How To: Better secure your front grill

[Notifier]

This is an easy mod to help prevent your front grill from walking away unexpectedly...

Obtain two sheet metal screws - at a minimum you will need 1" long screws. I used two 1" #10 spanner type stainless steel screws. Spanner screws are nice because they are tamper resistant, most people don't carry around a spanner driver. However, for this application you could easily just use Phillips screws if you didn't want to go through the trouble of finding the screws and driver. I would also recommend spending the extra money on stainless to keep them from rusting out.

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Install one screw into one side of the front grill, next to the high beam bulb. There are two grey plastic wedged shaped supports behind that will accept the screws. See the picture below for the exact location to install the screw.

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- Remove the grill, pre-drill the location of the screw, then reinstall the grill until all the studs engage onto the clips.
- Drive the screw into the pre-drilled hole until you feel it hit the support behind.
- Back the screw out and remove the grill again.
- You should have a mark on the support bracket where the screw hit, pre-drill on this mark. Watch your drill chuck so that it does not rub against the top of the bumper and leave a mark.
- Reinstall the grill (be sure to catch all the studs) and drive the screw home! Be careful not to overtighten.
- Repeat for the other side

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Paint your screws with some flat black spray paint before you install them to make them disappear!

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This may not make your grill 100% vandal proof, but it will make it much more difficult to remove. If someone really wants it, they will probably take it. But at least this may slow them down or keep someone looking to simply pop it off from running away with it.

[billet351]

I replaced the studs with bolts, bolting the grill onto the fascia from behind, while the fascia was off
Bill

[Michael]

Nice mod, looks good too.

[Bitsyncmaster]

I replaced the studs with bolts, bolting the grill onto the fascia from behind, while the fascia was off
Bill

That would work as long as the headlight buckets are out.

[SS Spoiler]

I hide my spare key behind the grill jn a magnetic box, easy to get to.

[Silverbullet]

I hide my spare key behind the grill jn a magnetic box, easy to get to.

Where do you park your car????? Just asking.... lol

[Nicholas R]

Where do you park your car????? Just asking.... lol

Huh? Why does it matter where it's parked? lol Hidden keys are for in case you loose your keys or lock your keys in your cars (though in a DeLorean it's about impossible to lock your keys inside, lol)

Man... I still can't believe someone would steal a grill...

What if you opened the holes up a tiny bit more in the fascia and put a rivetnut in? Then you wouldn't have to rely on a screw going into plastic to hold it in place. You could use a black oxide countersunk torx bit socket head cap screw that; it would be black and flush; pretty much only see if it you were trying to find it. Plus the torx would pretty much do the same as a security bit. Probably be just as safe with a standard allen head.

[ramblinmike]

I hide my spare key behind the grill jn a magnetic box, easy to get to.

Umm...what does your magnetic box stick to on your plastic grill?

[SS Spoiler]

Behind the vertical metal support in the center.

[Shep]

Huh? Why does it matter where it's parked?Well, if he knows where it's parked, he can take the grill off, get the key, and... you know... drive off in it? Seems pretty straightforward. (In all seriousness, I'm never condoning that; it was a joke, after all.)


What if you opened the holes up a tiny bit more in the fascia and put a rivetnut in? Then you wouldn't have to rely on a screw going into plastic to hold it in place. You could use a black oxide countersunk torx bit socket head cap screw that; it would be black and flush; pretty much only see if it you were trying to find it. Plus the torx would pretty much do the same as a security bit. Probably be just as safe with a standard allen head.I don't know about you, but I certainly would have no problem removing a torx or allen screw from a rivnut with a flathead screwdriver. If you're going to use a rivnut and want security, do yourself a favor and go with a tri-groove screw, or at the very least a security torx. Flathead screwdrivers are useless on those.

[Dangermouse]

Security torx are worthless in my experience

Step 1: use flat screwdriver to break off "tit" in center of security torx screw

Step 2: use flat screwdriver to remove now-standard torx

Step 3: profit

[Nicholas R]

Umm...what does your magnetic box stick to on your plastic grill?

