As a relatively new owner I am excited about all of the options to dress up my XK8 and am both impressed and overwhelmed by the beauty of so many of the cars posted on the site, especially the XKR and XK8's.

After new wheels next year I would really like to add a mesh grill cover (black) . I have been looking on line and have seen a wide range of prices out there which I assume means a wide range of quality. Some appear to bolt on or attach directly without removing the front bumper. Others seem a little more involved.

Can members help me out with opinions, recommendations, or experiences in acquiring and installing mesh bumper covers? Photos as always a welcome part of any story.

Thanks much.

 

IMHO the three PC XKR grill looks best

 

Done by a previous owner, but quite like mine :





Front "bumper / nose-cone" must be removed to install, but as long as the three fixing bolts each side between bumper and wing (fender ?) are not rusted, it's not a particularly difficult job.

 

Thanks David. Is that the 3 piece XKR style that Jandreu mentioned?
I recall reading that removing the nose cone can lead to other issues...maybe air bags? Have to see if I can find that thread but I remember thinking I didn't want to get into that. Nice car by the way.

 

It's just a bit of plastic bolted to the front of the car. No reason you should have any issues at all.

 

+1 on Bladerunner919.
There are three bolts either side between the plastic nose-cone and the wing (fender). In the UK these are often rusty and difficult to remove. There are another half-a-dozen or so fixings across the front under the bonnet (hood) which are protected from the weather so usually OK.
Mine is one piece of mesh, but obviously designed to fit around the black overriders.
The centre bar with badge is in addition to the grill and is screwed on from behind. It wasn't particularly well done on mine - you can see the slight "misfit" on the left hand side. That's since been rectified, and I have also removed the cheap $1 from Amazon V8 badge on the front which was hiding the fixing hole for the original Jaguar badge.
Thanks for the compliment, and yes, I assume it the "three piece" XKR style albeit made as one unit.

 

The OEM one is hard to find however there is one for sale here in Florida.
OEM Jaguar XKR XK-R mesh front grill 1997-2003

would make your car look something like this


Fitting it is not difficult. Would take a few hours if you went slow and careful.

 

Here is the difference between stock XK8 and stock (three piece) XKR:

 

Am I the only one that likes the look of the stock XK8 grill better?

 

No your not. I replaced my X types with a mesh nearly the first thing I did and of course like the XJR look as well but the only thing I think think I would like more then the xk8 grill is just a big opening with nothing visable.

 

No. You are not alone...

M

 

I think I like the mesh with the splitter bar as well as the overriders, best (as in post #3 above). Best of both worlds.

 

Whenever I see or think about the mesh grills, I think about "chicken wire". OEM is fine for me and my BRG 2005 XK8 convertible.

 

Not at all. When I bought my XK8 I had in mind that the grille would be one of the first things I'd change, but I actually like it a lot as it is. Sometimes the mesh grilles can look like there's too much 'going on' at the front, especially if the vertical overriders are still there.

 

Thanks - I think it looks good - a nostalgic nod in the direction of the XKE - but was done by a previous owner so not sure I would have done it myself.
It's a personal choice - I don't like the mesh sort-of flush with the aperture, but many owners do, and that's fine by me !!

 

I'd love to be able to just remove the overriders (not just their black caps) for a more clean D/E-Type look but assume that would mess up air bag actuation or something.

 

You can remove the overriders without any problems (but it is a pain to do it cleanly)... when I put in my mesh grill (from Mina Gallery) I needed to remove them. Some people just take a saw and cut them as close as they can to the inner support (which is a little hack in my book), so I ended up drilling out the rivets and taking them off that way (in case I ever wanted to put them back) --- obviously, you do need to remove the front bumper cover (and I spray painted everything in the opening black so as to hide it).

Here is my grill:

 

Chris
Your grill really makes your car look sleek.
Am a new owner (really the maintainer as its my wife's car), how difficult is it to remove the front pumper cover to do the job properly?
I have a lift.
Thanks
Jack

 

If you have a lift it is even easier (I am so envious). I did mine a couple years ago. From memory...

Remove the black plastic front undertray - 6 or 8 screws
Remove the black plastic fender liners (optional but makes it easier) - 7 or 8 fasteners
Disconnect the fog lights
Disconnect the marker lights
Remove the 3 bolts that connect each fender to the bumper cover. You can see a couple of them in this pic above the marker light.


Remove the 6 bolts under the hood along the top of the bumper cover. There is a plastic plug in the center of the 6 bolts that I left till last. Pop that out when you are ready to lift the cover.

The cover should be loose at that point so you can ease it off.

Once it is off you will will need to cut the rivets on top and bottom of each of these two "aluminium" bumpers and remove them to make room for a flat grille. I used a dremel.


Then it is just a matter of mounting the new grille into the bumper cover and reassembling. I bought mine from Adamesh and it fit well.

 

Thank you for your effort to present a great reply to my question. I'm impressed that you remembered the number and locations of the fasteners.
I'm definitely going to look into installing a new grill properly as you have done.
The lift is a back saver. I now drive on the car I'm working on, then adjust the height of the car to minimize the amount of bending I might have to do.

Thanks again for the excellent reply
Jack