Up next Slammed Super Duty Ford Dually Published on November 06, 2018 Author Jacob White Tags Cummins, Dodge, Ram, Share article Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Mail 0 GRILLE INSERT OVERKILL FABRICATION In today’s truck world, everyone is looking for something to differentiate their rig from their neighbors— new wheels, bigger tires; perhaps a set of off-road bumpers or a cowl induction hood. If you’re the kind of person that just can’t leave something stock and need to make a bolder more aggressive statement with your truck, maybe a new mesh grille insert from Overkill Fabrication would be just what the doctor ordered. The hand-built custom grilles are offered for just about every make and model, and offer state of the art engineering to ensure a perfect fit and plenty of customizable options to fit just about anyone’s taste. The truck the new Overkill Fab grille is being installed on has a factory chrome grille that just wasn’t the look the owner was after, so a quick online search rounded up this brand-new, factory replacement, paintable black plastic grille shell that would work perfect for housing the new mesh grille insert from OKF. Simply laying the new grille insert over the grille, it was easy to see how much time the OKF crew spends making sure they’ll be a perfect fit. Their state of the art scanners and laser cut machines ensure the outer frame will follow all the factory lines and make for a simple install and incredible finished look. To attach the OKF insert to the grille shell, on this 2010-2012 Ram application, there are four studs welded to the back of the insert that will allow the included tabs to secure the insert to the shell. Stainless hardware also ensures it’ll last forever without rusting. On this application, the insert will fit best by cutting up and removing the center section of the grille shell. After some eyeballing and marking, it was decided it would be best to just cut the main bars as close to the shell as possible. A small Dremel tool and a zip bit was used to cut out the plastic grille, but a small die grinder, handheld jigsaw, or even a hacksaw can cut the plastic just as easily. Just be sure to take your time and cut only as much as you need. With the center piece all cut out, you now have nothing but a grille shell left. After a couple of minutes smoothing out the cuts and cleaning any leftover debris on the shell, it was time to install the OKF insert. Laying the OKF grill backside up on a table that wouldn’t scratch the powder coat, the grill shell was dropped down in place and the additional mounting spots (four top and four bottom) were marked to be drilled out. After marking all eight spots along the upper and lower pieces of the grille shell, they were all drilled and the included stainless bolts and nuts could be used to hold the new insert in place, along with the pre-welded studs on the back of the grille. Overkill Fab opened shop in 2013 looking to fill a void in the market by offering custom fabricated parts to the masses that not only looked good, but provided unsurpassed fitment and quality. With their state-of-the-art 3D contours and CO2 laser tables to cut each piece, each OKF grille is developed using Kreon scanning technology to make an OEM like fit in the factory grille shell of your truck. The latest powder coat technology will help the grille insert stand up to the harshest conditions and their stainless steel grille options offer a Lifetime Warranty. Grilles are available with multiple frame layouts that offer mounting locations for various light bar sizes and your choice of hardware ranges from simple button head bolts, to spikes or brass bullet casings. The pre-bent stainless tabs helped hold the insert in place with great rigidity and strength. Overall, cutting and installing the OKF grill shell took less than 30 minutes, and it was a perfect fit. The 2010-2016 Ram grilles couldn’t be any easier to swap out with just four bolts along the top and two small clips at the bottom holding them in place. For this truck, it was time to ditch that shiny chrome for something much more aggressive looking. After popping the hood, the rubber valance between the grille and the core support needed to be removed to gain access to the grilles mounting hardware. There were just four of these plastic push pins holding the valance in place and a small pair of side cut pliers were perfect for popping them up out of place. Be careful not to damage these push pins, as they’ll be reused to reattach the valance. The four 10mm bolts across the top of the grille shell just needed to be removed before the lower snap clips could be pulled out and the entire grille shell removed as one piece, this is literally less than a ten minute job. Sitting on the ground next to each other, you can see how much better that glossy black powder coated mesh grille insert is going to look on the front of this big Ram truck. While this owner opted for the more basic OKF mesh grille with button head stainless hardware, OKF offers multiple options to fit any owners style. They even offer grille frames that will house LED light bars or spiked hardware for the most aggressive look on the street possible. For this build, a 2012 Ram 2500 with the 6.7L Cummins, the factory chrome grille just wasn’t cutting it and the glossy black OKF insert was the perfect way to dress up the front end, while tossing the chrome to the curb. Using an aftermarket paintable replacement grille shell that was ordered online, a Dremel tool with cutting bit, and a hand drill to make a couple holes, the installation of the OKF insert took less than 30-minutes and was installed on the truck in under ten. The grille frame followed the factory grille shell lines perfectly and the contour also matched to a tee. Using the included stainless hardware, it mounted securely and looked killer on the truck. OKF offers grille options for 1991- 2016 Dodge, 2001-2017 Chevrolet, 1992-2017 Ford, and 1994-2017 GMC applications. DWSubscribe Our Weekly Newsletter SOURCES : OVERKILL FABRICATION OverkillFab.com 877.252.5402 Total 0 Shares Share 0 Tweet 0 Pin it 0 Share 0
