ex m38a1er
Adventurer
Any plans for a MB grill?
CJ Grille Conversion Kit for the TJ/LJ
- Thread starter jscherb
- Start date
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Well that's a strange coincidence... I picked up a CJ-2a/3 grille last December and just today I had it out and was doing some measuring and test fitting to see what would be involved in making a grille kit for it. But doing those measurements today doesn't imply I'm going to start a project to build a complete grille kit.
What I decided was that I could modify my fiberglass flat fenders to mate to that grille, and make a minor modification to the inner fenders for the CJ Grille Kit so that could be used with that grille as well. The CJ Grille Kit cowl panel would be used unchanged, and a new hood would have to be made to integrate everything together. Less work than making the original CJ Grille Kit, but still a fairly large project.
The MB, CJ-2a and CJ-3a grilles all have the same dimensions, so if I ever decide to do a kit, it would work with the MB grille just fine.
This photo was taken in December when I picked up the grille:
What I decided was that I could modify my fiberglass flat fenders to mate to that grille, and make a minor modification to the inner fenders for the CJ Grille Kit so that could be used with that grille as well. The CJ Grille Kit cowl panel would be used unchanged, and a new hood would have to be made to integrate everything together. Less work than making the original CJ Grille Kit, but still a fairly large project.
The MB, CJ-2a and CJ-3a grilles all have the same dimensions, so if I ever decide to do a kit, it would work with the MB grille just fine.
This photo was taken in December when I picked up the grille:
Jim K in PA
Adventurer
Good stuff Jeff. Keep it coming.
JeepExpeditions.org
Observer
I love it! If you ever get this into production I am a buyer! Would also like to see the sun visor too. The retro stuff is just great!
At least it was easy for me to "retro" my Grand Wagoner to the "Gladiator" look up front and an XJ sun visor just might work above the windshield on the SJ too.
At least it was easy for me to "retro" my Grand Wagoner to the "Gladiator" look up front and an XJ sun visor just might work above the windshield on the SJ too.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Thank you.
I'm keeping the molds in case I ever find a reason to make more kits, but I don't have any plans to try to get the CJ Grille Kit into production, I just don't think there would be enough demand for it to make it worthwhile for me to find a company to market it.
I'm thinking of doing a "Retro Rhino" kit for the JK... a Gladiator grille and hood is in my garage right now, I'm using it to do the design work on a Gladiator kit for the JK. I'm thinking it might be fun to make the JK look like the Jeep Nukizer and J12 concepts.
This photo shows a printout of a re-scaled Gladiator grille in place on a JK...
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virginia_jeeper
Craft Beer Explorer
I too would be intrested in a XJ Grille
jscherb
Expedition Leader
A "Retro Rhino" grille for an XJ would actually be an easier project than one for a JK, but an XJ version isn't in my plans.
justageek
New member
This photo shows a printout of a re-scaled Gladiator grille in place on a JK...
Now THAT would be something to be thankful for. Looking forward to following that design thread when it happens.
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Yes, the carriers are removable. They consist of a receiver that bolts to the frame, and a can carrier that slips into the receiver. They can be mounted on either side of the Jeep, and no drilling is required - they're a very simple bolt-on. They work with either jerry-style cans or NATO-style cans.
I designed them and also a spare-mount carrier (I'm using both in the trail photo below) and both have recently been licensed by a company for production. The units on my Jeep in the photo below are pre-production units from the company I was testing on the trails in Colorado. The company introduced both products at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas last month, so they should be available very soon. Because it's a unique design, the company has a patent pending.
Here's a photo of the receiver without the can carrier in place, it's under the flare extension and tucks up close against the body so it isn't in the way on the trail:
The company also licensed two of my other designs, all should be announced publicly and available soon.
For the record: I won't be selling these, and this post isn't a solicitation to sell anything. The company that licensed the designs from me will be selling them, I just design this stuff as a hobby.
1stDeuce
Explorer
Visiting the Mor-Ryde booth was the most exciting thing I did at SEMA!! I was glad to see that they're going to offer some of your designs! The guy I talked to there was really cool, and basically just said that they liked your concepts and had extra production capability to make things and sell them. Good for them, and hopefully good for you! And definitely good for those of us who might buy some of the products too!!! 
jscherb
Expedition Leader
Visiting the Mor-Ryde booth was the most exciting thing I did at SEMA!! I was glad to see that they're going to offer some of your designs! The guy I talked to there was really cool, and basically just said that they liked your concepts and had extra production capability to make things and sell them. Good for them, and hopefully good for you! And definitely good for those of us who might buy some of the products too!!!
Thanks! It was the high point of SEMA for me this year for sure. It was very satisfying to see people coming into the MorRyde booth and saying very positive things about the designs. A person from one of the big Jeep catalogs said to me and the MorRyde guys that "these products at the prices you're planning are home runs".
Here's some of the MorRyde booth stuff showing the products (MorRyde didn't have a chance to take their own photos in time for the show so they used some of mine):
