Evolution of a Gen 5.5 stainless mesh grill/pics of my grill - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

TRD VVTi · 08-25-2007, 12:02 AM

I've had alot of comments/questions about my grill here on TN and on CarDomain so I figured that I might as well post a thread explaining and showing what I did.

Here's the car when I purchased it:

First I purchased a grill off of eBay:

Of course I removed the stupid "RS" emblem off the grill and decided that with it being black in the center it looked like there was nothing there. So I removed the mesh and painted it silver:

To me, the silver looked much better. However, the gutter guard aluminum was really cheap. I didn't think it would hold up well and wasn't fond of the cheap look that it had.

I decided that stainless steel mesh was the route to go. It was hard to locate the right stuff as I wanted the diamond pattern instead of the square pattern. It's the same mesh as the square pattern but but the material is cut at a 45 degree angle. You see similar stuff on Jaguar's, Cadillac's, and such. I found a place in England called Lockwood Industries or Lockwood International (I think it's International but can't remember for sure). I ordered the material and installed it. Here's the material installed:

I later installed a TRD emblem in the center but that didn't look right. I moved the emblem to the side and thought I was done:

The more I looked at it the more I realized that it wasn't right. The new grill left too much space between the grill and the hood. Toyota fills it's gaps in the front with rubber and decided that I needed to do the same. Also, the lower grill/opening matched the factory grill much better. Now it really looked strange to me. The upper grill was covered in shiny stainless mesh and the lower grill was plain. I removed the upper grill and installed rubber around the entire grill. This filled the extra gap, made the grill much more snug, kept the grill equally spaced from the bumper cover across the bottom of the grill. I then installed stainless mesh in the lower grill opening which I think really blends the front of the car together.

Adding foglights really helped the look of the front end as well:

Here are some closer/most recent pics of the grill:

I know that it's not everybody's style but I like it.

Epsilon · 08-25-2007, 12:04 AM

Very clean and OEMish.

TRD VVTi · 08-25-2007, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Epsilon

Very clean and OEMish.

Thanks.

Having a clean OEMish look was what I wanted. Many people think it's factory but can't figure out what the car is. They don't know that it's a personalized Camry. They think it's a stock "something nicer".

Epsilon · 08-25-2007, 12:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TRD VVTi

Having a clean OEMish look was what I wanted. Many people think it's factory but can't figure out what the car is. They don't know that it's a personalized Camry. They think it's a stock "something nicer".

Haha, I get the same thing. People keep asking me what model it is and when I tell them it's a SE they get confused because mine doesn't look like other SE's. I was thinking of matching my upper and lower grille, but I really liked the SE honeycombe grille cuz it gave it that OEM look. Only problem is the honeycombe design won't look right for a lower grille. I can always do the upper grille as mesh though . . .

***CharmCityES*** · 08-25-2007, 12:22 AM

very clean....ive always loved your car TRD
whats next on the to do list?

***lammydi*** · 08-25-2007, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TRD VVTi

I've had alot of comments/questions about my grill here on TN and on CarDomain so I figured that I might as well post a thread explaining and showing what I did.

Here's the car when I purchased it:

First I purchased a grill off of eBay:

Of course I removed the stupid "RS" emblem off the grill and decided that with it being black in the center it looked like there was nothing there. So I removed the mesh and painted it silver:

To me, the silver looked much better. However, the gutter guard aluminum was really cheap. I didn't think it would hold up well and wasn't fond of the cheap look that it had.

I decided that stainless steel mesh was the route to go. It was hard to locate the right stuff as I wanted the diamond pattern instead of the square pattern. It's the same mesh as the square pattern but but the material is cut at a 45 degree angle. You see similar stuff on Jaguar's, Cadillac's, and such. I found a place in England called Lockwood Industries or Lockwood International (I think it's International but can't remember for sure). I ordered the material and installed it. Here's the material installed:

I later installed a TRD emblem in the center but that didn't look right. I moved the emblem to the side and thought I was done:

The more I looked at it the more I realized that it wasn't right. The new grill left too much space between the grill and the hood. Toyota fills it's gaps in the front with rubber and decided that I needed to do the same. Also, the lower grill/opening matched the factory grill much better. Now it really looked strange to me. The upper grill was covered in shiny stainless mesh and the lower grill was plain. I removed the upper grill and installed rubber around the entire grill. This filled the extra gap, made the grill much more snug, kept the grill equally spaced from the bumper cover across the bottom of the grill. I then installed stainless mesh in the lower grill opening which I think really blends the front of the car together.

Adding foglights really helped the look of the front end as well:

Here are some closer/most recent pics of the grill:

I know that it's not everybody's style but I like it.

This is my favorite shot of your car. Love the grille!!!

***Punks_Not_Dead5*** · 08-25-2007, 06:13 AM

Looks great!

***eyeball96*** · 08-25-2007, 06:20 AM

Looks great! Good Job!...clean and sudtle...unique! I like!

whiteboy · 08-25-2007, 06:29 AM

love the grille, will be doing something similar when I have the time right now i just have the RS mesh painted chrome but as you said the damn thing is cheap haha anyways looking good trd

Tuner571 · 08-25-2007, 06:44 AM

Grill looks sweet man, nice job!

TRD VVTi · 08-25-2007, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CorCamrySE

very clean....ive always loved your car TRD
whats next on the to do list?

RSB for sure. With the soft LE front bar a TRD RSB will really make it handle better.

I will probably add a carbon fiber engine/valvecover cover too.

I don't know why I spend so much time and money on my Camry.

I have a car that has real mods but I love my Camry too.

Thanks for all the props guys. I really appreciate it.

Epsilon · 08-25-2007, 11:38 AM

I say go with a polished engine cover instead of a carbon fiber one, that is unless you replace all the engine bay plastic with carbon fiber cuz that will be pure sex.

TRD VVTi · 08-25-2007, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Epsilon

I say go with a polished engine cover instead of a carbon fiber one, that is unless you replace all the engine bay plastic with carbon fiber cuz that will be pure sex.

I'm not sure. I know that I will do the RSB though.

I just got back from getting the mail. My Camry sits in the driveway facing the street so the sun doesn't beat through the windshield. As I'm walking toward the house a guy pulls up in a Ford F150 and asks, "What kinda car is that?". I replied, "It's a Toyota Camry". He replied, "NO SHIT!?"

That's at least the fifth time someone has stopped me in the yard to ask what kind of car it is. Everytime they are in some sort of disbelief, like I'm pulling their leg or something. To me, that means I've done the car right. It's just enough.

My Camry gets as much attention as my Formula convertible with a rollcage on the street as well.