How do I fit a new front grille?

Post by **hammy1708** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 10:27 pm

Hi

I've recently bought some new hockey sticks, grille, grille surround & top bar and went out at the weekend with all good intentions, as after all I keep being told "everything on a Minor is easy, they just bolt together"

The Hockey sticks are okay, I can see how they come off/go in but I can't for the life of me work out how to get the old grille out & the new one in.

Am I right in thinking that I have to take the radiator out? or does the whole front come off somehow. Or am I now a laughing stock because everyone out there knows that you should never ever try to replace a grille??

Any advise is very very welcome.

Post by **minor_hickup** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:20 pm

Not at all! You need to remove the bumper, then hockey sticks, there are 2 bolts each side onto the wing accesable under the bonnet and several bolts under the front grille panel. You then remove this after taking the radiator off to put the new grille in.

Post by **chickenjohn** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 7:28 am

The grille is sandwiched between the front panel and the cowl. - cowl is the bit the rad bolts tp. The grille is held onto the front panel with four screws. Looking at my Traveller resto pics, I think you need to remove the radiator, then the whole front panel/cowl/grille assembly, then you can strip it all down seperately. Thats what I did anyway. Yes, its all bolted/screwed together, as you say.

Also, in order to fit the top chrome piece, the front assembly needs to come apart- be warned the nuts bolts that hold the assembly to the bottom of the engine bay may be all rusted solid. They all sheared off on my car!

Post by **hammy1708** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 5:46 pm

Hi guys,

thanks very much for your replies, I eally appreciate your advice.

Lets hope for good weather this Saturday because I'll be out there with a printed version of this page, socket set and a healthy dose of enthusiam and determination

happy motering

Post by **chickenjohn** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 5:57 pm

Good for you Craig! Your car looks in great condition! So hopefully, the nuts and bolts will undo

If i was you, I'd squirt some penetrating fluid on the nuts and bolts at the bottom end of the front panel this evening to give them a chance of undoing tomorrow.

If you're going to paint the grille (best to before fitting it- easier than after) then Old English white is the correct colour, or the creamy "Rover White" is virtually the same shade- available from Hellfrauds in aerosols.

You may also find some rust that needs treating on the cowl and rear parts of the front panel- these little jobs have a habit of "mushrooming!!!"

I personally found the restoration of the front panel/grille assembly very satisfying!

Good luck and have fun!

Post by **hammy1708** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 9:40 pm

Hello again!

A scraped knuckel, lost bolts (where do they go?) and a few swear words later and its complete!

I did have a hand from a friend with a good socket set but even as novices we managed it in about 3 hours (ciggerette and tea breaks included)

There was quite a bit of rust on the cowl and the back of the grille panel is covered in rust so much so that I'm looking to buy a new one and replace it (there are also a couple of patches on the front that I've treated with Kurust prior to touching in)

Some of the nuts were tighter than a you know what, and rusted so bad that the socket rounded one off. there was also a strange mix of sizes which seems to indicate that someone had carried out some adjustments previously.

One annoying thing is that I now have a small gap in between the right (facing) hockey stick and the top bar which I didn't have before and I did measure the new parts against the old ones and they were exact so I don't know, perhaps the car just breathed out a little when she was untrussed and refused to suck it back in when I put it all back together (like me and my belt!)

Well, next in line are the rear light chrome parts. Mine are like the surface of the moon!

I've included a coupe of pics to show my progress.

Regards

Post by **HarryMango** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 3:38 pm

hammy1708 wrote: One annoying thing is that I now have a small gap in between the right (facing) hockey stick and the top bar which I didn't have before and I did measure the new parts against the old ones and they were exact so I don't know.

Hi Craig
Congrats on getting the job done - I have had a similar problem to you in the past with the top bar. Unfortunately a lot of new parts are made to a poor standard (cheap) and although the top bar is the correct length the studs are probably slightly out of position so it still fits but its not perfectly central & there is no way to adjust it.

I & some others on here now try to buy New Old Stock bits where possible which are a much better quality & fit.

Rog

Post by **wibble_puppy** » Tue May 23, 2006 6:47 pm

loving your work craig, and the photos - and your writing style

Go Doris!!!