My very first car was a Plymouth Barracuda, which means it will always hold that special place in my heart that no one can replace - I am sure each of you knows exactly what I mean. So while I acknowledge this might be sacriligious to some, I have decided to honor my personal history with a few touches to my Challenger but without losing sight that this is a Challenger. My hope is to get the best of both worlds - but for those who disagree I still invite your thoughts, comments, and expresssions - my only request is keep 'em civil - thanks!
My first mod is I decided to go for a Cuda sawtooth grille. I ordered one from Mr. Norms in California. Larry at Mr. Norm's was awesome to work with - patient with all my questions - and taking the time without complaint - highly recommended! The package arrived with the parts double wrapped in bubble wrap and packed with an abundance of packing peanuts (pix 1). It survived the cross country journey to the east coast in fine shape. Installation is pretty straight forward.
Step 1 - Test fit all the parts. They fit really well on initial fitting. The uretheyne is pliable and adapts to any space gaps pretty well after a few minutes, snugging up nicely to the inside of the stock Challenger grille lip.
Step 2 - Remove the challenger badges (pix 2 and 3). Easy to do as all you have to do is carefully pull them off the grille. The pins fit into the grille squares and bend enough to remove them with just a small amount of pressure. No damage to the grille or the badges so they can be reused if I decide to remove the Cuda grille in the future and convert it back to stock.
Step 3 - Attach the grille frame (pix 4). This fits nicely into the inside lip of the Challenger grille. Its held in place by two toggle bolts that protrude through the Cude grille frame with the bolts going through the stock factory grille and the toggles opening up and catching the back side of the factory grille for a solid purchase. Snug up the screw heads and you are set. Once everything is done you will not see these bolts at all. In pix 4 you can see the positioning of these bolts. In pix 5 you will see them covered up by the sawtooth insert.
Step 4 - Prep the attachment mating surfaces. There is a chemical-soaked pad that comes with the kit that cleans the mating surface on the grille frame and provides an adhesion promoter. I recommend using latex gloves for this as the adhesion promoter gets very sticky as it dries - which is a good thing! Remove the gloves when done so as not to contaminate the sawtooth insert.
Step 5 - Peel the backing paper off the 3M double stick pads that are already on the backside of the sawtooth insert and press firmly into place against the mating surfaces (pix 5). There are 7 mating points all together. the middle pillar, the two ends, and 4 intermediate points in the sawtooth pattern. I waited 60 seconds and repeated the pressure on each mating surface. Then did the same again - just to make sure it all took.
Step 6 - Let it sit for a few minutes for the adhesion promoter to fully take hold.
Step 6 - Admire your handiwork and go show it off! (pix 6)
Next up - I need to find a shop that will custom fit real gills into the body panels (no fake stick-ons for me). So what do you all think? I will be taking the car tommorrow to Freddy's in Fairfax for a Custard Meet and Greet held by the NOVA Chapter of the Forum so I am looking forward to hearing all comments - "good", "eh - not for me", and "Oh no you didnt!".
My first mod is I decided to go for a Cuda sawtooth grille. I ordered one from Mr. Norms in California. Larry at Mr. Norm's was awesome to work with - patient with all my questions - and taking the time without complaint - highly recommended! The package arrived with the parts double wrapped in bubble wrap and packed with an abundance of packing peanuts (pix 1). It survived the cross country journey to the east coast in fine shape. Installation is pretty straight forward.
Step 1 - Test fit all the parts. They fit really well on initial fitting. The uretheyne is pliable and adapts to any space gaps pretty well after a few minutes, snugging up nicely to the inside of the stock Challenger grille lip.
Step 2 - Remove the challenger badges (pix 2 and 3). Easy to do as all you have to do is carefully pull them off the grille. The pins fit into the grille squares and bend enough to remove them with just a small amount of pressure. No damage to the grille or the badges so they can be reused if I decide to remove the Cuda grille in the future and convert it back to stock.
Step 3 - Attach the grille frame (pix 4). This fits nicely into the inside lip of the Challenger grille. Its held in place by two toggle bolts that protrude through the Cude grille frame with the bolts going through the stock factory grille and the toggles opening up and catching the back side of the factory grille for a solid purchase. Snug up the screw heads and you are set. Once everything is done you will not see these bolts at all. In pix 4 you can see the positioning of these bolts. In pix 5 you will see them covered up by the sawtooth insert.
Step 4 - Prep the attachment mating surfaces. There is a chemical-soaked pad that comes with the kit that cleans the mating surface on the grille frame and provides an adhesion promoter. I recommend using latex gloves for this as the adhesion promoter gets very sticky as it dries - which is a good thing! Remove the gloves when done so as not to contaminate the sawtooth insert.
Step 5 - Peel the backing paper off the 3M double stick pads that are already on the backside of the sawtooth insert and press firmly into place against the mating surfaces (pix 5). There are 7 mating points all together. the middle pillar, the two ends, and 4 intermediate points in the sawtooth pattern. I waited 60 seconds and repeated the pressure on each mating surface. Then did the same again - just to make sure it all took.
Step 6 - Let it sit for a few minutes for the adhesion promoter to fully take hold.
Step 6 - Admire your handiwork and go show it off! (pix 6)
Next up - I need to find a shop that will custom fit real gills into the body panels (no fake stick-ons for me). So what do you all think? I will be taking the car tommorrow to Freddy's in Fairfax for a Custard Meet and Greet held by the NOVA Chapter of the Forum so I am looking forward to hearing all comments - "good", "eh - not for me", and "Oh no you didnt!".
