My goal here is to provide enough guidance to give anyone who wants a Satoshi grill the confidence to create one, either the deep kind I prefer or the flush version, which still looks awesome and is much easier. @Mytoy4 was my guru, with much patient kindness, otherwise I don't think I would ever have tried this mod. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer or refer you to a good source.

So, what's the difference between deep and flush? The deep version has the mesh at the rear so the inside "walls" of the grill are visible; the flush type has the mesh even with the front of the grill.

Deep (Truck belongs to @intrepidagent )


Flush (Mytoy4's former rig)


The flush version is much easier to make but I just like the deep look better so I went for it. If you're happy with the flush type, Mytoy4 has by far the best write-up I found during my extensive research.

I created mine by mounting the 2006-09 Toyota 4Runner DIY Mesh Insert from customcargrills.com to the rear of the grill. I highly recommend this company. For full disclosure, we eventually struck a deal in which I wrote a version of this tutorial for their website in return for a refund of the cost of my mesh. I would still refer you to Matt without hesitation one way or the other because he answered many questions I had before I spent a penny at his site, promptly shipped my order in protective packaging, and has been great to deal with through the entire process.

My truck is a 2007 4Runner Sport Edition. It was a difficult project but I got great results despite having no experience with similar mods. In my opinion, patience and determination are more important to success than experience or skills with body work. This took me about 12 hours total, much of which could have been saved had I known then what I (and now you) know now. :-D

You’ll need a table or other flat area to work on that’s large enough to hold the grill as you cut, tape, etc. Lay cardboard or something similar to protect the surface.

Tools and Supplies:
• 10mm socket and ratchet (power tool optional)
• Phillips screwdrivers
• Sandpaper
• Paint, primer, and surface prep products (I’ve had good results w/ Duplicolor’s line)
• Tool(s) to cut and grind plastic (I used a Dremel w/ cutting bit & grinding wheel)
• Bondo or similar product
• Glazing & Spot Putty (critical to getting good results)
• Painter's tape
• A respirator-type mask is recommended due to the fine dust produced by sanding

And probably a couple of things I've forgotten. If so, my apologies. :-)

Choosing an Emblem
There are several options. A Google image search for 4Runner Satoshi grill should help you pick one you like. Or, leave it off – some like a plain mesh grill. I chose the old school pale yellow w/ chrome outline and picked one up for around $55 on eBay. Search Land Cruiser emblem FJ40 FJ55 BJ40 HJ45 to find one like this.



The yellow wasn't my thing so I painted the inside of the letters Testors Dark Red. It’s is a good match for Toyota & TRD red.

For painting, it’s tough to mask the chrome so I gave up on that. EDIT 11Aug21: I needed to repaint the emblem and figured out how to mask it. Get blue painter's tape wide enough to cover the lettering, rub it with your finger or a toothpick to be sure it's tight, then cut along the inside edges with an X-Acto knife. Use as little of the blade tip as possible for a neat cut. Note that overlapping doesn't work well because it's tough to cut through multiple layers cleanly.

This method also has the huge advantage of not having to remove and reinstall the emblem. In fact, having the hood half open is the perfect working height.





My brush painting didn't look good at all so I masked all around the emblem and used a can of Testor's Dark Red I spray paint I had left over from another project.



The outcome:



Whichever way you paint the lettering, you can use a wooden toothpick to gently scrape away any stray paint. Do not use a solvent to clean it off because it will strip the chrome. These pics are from the first paint job. The spray method left only a couple of tiny areas to scrape.