How to make a phantom grill (For a hardbody)

Written By Ronnie

Materials 16 - 1/8” x 5/8” x 55” aluminum bars (one bar will be used for making mounting brackets) 1 - 3/8”od x ¼”id x 3’ aluminum pipe 5 - ¼” x 7 1/ 8” aluminum rod 21 - Screws #6 x ½ 21 - Washers #6

Step #1: Take one of the bars and drill five ¼” holes as shown in Figure A. Figure A

Step #2: Take the bar that you just drilled and use it as a template to drill 14 more bars (15 in total).

Step #3: Now take all the bars and cut a slot at each hole using whatever you have available (band saw, hack saw, grinder with a thin cut off wheel…..etc.). All the cuts must be on the same side. Figure B. Figure B

Step #4: Using your hood as a template, bend all the bars until they match the contour of the hood. Figure C+D. Figure C

Figure D

Step #5: Once all the bars have the same contour as the hood, you will need to stack them all together and open up all the holes with a 9/32” drill bit because the ¼” holes are now smaller after you bend them. As you drill the holes, put a rod through them before you move on to the next set of holes. This will keep everything lined up.

Step #6: Take the 3/8”od X ¼”id pipe to a machine shop and have them cut it into 3/8” spacers. You will need 70 in total so 3’ should be more than enough. Don’t even think about trying to cut them by hand because chances are that they will all be different sizes and uneven cuts. Trust me, I tried.

Step #7: If you haven’t done so already, cut the ¼” rods to 7 1/8” in length (5 in total). Drill a 3/32 hole in both ends of each rod about ½” deep. This can be a bit tricky so be careful.

Step #8: Cut, bend, and drill all the brackets shown in Figures E-I.

Figure E – Top Center A

Figure F – Tope Center B

Figure G - Top Side A (2 required)

X2

Figure H – Top Side B (2 required)

X2 Figure I – Bottom (2 required)

X2

Centerline for 1/8” holes Centerline for 3/32” holes

Assembly

Step #9: Put a screw and washer into one end of 3 rods. Figure J. Put a screw and washer through the lower brackets (Figure I) and into the remaining 2 rods. Figures K. Figure J – Rods #1, 3, 5 Figure K – Rods #2, 4

Step #10: Pass the rods through one of the bars in order (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Figure L. Figure L

Step #11: Slide one spacer over each rod then slide another bar over the rods and repeat until all the bars and spacers are on the rods. Figure M. Figure M

Step #12: Put a screw and washer into the top of rods #1 and #5 to hold everything together.

Step #13: Assemble the top side brackets A+B (Figures G+H) together as shown in Figure N then screw it into the top of rod #2 and #4. Figure N

Step #14: Assemble the top center brackets A+B (Figures E+F) together and screw it into rod #3. Figure O. Figure O

Step #15: Once everything is assembled it should look something like Figure P. Figure P

Step #16: Grab a can of gloss black spray paint and spray the entire thing. Don’t use flat black because it is a real pain to clean. Before the paint dries, use a rag and some lacquer thinner and carefully wipe the paint off the outer surface to expose the aluminum.

Step #17: Once the paint dries, it is ready to be screwed onto the radiator support. A second set of hands will be helpful to line everything up while you are screwing it in.