How do you remove the front Grill on a Vantage

[DaveV8V]

Good afternoon all,

I would be grateful if someone could advise on the removal of the front grill. Do you need to take off the Slam Panel in the engine bay or can the grill be removed with this in place? I still have my number plate plinth, so I assume that will add to the fun and games (as per the plinth removal in the FAQ thread)

I have tried using the Search function for the grill, but it only comes up with removing the splitter

Many thanks

Dave

[DAMIT]

DaveV8V said:

Good afternoon all,

I would be grateful if someone could advise on the removal of the front grill. Do you need to take off the Slam Panel in the engine bay or can the grill be removed with this in place? I still have my number plate plinth, so I assume that will add to the fun and games

Yes Slam Panel OFF and plate plinth also then easy removal of grill.

Plinth may be the most difficult to remove, it was on Mine!

[DaveV8V]

DAMIT said:

Yes Slam Panel OFF and plate plinth also then easy removal of grill.

Plinth may be the most difficult to remove, it was on Mine!

Thanks Damit,

Can you remember if they are bolts or screws holding on the grill?

[DAMIT]

DaveV8V said:

Thanks Damit,

Can you remember if they are bolts or screws holding on the grill?

There are a number of torx screws with a small nuts on the back. That is why you need to remove the Slam Panel to get at them/hold them while undoing them from the front.

I think there are a couple of main bolts at each side as well.

[northernmedia]

I didn't remove the slam panel.
Takes about 5 mins, some fiddly small nuts to contend with though!
I think there are 6 through the grille and 2 to the sides?

[telum01]

Process for the 8-bar grille, not sure if the 6-bar is different:

1) Remove the slam panel. If I remember correctly, they're T27 torx bolts.
2) There are 6 torx bolts seen through the front of the grille. Use a T25 torx bit and reach through the slats to remove those bolts.
3) There are 2 small nuts accessed from behind the grille, near its middle. With the slam panel removed, you can reach behind the grille with a 7mm wrench to loosen them, then spin them off with your finger.
4) Carefully pull the grille forward to remove it.
5) Reinstall by reversing the steps above.

[SHIFTY]

When I swapped my grill I just pulled each slat out, undone the torx screws, put new grill in, put bolts in and replaced all slats no need to take off engine cover.

The slats are a push fit into the grill surround.

[cayman-black]

northernmedia said:

I didn't remove the slam panel.
Takes about 5 mins, some fiddly small nuts to contend with though!
I think there are 6 through the grille and 2 to the sides?

^This i did not need to remove slam panel on mine.

[DaveV8V]

Thank you all very much for the advice, this is what I love about the forum. There are always people willing to to take the time to offer help and words of encouragement.

SHIFTY said:

When I swapped my grill I just pulled each slat out, undone the torx screws, put new grill in, put bolts in and replaced all slats no need to take off engine cover.

The slats are a push fit into the grill surround.

How hard is it to pull the slats out, does it require a fair bit of force? I was going to swap the entire grill while I have the existing repainted, but if I can just pull the slats out

Will probably give it a go on Saturday when the sun isn't quite as hot and summer is over

[peterr96]

Be prepared to have one or some of the screws sheer off. The steel screws can corrode in the aluminium castings.
I ended up having to drill out the old sheared screw and retap the thread.
Don't recall having to remove the slam panel, but it was a while ago.

Good luck

[telum01]

You don't have to take the slam panel off, but I do because it makes it far easier to access the 7mm nuts and reduces the risk of scratching or otherwise damaging the grille or the slam panel itself while getting at those two nuts. The slam panel only takes a few seconds to remove/reinstall so it's worth the extra step in my opinion.

DaveV8V said:

How hard is it to pull the slats out, does it require a fair bit of force? I was going to swap the entire grill while I have the existing repainted, but if I can just pull the slats out

Seems silly to me to disassemble the grille to access the torx bolts. There's no reason to do that. The horizontal slats are press-fit into the vertical pieces. You run a far greater risk of damaging the grille if you try to disassemble it.

Edited by telum01 on Thursday 21st July 16:49

[SHIFTY]

When an AM dealership swaps a grill out they remove two slats out of the grill to get to the screws holding the grill in and do the same on the replacement grill.

The slats are only a push fit.

[DaveV8V]

UPDATE: Finally got around to replacing my grill last week and wanted to thank all for all the helpful advice. Knowing the potential pitfalls beforehand made it a breeze when initially I couldn't get the number plate off and then when I had to remove the slam panel (my hands are the size of shovels) to get at the two nuts on the grill.
The reason for wanting to remove my grill was the original needed a refurb as it was showing the ravages of stone chipping and this was made more evident due to the colour being Anthracite to match the wheels (Body colour - Onyx Black). So the plan was to replace it with a standard grill while the other Anthracite was re-painted. It is amazing how much of a difference changing the grill has made, the Anthracite grill gave the car in my opinion a very aggressive look. Now after changing to the standard brightwork the car has more of a classy front end.
IMHO there is no clear cut winner as both have there pro's and con's, but it is nice option to have being able to change the appearance of the car with a quick 10 minute swap (if you don't have the Number Plate Plinth).