Using my trusty pair of Zuron nippers, I cut the grill out.
As you can see in the photo previous to this one, there is still a lot of material that needs to be removed. I was
getting tired of using the hand held Dremel tool and every so often it catching on something or I just did not
hold it right and it taking off destroying the hood side or gouging to much. So I thought about putting the cutting
tool in my drill press, setting the speed on low and hand feeding the part into the bit. WOW!!!!!! this really
worked nice. Wish I would have thought about this a long time ago. You can take off as little or as much as you
care to. I took small cuts till I got the opening where I wanted it. I then used an X-Acto knife to finish cutting the
opening.
Little note here. Always feed the part into the rotation of the cutting edge and not with it.
getting tired of using the hand held Dremel tool and every so often it catching on something or I just did not
hold it right and it taking off destroying the hood side or gouging to much. So I thought about putting the cutting
tool in my drill press, setting the speed on low and hand feeding the part into the bit. WOW!!!!!! this really
worked nice. Wish I would have thought about this a long time ago. You can take off as little or as much as you
care to. I took small cuts till I got the opening where I wanted it. I then used an X-Acto knife to finish cutting the
opening.
Little note here. Always feed the part into the rotation of the cutting edge and not with it.
Using a #11 blade, I opened the top, left and right side of the grill to the molded on grill frame. I took the
bottom down to the top of the doors.
When doing important cuts like this I always use a new blade. It cuts smoothly and cleanly. I use a shallow
angle and take small curls off. I also use more the heel of the blade rather than the tip.
bottom down to the top of the doors.
When doing important cuts like this I always use a new blade. It cuts smoothly and cleanly. I use a shallow
angle and take small curls off. I also use more the heel of the blade rather than the tip.
Once I get the opening to the size I want. I take off the frame detail and clean the area flat with the hood side. I
scrape and sand it smooth.
NOTE: try not to remove any of the mold parting line for the long hood end IF you are going to replace the long
hood end. You will want this line as a reference.
scrape and sand it smooth.
NOTE: try not to remove any of the mold parting line for the long hood end IF you are going to replace the long
hood end. You will want this line as a reference.
Now that I had the opening to the size I wanted, it was time to build it up so the new grill part was in the correct
location. This is easy to do. You want the center of the grill to line up with the centerline of the middle radiator
fan. Remember I said I cut the bottom of the opening to the top of the doors. Now I used a 0.020" x 0.060" strip
and glued it along the bottom so the Cannon and Co. part had a surface to set up against. Make sure the strip
is even with the hood side and not out with the doors. I added the same strip to the back end of the opening
and a much larger piece to fill in the front. The Kato grill is larger than the Cannon Grill. The front of this
opening was where I filled in the extra space. I then measured with my calipers the length I needed the opening
to be and cut it to size.
location. This is easy to do. You want the center of the grill to line up with the centerline of the middle radiator
fan. Remember I said I cut the bottom of the opening to the top of the doors. Now I used a 0.020" x 0.060" strip
and glued it along the bottom so the Cannon and Co. part had a surface to set up against. Make sure the strip
is even with the hood side and not out with the doors. I added the same strip to the back end of the opening
and a much larger piece to fill in the front. The Kato grill is larger than the Cannon Grill. The front of this
opening was where I filled in the extra space. I then measured with my calipers the length I needed the opening
to be and cut it to size.
After getting the radiator grill opening done, which is not exactly shown in this photo, I turned my attention to
cutting out the long hood end. You can just barely see the mold parting line. I used a T-square and enhanced it
with my X-Acto knife. This gave me a very positive reference line to cut to. Yes, the mold parting line IS where
you want to cut to along both sides and the top.
I used my Zuron nippers to cut the long hood end out.
cutting out the long hood end. You can just barely see the mold parting line. I used a T-square and enhanced it
with my X-Acto knife. This gave me a very positive reference line to cut to. Yes, the mold parting line IS where
you want to cut to along both sides and the top.
I used my Zuron nippers to cut the long hood end out.