TR6 Late TR6 Grill Originality

I am going to remove the grill from the 6 and repaint it....Should the bar that runs horizontally across the centre(supporting the TR6 emblem) be black like the rest of the grill, or should it be aluminum? I've seen it both way.

BTW: This is a late production 76

Al u min ium

Great! Thanks....I guess someone painted over it at one time.....I think I'll try some of that mothers billet polish on it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I just recently removed the grill from my TR6 to overhaul it. Now, my grill was an aftermarket replacement so I can't really say if it is constructed the same as an OE grill. The replacement grill was held together with pop rivets. Cleaning that thing up completely was virtually impossible so disassembly was really necessary and the only way to get it back to new condition. With a little patience and care, taking it apart was not that big a deal and allowed me to refresh all parts such as the painted grill, the stainless frame and the aluminum center strip and badge. The aluminum channel that held the badge came with a ridiculous black cloth insert that was suppose to mimic the original insert. I opted to mask it off and spray a layer of black bed-liner paint inside the channel. The cloth insert lasted exactly 6 months. After cleaning and painting all the parts, reassembly with fresh pop rivets was simple. Voila, new grill. As an aside, the threaded studs that are cast into the grill part for bolting up to the front valance are low-grade iron studs that rust if you spit on them. It is important that one uses new stainless nuts and washers to hold these in and keep a coat of lubricant on the studs themselves to prevent rust, like Boeshield T-9 lubricant. (This little jewel of a lubricant I found on this forum, what a great all-around lubricant and protectant for most of the hardware on my car!)
Oh, and the studs that are on the replacement grill are metric! Gives you an idea where they were made....
Good luck.

Bill

Thanks Bill....do you have a pic you can post, so I can visualise what it should look like?

I recently did the same to mine, but did not have to remove the rivets as mine was in pretty good shape. What I would really like to do is get a grille made similar to the unit on the cover of 6-Pack's magazine (red TR6 with blacked out grille) about two issues ago. Actually it was spring 2005: https://www.6-pack.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=3.
That flat black screen with the tiny round holes looks very good in my opinion and with a simple B/L emblem, just sets off the front end nicely. Again, not for everyone, but I think it looked sharp.