Brake Vent Grilles

Im after a bit of help, when I got my FRP it didnt have any of the brake vent grilles (bits of mesh in the bumper infront of each wheel). I cant for the life of me get hold of them from anywhere. Have tried all the usual places, ebay, pumabuild etc and no luck (pumabuild have them on their website but sold out ages ago - v helpful). Does anyone have any idea where I may be able to get some. Also considering a temporary diy job with mesh until i can get the real things. Opinions and help much appreciated. Taaaaaa

Yeah i could do with set of these. Or alternatively the best method to de-rust and repaint
the existing ones. I'm sure thats possible. What is the best thing to use to clean and then paint
them?

I need a set of these too as one of mine is missing and I have drawn a blank on where to get them from... I had planned to make some new ones from scratch, if I do, I will let you know how much I can get them knocked up for. My mate is a metal worker, so not hard for him to make them and I have one of them left for him to work from.

Yeah that would be great, if you do come up trumps and they look good i would def be interested in a set, as im sure a few others would be by the looks of it
Cheers

ok I will take the one that I have left off and show him early next week (as I am away from a couple of hours time until Sunday evening), I will see what he can knock up, post some pics, find out how much he wants to charge for them and then people can let me know what they think.

[big boy al]

if the bloke copying them can promise that mine wont be ruined in the process of copying them then i have a brand new one of each side here at home that i dont mind sending to you.

but obviously if they get damaged i will not be a very happy boy. an obviously i cant get any original ones anymore.

I think Jacko was doing Titanium ones
Just dropped him a Email to find out.

Would it be possible, with the Brake vent grills to knock up the small thin grill which is between the brake vent grills on the lower part of the bumper in the same material ie titanium or stainless?

Jacko did do afew titanium ones. I managed to get a set and they have been on the car over a year and still look good. Bonus is they don't rust either

All you need is some alloy mesh from halfords, offer it up behind the hole in the bumper, bend the edges around the hole, trim it down, paint it gloss black and bond it on! Looks just as good as original grilles.

If we could get the 3 grilles ie the brake vent grilles and the 1 inbetween on the bumper made up in titanium or stainless mesh then they will last a lot longer than anything painted

FRP 160, have you had any luck with your mate, and dogsbody has the guy that you emailed managed to get back to you? Again thanks for all the replies guys

frp_024 wrote:

FRP 160, have you had any luck with your mate, and dogsbody has the guy that you emailed managed to get back to you? Again thanks for all the replies guys

Jacko sold all the Titanium ones he made up.
He's looking at getting some chromed now But at over £100

My mate can do it. Basically it would be (to the naked eye anyway) a complete copy. He wont use mesh to do it, he uses the same thickness aluminium and scans the original into the machine and the metal will be punched away to give it that mesh effect, but the holes etc will be identical. He could roll them as well so that they are the same curvature as the originals, but it would be easier to post them flat obviously. What would people prefer? And the cost is not going to be any more than £20 for a pair. Let me know what you think and I will take the one remaining one off of my car and we will knock up a prototype this week to 100% check it works etc.

FRP 160 wrote:

My mate can do it. Basically it would be (to the naked eye anyway) a complete copy. He wont use mesh to do it, he uses the same thickness aluminium and scans the original into the machine and the metal will be punched away to give it that mesh effect, but the holes etc will be identical. He could roll them as well so that they are the same curvature as the originals, but it would be easier to post them flat obviously. What would people prefer? And the cost is not going to be any more than £20 for a pair. Let me know what you think and I will take the one remaining one off of my car and we will knock up a prototype this week to 100% check it works etc.

Sounds great mate, i would definately like a set as and when you can get them

I'd have a set of them off you.Let me know when you could have them ready for. Cheers

right guys, I am so sorry I have been slack, I had my uni dissertation due in end of week before last and have been on a lads holiday all of last week and now I am nursing my liver which is feeling very sorry for itself.

Good news is my mate now has the brake vent and I am seeing him tomorrow night to see the final result. I will take pictures and post them on the forum and start taking orders if they come out ok. My vent is mega rusty, are they black usually? I will get him to do a prototype in black if they are instead of silver and see how they look.

They are simply bonded to the inside of the grill and slightly rolled at the edges, so should be easy enough to create and post ready to go straight on.

I have seen my mate this evening and he has had some success. The initial idea to create an exact copy unfortunately did not work. When the machine punched out the metal it left the remaining aluminum so brittle that it could bend too easily.

So he has moved on to making replicas with mesh. At present he does not have anything which is an exact match. He can buy this in, but it is £50 a sheet and he is unwilling to do this unless I can provide him with some sort of commitment from people. The price will be no different, still looking £20, but it he said unless there are 5 people (of which I am one) who want them, it is not really worth his while.

Have a look at these and let me know what you want, if anything and I will place an order with him accordingly. The original is the dark/slightly rusty one:









I have a few more pictures if people want them.

Exact replicas of these are available from Pumabuild,ready painted.Don't know the prices though.

FRP 160 wrote:

Those look really smart!