grill material...hey it's almost summer!

[speedo]

My fiberglass RS stuff is about to arrive from Pelican, and I'm curious what people are using for grill material. I've got a used 74 RS glass bumper (that I'm not going to use) that was raced for awhile and the grill material protecting the front oil cooler looks ...like... it ...came off a barbeque. Now that I'm in the process of looking, I see cars everywhere with a variety of grill patterns....honeycomb, circles, and patterns similar to our rear deck grills. I will paint it black in any case...any suggestions ? I'm tempted to go to a junkyard and look around for something off a wreck that doesn't have an emblem in the middle of it Oh yeah , will the person responsible for buying up all the older RX-7 oil coolers cut it out! Any other retro-ideas for budget oil coolers with acceptable dimensions for putting up front? Look Mom, his flares are on !

[rfuerst911sc]

I don't know the dimensions of the opening on your car but if you go to your local lumber/hardware store you can look at gutter guards,this is the material that covers rain gutters to keep out leaves,it usually comes in rolls,can be black or silver in color and can be made of plastic or aluminum.Also you can look at hardware cloth,this is a galvanized metal screen/grid that can be purchased in 1/8,1/4,1/2 inch openings and is usually sold by the foot or in a roll and can be 24,36 or 48 inches wide,I used this material to make a screen for my Carrera tail.Hope this helps.

[pbs911]

I used a 911 deck lid grill and cut to fit.

[stomachmonkey]

What dimentions are you shooting for on the oil cooler? May have something for you.

Scott

[RickM]

The same hardware stores that sell gutter guards may sell expanded metal which is the same diamond pattern but a bit sturdier. I have the company name if interested.

I fabricated a custom grill for the opening in front of my 930s air dam. I used a junkyard Audi Fox grill and some very easily fabricated removable fasteners. It looks totally factory.

If your interested I'll take some digi-pics and post.

[Zeke]

The stainless steel mesh used on NASCAR stock cars is the hot ticket. Those guys spray PAM on it before the race so tire rubber will not build up and close the opening (it still does, however). This mesh looks the part, the real deal and all that jazz, but it is hard to find. If anyone has some or knows where it comes from, let me know. This mesh is way better looking than any engine grille material or expanded metal. Plus, it doesn't chip.

[RickM]

Zeke, I believe the manufacturer of the expanded metal I purchased comes in Aluminum, Carbon and stailess steel. They may have other patterns other than diamond. Do you have a pic of the grill?

[911pcars]

I purchased the stainless steel mesh from Pegasus Racing. It comes in three mesh-opening dimensions. I think I used the middle-sized one. I'd recommend this over hardware store materials because the mesh is thin enough for good airflow, yet stiff enough to prevent an indirect hit from a rock into the precious oil cooler which, in my case, is mere fractions of an inch behind it.

The perforated metal design looks nice, but there's too much metal and not enough "hole" for air. A good dynamic load test is the 3-and-2-count-with-the-bases-loaded pitch into your material of choice. Don't try this at home and don't try this with it mounted in your bumper.

Sherwood Lee
http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars

[speedo]

Sherwood, I tried a couple searches for Pegasus Racing and came up with a lot of nothing about sailboats! Geez, what a waste of money...can you believe people dump that much time and energy into a sport that is so individualistic...sailing grossly expensive boats around...racing each other on weekends...oblivious to the rest of the planet....nestled in their own little worlds with their like-minded buddies....shamlessly pouring good dollars into their personal money pits. Man am I glad we're not like that...whew! Oh yeah, could you please give me a good link to the Pegasus auto guys?

[typ550]

You might try McNichols. They provide a variety of wirecloth products in aluminum, stainless, etc. I am using some of their material for grill inserts on my MGA. Works very well.

You may have a McNichols distribution center near you (we have one here in ATL) or you can check www.mcnichols.com.

Good luck.

[85eurocarrera]

I used perforated alluminum sheet. Think I got it at www.mcmastercarr.com. Alluminum cuts and bends nicely but harder to paint if you decide to.
Joe

[911/914gary]

Use caution with the metal that you select. Off the shelf metals probably have some kind of corrosion protection coating. This coating may be a passivated or cad plating process. These platings will burn off in time but at toxic level.

[RallyJon]

and patterns similar to our rear deck grills

I'm not sure what the origin of this grill is, but it looks pretty factory--or like a BBQ, depending on your perspective:

[RickM]

Speedo, I'll take pics this weekend and post here.
Rick

[911pcars]

Speedo,
Pegasus Racing is at www.pegasusracing.com. Their number is 800-688-6946 (no affiliation). They carry in 18x24" and 24x36" sheets. A metal supply company may not sell in sizes less than their off-the-shelf dimensions.

The boat guys would never go for this; doesn't float, doesn't cost enough.

Sherwood