'03 & '06 Retrofit Satoshi Grille Writeup (Picture Heavy)

[gaterose]

I have a lot of people ask me how I made my satoshi so I figured I would post some info since I have several pictures and it would be easier to link to this than it is to explain it every time.

Note- the '06 satoshi won't work with '03 headlights.

This post will deal with the '03 grille, post #2 shows the '06 retrofit satoshi..

First off this is how I made the original '03 grille…

First I I cut the center out, this made everything so weak that the top broke off. This wasn't a big deal because I was afraid it would happen and getting it out of the way early let me do the rest without fear of breaking it.

Some satoshis I've seen lose the secondary hood release and metal sub frame because of the trouble there is to keep it, but I didn't wanna lose the release or the rigidity of the subframe. I wanted to keep the lower bar the same as it is from the factory so I decided to flatten the area where the Toyota emblem protrudes by trimming the sides of it and bending the plastic then gluing it flat with everything held in place with clamps.









After I got the emblem recessed and everything bondo/fiberglassed up, I JB Welded the upper back on…










Then I used fiberglass backing and bondo to make the uppers and look right again..














Then I cut some mesh from hope depot ($2) to fit the opening and bent it using a rubber mallet and 2x4 to fit the hole. I drilled holes for recessed head stainless screws to hold the mesh on, the nuts are on the inside because I was afraid the nuts would contact the hood if used the opposite way. Here is the result after rough sanding and painting.











Hood latch release

 

[gaterose]

I don't have as many pics for the '06 grille but the missing process was similar.

First I cut everything out so I only had the upper upside down U and lower crossbar left.



Then I mounted the U on the hood, and trimmed the bottom until the hood would fully close



Then I trimmed both sides of the lower horizontal bar until it would fit inside the U





I also pulled the metal subframe and trimmed it in the same way so that it would fit inside the new shortened grille. After it would fit in the "new grill" and line up with the holes I drilled a hole through each end of the bottom bar and a matching hole in the uprights then bolted it together so I had a new shortened sub frame. Sorry I don't have any pics of this but hope my description helps.

Then I JB welded, fiberglassed, bondoed, & sanded everything back together in the same way as the '03 grille and cut out a piece of expanded sheet (since the gutter guard is too small for the '06 grille hole) then formed it in the same way (only harder because the expanded sheet was stiffer).

Then I bolted on an 80s FJ emblem and this is what I got







Hood release -


These corner squares had to be trimmed for clearance




You can see I preferred the formed grille piece that was "3D" and protrudes from the grille. It can also be done with the mesh flat and recessed behind the grille.



People keep asking so --
Will I do it for you?

Sorry but I don't have time for these anymore (updated 2/21/17)

 

[Ashtong]

i love everything but theres one problem

that grill looks completely sick, your only problem is the alabama sticker at the top, that for sure needs to be replaced

GO TIGERS


but anyway, nice job

 

[momo.75]

Looks better every time i see it....:hatsoff:

 

[Daron-t4r]

now... just to find an 80s FJ emblem

 

[Whitebeauty]

Do mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[gaterose]

Thanks guy!

Whitebeauty, if you can get me a white grille I will do it for you.. But it's not very hard to do yourself if you have an '06. On the '06 all you need to do is cut everything out of the middle then fiberglass & bondo it back up. PM me if you want me to do it and we can discuss it.

 

[CookieRoe]

freakin sweat!! Nice job!

 

[Arkansasnative]

Lookin good! I thought i had seen someone that used the 06+ grille with the 03-05 model headlights? Would that even be possible because if so i just found my winter project!

 

[gaterose]

Thanks again guys! It still needs to be painted by a body shop but it's really only bad in places that aren't visible without the hood open.

Arkansasnative - It is possible but you have to trim about an inch or so from the bottom of the '06 grille because it will contact the bumper. simple (member name) did it to his but I'm not sure he kept it, I pmed him before I started working on mine. To trim enough for clearance you will have to lose the secondary hood release (or he did anyway).

