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The two posts in the XK8 grille have always bothered me aesthetically...how easy or hard is it to swap the 'bucktooth' grille, as I call it, for the simple mesh grille?
Am I correct that the 'bucktooth' grille is for early XK8s, while the solid mesh grille is for XKRs?
I think I saw a mesh grille for $800 or so new, but I'm sure they can be found for cheaper on the parts market. Is it easy to get one out of a parts car and easy to substitute one for the other?
The Mesh Grills are for the XKR. My 2003 XKR has the "buck tooth" and mesh. I really don't know when they moved to the flat grill.
Anyway, the grills are readily available aftermarket (Mina, Adamash, etc...). I understand you need to drop the bumper to do the swap. However, that's reportedly pretty simple (a few bolts and clips).
There are a few threads on this process, so search is your friend.
My wife's 2006 Victory Edition XK8 was built during the last month of XK8/XKR production (May 2005) and also has the "bucktooth" grill (I call it the catfish grill because it looks more like a catfish mouth to me). I think the mesh grill looks better, but my wife has always been happy with her catfish grill which means there is no need for me to spend cosmetic money on the car to replace her grill....
It does not require removal of the entire bumper and was fairly easily installed in an afternoon. I don't find it to be too bulbous either. I don't think I have any closeups but here are a few recent shots of the car: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...3/#post1642104
Try to ignore the unsightly front license plate, which I am still trying to decide what to do with...