JpL4K3
Moderator
Ford finally gave the V6 Mustang a stylish front end for the 2010 - 2012 model years, but many v6 mustang enthusiasts have been itching to give their mustang a more aggressive look up front without swapping to a GT front end. So far there haven't been many aftermarket solutions to dressing up the front end on our 6 cylinders, but fortunately for us we ran into the guys at UTV Products who builds a sweet looking billet grill setup for our v6 front ends. We took the opportunity to install one of these on our project 2012 v6 mustang;
We first prepare the installation by popping the hood on our Mustang
Next we unboxed our UTV Billet Grills, and were extremely impressed with the craftsmanship on these grills. Very professional looking and top notch quality. We ordered the high gloss finish.
Here is a picture of me reading over the supplied directions. lol I appear to be taking this way to seriously.
So we begin by removing the 8 plastic fasteners in the radiator cover
Once all are removed it will lift right out
Here is what you see looking down behind the factory grill
This next step is a little tricky. Behind the factory grill there is several plastic tabs holding it in, the instructions stated to pop them out one side at a time. Becareful because we applied a decent amout of pressure on the side closest to the drivers side headlight, and the whole grill came flying out.
Once the grill is out you're left with this.
Since now we have the factory grill removed, we will begin with installing the lower portion of the billet grill. This part is extremely easy. You simply place the lower grill on top of the factory honeycomb and center it. Use the 4 supplied tie straps to strap it in the 4 corners of the lower grill. This will be plenty to firmly hold the grill in place, and the black tie straps are not visible. (no, those are not my finger nails. The wife wanted to help install)
Now here is where things get a little tricky. Test fit the upper UTV grill where the factory grill sat, slide it forwards, backwards, left or right, until you're happy with its position. Then using a sharp end mark the 4 mounting locations in your bumper. The UTV Grill requires you to drill 4 small holes into the stock bumper, this is how the UTV grill is intended to mount, and I admit that I was nervous drilling into my new car. The area was very tight to navigate my drill in there too.
Using the supplied bolts, washers, and lock nuts I secured the bottom of the grill on the horizontal section of the front bumper with ease. The bolts they supplied were NOT long enough to hook into the drilled holes in the vertical section of the bumper, and space was extremely tight with the bumper still on the car. I'm not sure if it would have been any easier removing the bumper.
So I had to come up with a different solution. I had some heavy duty tie straps in my garage, and decided to use 2 of those to secure the top part of the grill. With the two bolts at the bottom section of the grill, and tie straps at the top it holds the upper grill firmly with absolutely no movement. I wish I would have thought about this at first, because it would have saved 2 holes from being put into my bumper.
My photos show white tie straps (at the time its all I had) but I have since swapped them for black straps.
They're almost invisible now.
We first prepare the installation by popping the hood on our Mustang
Next we unboxed our UTV Billet Grills, and were extremely impressed with the craftsmanship on these grills. Very professional looking and top notch quality. We ordered the high gloss finish.
Here is a picture of me reading over the supplied directions. lol I appear to be taking this way to seriously.
So we begin by removing the 8 plastic fasteners in the radiator cover
Once all are removed it will lift right out
Here is what you see looking down behind the factory grill
This next step is a little tricky. Behind the factory grill there is several plastic tabs holding it in, the instructions stated to pop them out one side at a time. Becareful because we applied a decent amout of pressure on the side closest to the drivers side headlight, and the whole grill came flying out.
Once the grill is out you're left with this.
Since now we have the factory grill removed, we will begin with installing the lower portion of the billet grill. This part is extremely easy. You simply place the lower grill on top of the factory honeycomb and center it. Use the 4 supplied tie straps to strap it in the 4 corners of the lower grill. This will be plenty to firmly hold the grill in place, and the black tie straps are not visible. (no, those are not my finger nails. The wife wanted to help install)
Now here is where things get a little tricky. Test fit the upper UTV grill where the factory grill sat, slide it forwards, backwards, left or right, until you're happy with its position. Then using a sharp end mark the 4 mounting locations in your bumper. The UTV Grill requires you to drill 4 small holes into the stock bumper, this is how the UTV grill is intended to mount, and I admit that I was nervous drilling into my new car. The area was very tight to navigate my drill in there too.
Using the supplied bolts, washers, and lock nuts I secured the bottom of the grill on the horizontal section of the front bumper with ease. The bolts they supplied were NOT long enough to hook into the drilled holes in the vertical section of the bumper, and space was extremely tight with the bumper still on the car. I'm not sure if it would have been any easier removing the bumper.
So I had to come up with a different solution. I had some heavy duty tie straps in my garage, and decided to use 2 of those to secure the top part of the grill. With the two bolts at the bottom section of the grill, and tie straps at the top it holds the upper grill firmly with absolutely no movement. I wish I would have thought about this at first, because it would have saved 2 holes from being put into my bumper.
My photos show white tie straps (at the time its all I had) but I have since swapped them for black straps.
They're almost invisible now.
lol very nice james.