One of the bigger catalysts to me doing this satoshi was the difficult it was going to take to make an '06 grille work. I figured just put in a few more hours and have this instead.

It would also be possible to put the horizontal bar across the mesh instead of the FJ emblem because the painted part of the horizontal bar detaches from the black part. I've thought about putting it on mine to see how it'd look but never have. It would basically be an '06 grille with diamond mesh instead of the black plastic slats

 

[patricksheehy]

May I add that this looks SO good. I am DEFINITELY going to try and do this to mine. I've already called the stealership and the TOYOTA logo on the front for the FJs is only $25. The mesh is from Home Depot for basically nothing.. I have on '07 and I'm pretty sure that if I cut out the middle part with a dremel, then sand it down, then bolt in the mesh to the existing on all sides (after pushing it out to be flush mounted), it will look amazing AND be relatively simple. The only trick is to mount the TOYOTA to the mesh which it looks like Gaterose just mounted it straight on. Last step is plasti-dipping everything (my new favorite past time), and it'll look like a pro did it!

This is my optimistic thinking at work on a mod that looks so cool I just can't stop thinking about how I can make it work.

Kudos to gaterose once again. Come help me with mine please haha

 

[gaterose]

Thanks again! Yeah that should work but I'm not 100% the home depot grating will be large enough. I tried to use it on mine but it wasn't wide enough (and yours will be a little wider since it isn't chopped).

I ended up ordering some expanded metal from amazon for $40. Another option is cusotmcargrills.com mesh but that was more expensive and the expanded sheet is much more durable (against bugs, rocks... and probably birds).

edit- also with the expanded sheet I got like 4x8 for $40, it was around $60 for 2x3 from customcargrills IIRC. I have around 6x4 left so I may do the lower grill some time as well.

 

[Whitebeauty]

Thanks Gaterose...Will do..

 

[patricksheehy]

Thanks again! Yeah that should work but I'm not 100% the home depot grating will be large enough. I tried to use it on mine but it wasn't wide enough (and yours will be a little wider since it isn't chopped).

I ended up ordering some expanded metal from amazon for $40. Another option is cusotmcargrills.com mesh but that was more expensive and the expanded sheet is much more durable (against bugs, rocks... and probably birds).

edit- also with the expanded sheet I got like 4x8 for $40, it was around $60 for 2x3 from customcargrills IIRC. I have around 6x4 left so I may do the lower grill some time as well.

Thanks for the info. I'm going to try to do this over Christmas! Pics to come.


---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=35.803889,-78.634924

 

[momo.75]

Here are some cool options for the mesh.

McMaster-Carr

 

[simple]

Gator, how did the back of the fj emblem come? For my last satoshi I bought a different cheaper kind and it was a huge PITA to get it to work. I had to glue on bolts which came off promptly after. I just want to know if I spend the 60 bucks it's not going to be a waste of money.

Btw, merry Christmas bro.

 

[gaterose]

Merry Christmas simple! The emblem I got has 2 small plastic tabs and a larger one in the middle.

I was very fortunate that the tabs line up with my mesh and I just stuck it on there then got some plastic nuts to put on the outer tabs and a washer & nut for the center one IIRC.

I'll try to post some pics later but it may be tomorrow. I definitely didn't modify or glue the emblem

 

[simple]

Merry Christmas simple! The emblem I got has 2 small plastic tabs and a larger one in the middle.

I was very fortunate that the tabs line up with my mesh and I just stuck it on there then got some plastic nuts to put on the outer tabs and a washer & nut for the center one IIRC.

I'll try to post some pics later but it may be tomorrow. I definitely didn't modify or glue the emblem

Ah don't worry about the pictures man. That was all I needed!

 

[ohnoitsthecops]

What emblem did you get exactly? I've been hunting on eBay not sure exactly wich one
Also did you paint the emblem white?

 

[gaterose]

I think it was an fj60 emblem and no I didn't paint it.