The headlight brackets/frames are carbon steel. Perfect for holding onto a magnetic box.

[Notifier]

What if you opened the holes up a tiny bit more in the fascia and put a rivetnut in? Then you wouldn't have to rely on a screw going into plastic to hold it in place.

Actually after I did it I thought to myself something like a speed clip would probably work nice in there. Didn't have any around the house but might do that at a later date to give it a little more bite.

[Notifier]

Security torx are worthless in my experience

+1 to that. I come across both security torx and security allen screws at work, if I don't have my driver set with the security bits in it nearby I can just use a small flathead to get them unscrewed. The only time I have trouble is if they are really torqued in there.

This is my security driver set, I count 42 of what I would consider security bits in there.
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[Bitsyncmaster]

Actually after I did it I thought to myself something like a speed clip would probably work nice in there. Didn't have any around the house but might do that at a later date to give it a little more bite.

When I was at the hardware store looking for the span screws, I checked for an insert to use a machine screw but did not find anything I thought would work good in the plastic supports. Maybe a T nut would work but I just decided the larger #14 screw would hold just as good.

I think if I had the headlights removed, I would make an L bracket. That would be bolted at the back edge of the grill so you could not access it without removing the headlights. Then the other end of the bracket would bolt to the Stainless back plate behind the grill.

[Shep]

Security torx are worthless in my experienceHence "at the very least". It's still better than a normal torx, if only marginally.


This is my security driver set, I count 42 of what I would consider security bits in there.
13106Hard to tell from the blurry picture, but I don't think there's any tri-groove bits in there. Looks like I'll be going that option when I do this to my D.

[Notifier]

Hard to tell from the blurry picture, but I don't think there's any tri-groove bits in there. Looks like I'll be going that option when I do this to my D.

Gotta stop drinking coffee before running out into the garage with the camera... Yea, no tri-groove driver in there. But this bit set has gotten me into a lot of things someone else didn't want me messing with! Actually my favorite bit in the set is the Y shaped bit used for wing nuts. Last time I used it my fingers were too fat to get where they needed and this really helped out. Here's the link with what's in there: http://www.proskit.com/screwdrivers/security/62-pc-security-bit-set

I'll start carrying around a crow bar!

[Spittybug]

Since I had the bumper off I decided to go ahead and make this mod. Instead of making it removable with the bumper on, I decided to use carriage bolts (SS) with the heads on the outside, nuts on the inside. I couldn't come up with a valid reason to need to pull the grill off, so making it part of the bumper/fascia wasn't an issue for me.

[Shep]

So, uh, what am I looking at there, Owen? :confused0: I know it's the grill and front fascia, but I cannot for the life of me figure out the orientation of the camera in relation to whatever I'm looking at... Maybe I need a little more visual context?

[cybercusp]

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This is what happens when you don't secure your grill right!

[Spittybug]

So, uh, what am I looking at there, Owen? :confused0: I know it's the grill and front fascia, but I cannot for the life of me figure out the orientation of the camera in relation to whatever I'm looking at... Maybe I need a little more visual context?

The head of the bolt is against the side of the pop out grill. We're looking from the back of the fascia remember. The hole with the brown (actually the garage floor) is where the headlights poke through. In the picture, the top of the fascia is at the bottom. How could you not recognize all of this? :tongue:

[dmc6960]

I couldn't come up with a valid reason to need to pull the grill off

Hood light harness plug access?

[Spittybug]

Funny you should ask.... I was about to put everything back together and then I remembered those plugs. Luckily there is enough slack in the harness to pass the two connectors up through the metal plate before remounting the fascia. A little clamp to prevent them from falling back through and voila. When the hood goes back on and the plugs reconnected, they will be allowed to fall back down into the cutout hole.

I've concluded one of the toughest nuts/bolts to reach is the one holding the front spoiler to the fascia on the driver side front. The damned windshield fluid bucket gets in the way. Can't use a socket because of the spoiler getting in the way. Minimal room for wrench. It's a finger tester!