Thanks much, Derek - that puts the price within consideration - it does not immediately say "no"

Orkney

 

Well, I'm sure the P7 nose would be nice (if expensive), but it really isn't *that* different from the standard part. If *I* were considering making a solution for the 'bar' problem, it would be to fabricate these two P7 parts:



Perhaps the grille itself could be wire mesh of some sort in the first instance, in which case the required moulded part would be just the surround.

I suspect there would be a quite lot of takers for that part, and if you went with a full P7 nose cone later, it would require those parts anyway, so no effort wasted.

Unless he's fitted them, Unhingd has these P7 parts in hand...

(I also have doubts to the volume availability of the factory P7 parts - there probably aren't that many of them in existence, given there are only 250 P7s built and JLR will probably notice a 'run' on them at some point and cut off the supply).

 

Not yet installed. I'd be willing to loan these parts to Derek if he wants to scan for future reference. I have this first set in hand and the next buyer has an order confirmation, but no shipping confirmation yet. I agree with mshedden. At some point JLR will catch on and shut down the loophole we're using. (used the same process to source GP parts for my R53 JCW).

 

Yeah, that would be the ticket. If we could find a way to just duplicate the parts you have, I predict that several people would go for it.

Orkney

 

Great info guys and I appreciate the input. Pertaining to the P7 center grill, this appears to be a slightly different dimension, so this still requires the P7 nose correct? Not a direct swap?
I do not see any issue with designing a carbon replica of this part. I can easily source mesh for the center, or laser cut a similar pattern.
Does the grill have much flex to it or is it pretty rigid? If It is rigid, i can scan it precisely without being mounted on the car.

I know this is certainly a part a majority of us would like to see improved.

I'm heading over to Hendricks tomorrow to discuss with some of the Carbon experts the ideas I'm tossing around.
Some key things I'm interested in : Grill, the bumper discussed, Louvered Carbon bonnet. (Weight and heat extraction)

I really hope to see finalized engine bay panels tomorrow. We shall see. If these panels turn out great, I'll get the engine covers completed asap.

 

Would also be interested in a CF hood

 

I think the hope is that the grille and surround will fit into the *standard* nose cone, but nobody has fitted one yet to know for sure.

 

Correct. I believe far fewer people would be interested in this mod if they had to replace the nose as well.

The grille is certainly a different shape than the original since it is a one piece rather than a 2 piece, but it appears to have the same circumferential shape as the assembled 2 piece grill. It is fairly rigid, but since it is to be perfectly flat, it will be easy enough to scan. The surround also appears to be the exact shape of the original except for missing the unwanted bumper cutouts. That piece is more flexible and would be a greater challenge to accurately scan.

It might make sense to scan these parts before I attempt to install.

 

So if you can come up with a replacement insert that lacks the "Bar", there are a lot of wonderful things that can be done on the back of that. This would include a variety of grille patterns, colors and substances. I think this could be the entry points for some very nice, attractive and easy to build cosmetic enhancements. The current grille on the F-Type is (in my opinion) the weakest element of the entire design.

Orkney

 

1) yes; there would be alot of interest in the grill and surround IMO. you could also modify the grill to accept the parking sensors which would make it even more desirable.

2) I'm 99% sure that the P7 parts will fit into the regular nose but only Unhingd can answer that question with 100% accuracy....


Cheers,
Dave

 

Agreed on all counts;

1) It appears that Jaguar may already have cut off the supply of the P7 parts

2) To swap to an entire P7 front end in CF would be very expensive and require paint, etc. Very limited market IMO.

but to have just the surround and grill available at a reasonable price point and I predict they'd fly off the shelves as dissatisfaction with the factory grill bar is a fairly common complaint.

2 cents,
Dave

 

My perception is that it's only a common complaint from a small handful of people. It would be interesting to see how many would replace their OEM grill/bar with the P7 style grill if the cost were say $700-1K.

Quite frankly, I don't think I'd replace it if it were free.

 

Foosh; I understand your position on the factory grill and bar and I'm not trying to change your mind about it....HOWEVER enough people have made negative comments on the bar to suggest to me that a replacement would be well received IMO.

You may not (and probably won't) agree.

Cheers,
Dave

 

I posted a poll to see if people would change to a P7 style grille if it were avaialble:

Here: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/f...le-bar-160279/

 

I can't think of more than a handful who have made negative comments, but they do make them often :-). As far as I'm concerned, I'm just plain ambivalent and wouldn't pay anything to change it.

Since cost would factor in, a lot of people will probably respond to a poll that they like the no bar look better until they find out how much it will cost them. At that point, they'll start liking the bar just fine.

 

Liking it and not wanting to spend the money to change it out are two different things altogether, aren't they? In fact, you are the ONLY person who seems to actually LIKE the bar. Give people a no cost option to go bar vs. no bar on a new car order and you'd soon see how many people actually like the bar.

....and I wasn't just referring to the fine folks here, but dozens of other comments on the internet and a few in person as well.

I could be wrong and there is only a "handful" of us worldwide that don't like the grill bar.....but I very much doubt it! LOL


I think we're as far as your and my perspectives on this are concerned so I'll leave it at that and see what the poll says.

Cheers,
Dave

 

Great to hear guys. Thanks for the poll for reference. This justifies moving forward. I'll start looking into options on the best way to tool this whether we do a carbon fiber design, mesh hybrid setup or some sort.

I will work on coordinating to 3-D scan and reverse engineering the part. Keep that P7 grill safe until I can get my hands on it. We can go about the same approach as the engine cover and poll everyone's wants/desires with the look we want to achieve. This will be top of the list after the engine cover is completed.

Thanks guys.

 

Perfect! I will not install these until you have a chance to scan. Then I will install to make certain they fit on the non-P7 bonnet.

 

Great to hear. I think this will be a great project. With your assistance in this we will make sure you get the first production piece. I'm quite certain we will be able to come up with something quite nice and unique.

Thanks again for the suggestions guys.

Derek Fricke

 

I personally won't need one made from CF , and will just use the parts I acquired after you have scanned them. It's all the other folk looking for these pieces that need them more.

BTW, what's the status on the engine cover?