quickly along with a 15% off coupon code I had from them it made for a nice birthday present.
Remove the push pins from the plastic air deflector between the radiator core support and the grille.
Remove the 4 10mm screws from the grille.
The next part is a little tricky, you need to gently squeeze the center of these clips while lightly pulling out on the grille surround. There are about 6 or so of these. If you have a GMT800 you are used to just pulling and the grille surround pops out. Well these clips are really sturdy, so you will need to use some pliers or needle nose to squeeze the tabs.
When you have the last one loose, remove the grille from the truck and set it on a nice work area.
Now I removed my bow tie prior to masking off but you can just mask over it. Using some good masking tape mask over the chrome finish so you don't scratch it up while cutting out the factory grille. Be sure to completely cover all the chrome since it's a good idea to paint the plastic after you cut out the factory grille.
I used a combination of cut off wheels, one on a 4 inch grinder and another on my Dremel tool to cut out the factory plastic. If you have a small recip saw this would be the tool to use. But I don't have one, so I used what I had.
Now that you have cut out the grille, use a sander and dress up all the ragged cuts. Smooth everything down nicely. I used a sanding drum on my Dremel to do this.
Now that everything is smoothed out, shoot some black spray paint on the plastic. It just helps make everything blend and look better, not necessary since most of it will never be seen again. But it's a nice touch to do it.
After your paint has dried remove the masking tape and clean the remaining parts of the grille if needed.
Lay your new billet grilles out and use the supplied hardware to attach them to the factory surround.
I masked off the bow tie and sanded it down with some 1000 grit paper.
Then used some Dupli Color adhesion Promoter and Victory Red topped with 5 coats of clear.
All installed, it turned out pretty good.
Remove the push pins from the plastic air deflector between the radiator core support and the grille.
Remove the 4 10mm screws from the grille.
The next part is a little tricky, you need to gently squeeze the center of these clips while lightly pulling out on the grille surround. There are about 6 or so of these. If you have a GMT800 you are used to just pulling and the grille surround pops out. Well these clips are really sturdy, so you will need to use some pliers or needle nose to squeeze the tabs.
When you have the last one loose, remove the grille from the truck and set it on a nice work area.
Now I removed my bow tie prior to masking off but you can just mask over it. Using some good masking tape mask over the chrome finish so you don't scratch it up while cutting out the factory grille. Be sure to completely cover all the chrome since it's a good idea to paint the plastic after you cut out the factory grille.
I used a combination of cut off wheels, one on a 4 inch grinder and another on my Dremel tool to cut out the factory plastic. If you have a small recip saw this would be the tool to use. But I don't have one, so I used what I had.
Now that you have cut out the grille, use a sander and dress up all the ragged cuts. Smooth everything down nicely. I used a sanding drum on my Dremel to do this.
Now that everything is smoothed out, shoot some black spray paint on the plastic. It just helps make everything blend and look better, not necessary since most of it will never be seen again. But it's a nice touch to do it.
After your paint has dried remove the masking tape and clean the remaining parts of the grille if needed.
Lay your new billet grilles out and use the supplied hardware to attach them to the factory surround.
I masked off the bow tie and sanded it down with some 1000 grit paper.
Then used some Dupli Color adhesion Promoter and Victory Red topped with 5 coats of clear.
All installed, it turned out pretty good.
