After installing an HD upper grille back in March 2007 I often contemplated replacing the chrome moulding/OEM lower grille with the J-Jent grille as its most similar to the HD upper. I was reluctant to spend the money on one however, especially since I've heard about issues with the way they look when installed over the OEM lower grille as they are supposed to be.
A few months back I decided to jump on a reasonably priced used J-Jent lower grille listed in the classifieds by another member and I finally got around to customizing it to suit my desires... a J-Jent lower that sits recessed within the outer bezel the same way the bars of the HD upper are recessed within the outer bezel.
As it sits now I color matched the outer bezel of the lower grille DSG, but I may eventually have it chromed so it is almost identical to the HD upper. What do ya'll think... DSG or chrome outer bezel?
On to the pics:
OEM lower gutted so just the outer bezel remains:
I fiberglassed the grille to conceal the frame horns like the OEM lower did and also to give the J-Jents grille a way to mount:
Here you can see how the J-Jents sits recessed within the outer bezel. In order to accomplish this I had to shorten the bars of the grille so it could slip into the bezel :
Sanding of the fiberglass complete:
Bondo and sanding in progress:
A shot of the back side of the grille after paint:
A shot of the front side after paint:
This was my first attempt at a task like this... I've never worked with fiberglass and I have limited experience with bondo/body work. All-in-all I'm very pleased with how it turned out. With exception of the color matched outer bezel as opposed to chrome it is a near identical match to the style and appearance of the HD upper.
Close up pics of customized J-Jent lower:
For comparison, here's a J-Jent lower grille mounted to the OEM lower as its intended to be installed:
And some new pics of "Belle" I snapped today. Since the last pics I took she now has the J-Jents lower, clear corners, OEM tails (instead of color matched), OEM fuel door (instead of the billet fuel door) and I finally corrected the uneven bumper gap:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
A few months back I decided to jump on a reasonably priced used J-Jent lower grille listed in the classifieds by another member and I finally got around to customizing it to suit my desires... a J-Jent lower that sits recessed within the outer bezel the same way the bars of the HD upper are recessed within the outer bezel.
As it sits now I color matched the outer bezel of the lower grille DSG, but I may eventually have it chromed so it is almost identical to the HD upper. What do ya'll think... DSG or chrome outer bezel?
On to the pics:
OEM lower gutted so just the outer bezel remains:
I fiberglassed the grille to conceal the frame horns like the OEM lower did and also to give the J-Jents grille a way to mount:
Here you can see how the J-Jents sits recessed within the outer bezel. In order to accomplish this I had to shorten the bars of the grille so it could slip into the bezel :
Sanding of the fiberglass complete:
Bondo and sanding in progress:
A shot of the back side of the grille after paint:
A shot of the front side after paint:
This was my first attempt at a task like this... I've never worked with fiberglass and I have limited experience with bondo/body work. All-in-all I'm very pleased with how it turned out. With exception of the color matched outer bezel as opposed to chrome it is a near identical match to the style and appearance of the HD upper.
Close up pics of customized J-Jent lower:
For comparison, here's a J-Jent lower grille mounted to the OEM lower as its intended to be installed:
And some new pics of "Belle" I snapped today. Since the last pics I took she now has the J-Jents lower, clear corners, OEM tails (instead of color matched), OEM fuel door (instead of the billet fuel door) and I finally corrected the uneven bumper gap:
BEFORE:
AFTER:
