EB grille in a B2.

bigswede · Post by **bigswede** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 8:40 am

How tough is this little swap, I kinda like the look.

Post by **Nobody** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 9:25 am

Depends on how nice you want it. Mines not very nice, but it didn't take me very long either

Getting pretty lines won't be easy unless you plan on working the grill into the fenders....which I avoided because I wanted to be able to remove my fenders easily.

I lack body fab skillz, but a little tip from Wilber is expanding foam

Thanks to wilber, my bronco is about 90% expanding foam now

I can't really offer much advice other than start hacking.

bigswede · Post by **bigswede** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 7:04 pm

So does the grille hafta be modded or just the B2 frontend?

Post by **Nobody** » Thu Jun 17, 2004 8:23 pm

I cut the outsides of the grill down and didn't change anything on the front end. I ran a piece of angle iron between the fenders, and mounted the grill to that.

wilber · Post by **wilber** » Wed Jul 07, 2004 5:27 pm

glad i could help ya out matt

what year b2 is it that your putting the grill on? i did the 89 style and had to cut quite a bit off the grill to get it in there, then a bolt and a few zip ties and bam, there she is

lilBro · Post by **lilBro** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 3:06 pm

First, sorry if I piss anyone off for resurrecting this year-old thread.

I have done so because I have just sent payment for my EB grill which I bought on Ebay for a whopping $20 + shipping, and I will be getting ready to do this sweet little grill mod before long.

I figured it would be better to build on the existing topic, than to start a new one for the same thing

Here's hoping some fresh juices have circulated in the brains since last July.

I'll be sure to add details of my own installation, in an '87 BroII.

My plan is to cut it down to the shell section and add a concealed lip around the edge for screws that can be attached to the insides of the fenders with spring nuts.

Post by **Nobody** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 4:01 pm

Well, I just Fubar'd my grill while out wheelin last weekend, so I'll be pulling it off to straighten it out. Maybe I'll snap some pics. and get it mounted a little better.

Part of my problem is the inner body and core support on my BII are trashed, so I haven't put a lot of effort into making it nice.

I haven't really seen anyone else do this. My friend Roger pioneered the idea, and then I did it. I think Wilber is the only other one follow suit. We all did it a little different.

BTW- nice score on the $20 grill!

lilBro · Post by **lilBro** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 6:40 pm

Thanks man. Sorry to hear you fubar'd

I never cared for square headlights.
Your grill tech was what tuned me in to the possibility of the grill swap.

Without this website and you & your buddies skills, I would never have known it was possible.

Here's the auction pic of the grill.
I probably won't get it until next week (coming from Ky to Ca) I'll be getting new cutting wheels for the Dremel well in advance though

There's a little rust, but it looks mostly surface.
There's a piece cut out of the outer part that aligns with the EB fender, but I think it's going to end up being chopped off anyways.

Post by **Nobody** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 7:41 pm

Yep, round headlights are pretty

I hated those stupid plastic grills. You look at them wrong and they blow into pieces.

The main reason I did the swap was I planned on building a new radiator core support. Since the headlights mount in the EB grill, that would free up some space for my radiator. I still haven't gotten around to that

EBSTEVE · Post by **EBSTEVE** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 7:55 am

Nobody wrote: The main reason I did the swap was

your dumb ass buddy lost his 36" SX down a hill and exploded your plastic one

but at least he had given you his old EB grill.
I still remember the look on your face when the grill blew up and when you said you just put it on that morning.

Post by **Nobody** » Fri Jun 03, 2005 8:34 am

EBSTEVE wrote:
Nobody wrote: The main reason I did the swap was
I still remember the look on your face when the grill blew up and when you said you just put it on that morning.

Post by **Nobody** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 8:31 pm

So as I mentioned before, I ran a piece of angle between the fenders, then mounted the grill to that. I think that makes a good start.

Around the fenders, my grill is just a rough cut. With a little patients, I think you could hammer/weld/fab so the grill would mate up to the fender nicely, then run some screws into the fender or something. I might try to at least get some duct tape on there

My bronco is a trail rig, so as you can tell, I'm not too concerned with looks.

lilBro · Post by **lilBro** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 9:55 am

Did you have any issues with the headlights and stuff, and clearance?

I'm going to try to roll a lip on the outer edge, and see if I can attach the grill right to the sheetmetal the curls behind the stock grill ('87 front end).

Attach with a half dozen security screws along the sides, then fab up a center brace just for a little stability.

Either that or fold a new lip that would reside behind the fender, and run the screws from the fender into the grill (does that make sense?)
It kinda looks like it's done that way on Wilbers truck.

Either way, I want the grill to set back a little bit, I like that sunken-in appearance.

I think I recall you or someone else saying it looked to be easier to adapt to the early front end as opposed to the front end with the wrap-around lights ('second gen'?)

Post by **Nobody** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 10:15 am

The only clearance issues that I recall were the hood latch, and center brace for the stock grill. I trimmed up the hood latch bent the center brace out of the way. I planned on building a new core support, and adding a few spots for the grill to attach. Stilll might happen......someday.

Sounds like you have a plan. I'll be curious to see how it turns out. Maybe I'll copy some of your ideas

Wilbers rig is the 89+ body style. It took a little extra work to cover up the turn signal holes in the fender.

lilBro · Post by **lilBro** » Fri Jun 10, 2005 6:44 pm

Well I'll be truthful, I can't stand the stock location for the hoodlatch handle, it's constantly hanging up on the cuff of my pants when I clutch.

I thought about it for a while, and I think I'll remove the entire assembly from handle to hood, and trade up for some hoodpins with the cylinder or barrel-type key & lock.

Kill two birds with one stone