Meatful

The OEM grill was not repairable, so I put some lockdown time today into making a replacement. I used aluminum flat stock, angle aluminum, and some round head hex bolts. The securing points were OEM from the original plastic grill.

I hand bent the aluminum vertical supports into S-shapes to create a slight curve (and I don't have a metal brake anyway), drilled them out for bolts, and secured the angle aluminum crossbars to them. I made sure to keep the OEM spacing, and was frankly surprised that the cross section of the angle aluminum I grabbed from the bin at the hardware store was roughly the same frontal area as the factory piece. The final structure is quite strong. I haven't decided whether I will spray it.

This is all DIY grade; I'm not a fabricator or mechanic, just giving something a shot. I like the result.


1986.5 Porsche 928S custom grill front shot at bumper level

1986.5 Porsche 928S custom grill close-up from the (left-hand drive) driver's side

1986.5 Porsche 928S custom grill at eye-level

1986.5 Porsche 928S custom grill compared to OEM for spacing and frontal area

hernanca

I wanna see it painted, painted, painted, painted black... (Rolling Stones).

Good job. I believe keeping the proportions helps it look as good as it does.

Putting the verticals behind the horizontals would be even better IMO, but I suspect that would have been more difficult.

Overall, good job on a DIY fix!