just drew out the design on a flat piece of aluminum, cut it out with a cutting wheel drilled the holes and painted it

 

I think if it looked as well done as the ford one I would seriously consider giving up my left nut

 

I'm going to have to agree with you on that. If i could figure out how to make one, and have it not look like a 4 year old did it, i defiantly would

 

gotta find someone with a computer controlled plasma cutter to get the letters. actually if you could come up with a design, they would probably be able to make you a full custom grill out of any material you like. That would be sweet on some aluminum diamond plate!

 

why not just cut it out of alum and skrew it in behind the grille.

 

You asked, I provide. I went with the teeth look as well. Just aluminum sheet metal, cut with tin snips, it's pretty rugged. Primed and painted with 500 degree F engine block gloss. 12 inch neon I got for free behind it and hooked up to a rocker switch. Took 4 1/2 hours for it all.

First pic is grille being fit, second is day, and 3rd is night. Enjoy!

 

thats not a bad idea, but it wouldn't look the same

 

Whaddya mean?

 

Bump. Anyone else have input?

 

oh my bad i was talking to xjrev10 i just forgot to quote it

 

Lol, gotchyee.

 

I would love to see that thing in my rear view mirror some evening. When will you start adding stuffed squirrels and arms from the jaws of your XJ?

s

 

looks good kmart! haha it makes me laugh to see someone else do it too.... i definately thought about putting a teddy bear in my grill and spray painting it red lol

 

that would be alsome

i think im going to make the jeep grill for my gc out of dp

 

Instead of accessing a computer controlled plasma cutter, why not just get a piece of sheet aluminum (or steel, which would keep sticks and branches from poking big holes in everything...and isn't that kinda the point of a grille anyway?), measure it to fit just inside the stock plastic grille frame, trim the vertical bars off of the stock grille so you have a border that makes it look more professional (though I still like the homebrew look), then simply mark in sharpie your vertical and horizontal meridian lines, draw a box for your letters (check out calligraphy books for letter placement ideas...trust me, I'm a calligrapher too, and it makes a HUGE difference if your letters are proportioned and spaced correctly for the font you're using), then just use a drill press or hand drill (brad tip pref so it doesn't skip, with tape squares to keep the holes clean) and punch out the letters in 2 or 3 dot rows (think bullet holes or the old pin-style printers). That way, you have the logo, but in a very clean, professional way without the hassle of plasma or saw cutting. I mean, pretty much anyone reading this can use a drill...then just clean up with acetone, and polish it! I'll post a pic of a fab diagram later.

Keep in mind, just an idea, haven't built it, though I might.

Another solution would be to mark out the holes as above, then on the front facing side, deeply score an asterisk (6 point) star *, then drill a SMALL (and i mean the smallest bit you have) hole EXACTLY in the center of each score-star, turn it over (on 2-3" support blocks, especially between the letters, or just make a small 2x4 box) and using a 1/2 or 3/4" punch (hell, even a grinder sharpened rebar would work I guess), and punch through using a BFH so you can do it in one clean hit. The end result would be bullet hole looking holes in the Jeep logo. Hopefully... I'll have to try it first on some scrap but it should work. Then you could repeat the process in some "random" places elsewhere on the grill to tie it all in. I personally wouldn't paint it but leave it bare, maybe a clear coat of something to keep it from rusting if you use steel.

Oh and btw, the closest font I found if you want to print it out then mark it on your metal is Arial. Just make sure to square off the ends of the letters 'E' and 'J' and make the loop of the 'P' uniform instead of tapering at the top and bottom. I am sooooo doing this, I can't wait to put up some fabbing photos.