Fear of Mods

[Jeff V]

I'm a new (three weeks) owner myself, never modified a car, and I've been on this board every day. At first I was in awe of what these guys write. Now I find myself ranking every mod I see and thinking of combinations I will want to do. A week or so ago I was sure I was going to get one of those plastic chrome grills, but now no way. Stick around and only make the mods that you consider come to life when you are sure. You'll know it when you are.

If you haven't cruised Maryland, you haven't cruised.

(unless you cruised somewhere else)

[cruisergeo]

<img src=icon_smile_cool.gif border=0 align=middle>Jeff V,
I bought a red touring edition last August. but, I had been on the net for about a year looking at the sites and planning what I thought I wanted to do to it. After serious deliberation I did decide on not getting the Full Chrome grille. To me its too much chrome. So I got the Chrome Strips. Adds just enough to keep me happy. I have a number of other small mods, just to make it say Hello. Check out the mods at my site listed below.

<img src=icon_smile_question.gif border=0 align=middle>

Cruisergeo
My Website is
http://cruisergeo.tripod.com/

[renichms]

What's a mod?

E&G grill I got fit better than Stull...if you are meaning to get a horizontal billet grill, I'd go E&G...also costs less. <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

RN

See Mephisto


2001 Silver LE 5-speed with: way too much to list here (255 character limit)

[Jeff V]

I feel kinda guilty about turning this thread into another one about chrome grills, but... Geo, thanks for sharing comments about grill and your website. Are those grill strips chrome, or plastic "extruded" chrome? I ask because I think it was Jody who posted on ptdoityourself.net that after ten months the chrome strips became brittle, UV damaged in places, etc. and had to replace them. I have to admit your photos are fantastic. If plastic, what brand were the strips (what brand does pt woody use?) and how long has the grill been on and how satisfied are you with the passage of time?

If you haven't cruised Maryland, you haven't cruised.

(unless you cruised somewhere else)

[bemo]

Jeff V,

LOL. Don't worry, your post fits perfectly into the "fear of mods" theme.

I appreciate all the excellent replies. I'll take it slow and keep reading. At some point I'm pretty sure I'll have a horizontal grille treatment (RN - thks for the E&G tip). It might depend on which vendor addresses the GT differences. Might have to let Jeff jump first though since he seems at least as itchy as I am.

Does anyone happen to know if the entire grille is different on the GT or just the bottom part? What I'm curious about is perhaps doing a billet top and extruded bottom. Thanks again everyone for their input.

[cruisergeo]

Jeff V
My grille is plastic "extruded" chrome.
I got it the last of August and keep it clean all the time.
I've had no problems with it or the plastic chrome bumperstrips. They still look as nice as the day I put them on. The temps have gone from
107 in August to under 10 this winter and they are still bright and shiney and are firmly attached. The very first thing I bought was the door handle guards and the back bumper guard. I did not want to have the little scratches caused from finger nails and rings marring the paint under the door handles, and if you scratch the back bumper its bad, so I decided to get the bumper guard and I'm really glad I did.
When my daughter bought her white limited I got them for her. They look great.
<img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_question.gif border=0 align=middle>

Cruisergeo
My Website is
http://cruisergeo.tripod.com/

[Scootin]

Anybody done running boards yet? I'm and old guy and these look neat. How tough to install if you have no skills?

[Scootin]

Tuff.

[2sb]

Using billet on top and extruded on bottom will show two different looks. The billet appears as a solid "chrome" rib where extruded shows as a body-colored rib with a chrome leading edge. Also spacing is much different unless billet has only seven ribs. I used TRIM-GARD brand extrusion on mine and it's supposed to be UV protected. It was applied April '02 and been through one Texas summer. The extruded part is as flexable as the day it went on. The ends I tried to taper, "chrome", and cover with nail polish have yellowed and turned brittle. Turns out nail polish has no UV protection. I'm currently redoing them so if you want an old one to see, give me your address.

[Jeff V]

Yes, chrome grill is the number one mod I want to do. The catch is this - I think the extruded chrome strips look BETTER than the billet grills when first applied. PTdoityourself.net has some really nice close-up photos of the "full English grill" Jody (I think) did. Of all the grills I've seen I think that one compliments a black cruiser the best. But again, Jody posted ten months later about the deterioration and intent to redo. Add to that the worries of the 3M adhesive ripping paint off with it and, and, and...OH I'VE GOTTEN MYSELF ALL WORKED UP AGAIN!!

Anyway, I'm going to wait at least one more month for several reasons - 1) gives me another month to accumulate info about durability of extruded grills, 2) gives manufacturers more time to come out with grills to fit GT, 3) I notice the prices on some grills are starting to come down a little and I want more of a price break, and 4) lets me see more of what is available.

I appreciate the tip on E&G too. One thing I notice on rens pic is that the veritcal bars seem to show more through the lower grill than the upper grill. I definitely want a uniform look.

I got my autotechnica chrome headlight trim in the mail the other day (great price - $47.50) and they fit great. I just laid them on there, it's too cold to apply them permanently right now. But I just know when I do I'll be even more anxious for a chrome grill.

If you haven't cruised Maryland, you haven't cruised.

(unless you cruised somewhere else)