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Center grill bar replacement - what goes in this square hole?
Greetings! I just purchased a 2018 F Type base v6, and upon removing the front license plate, was horrified to discover the black horizontal grill bar has a total of 6 drill holes. 5 holes for the US license plate holder, and a "mistake" 6th hole that's just a few CM away from one of the 5, leading me to believe the initial dealer made a positional error when drilling
I'm in California, and plan on running this car without a front plate. My previous 3 cars (a XE -> Giulia Ti Sport -> Giulia Quadrifoglio) all didn't have plates, and I've been relatively lucky not getting ticketed parking around in West Hollywood, San Francisco, and other locations with trigger happy meter maids. Was pulled over for speeding by the CHP a couple times while driving the QV, and was fortunately let off with warnings on those without any tickets for either speeding or front license plate infraction. Here's to rolling the dice on for the years to come, in my new (to-me) F-Type!
My first attempt at remediating the drill holes was to do a black wrap over it. However, the sloppy drill work left that initial dealer's license plate installation left protruding spirals from the uneven drill hole perimeters. Even after half an hour of trying to sand those holes to be more even, a black wrap still didn't yield good results. Then came the realization that it's time to apply a lesson from Breaking Bad: no more half measures. Full throttle forward then, to 100% replace that grill bar altogether.
I ordered OEM part T2R2827 from a Jaguar dealer in Tennessee. My base model doesn't have parking sensor. However, upon receiving the part, I see there's a black insert that's missing. (pictures below). For fellow forum members who have done this procedure before: do you recall what you did to plug in that missing panel? Did you simply remove that part from your old bar, and "pop it" into the new one? If yes - would greatly appreciate any tips and tricks, or your anecdotes on your grill installation experience.
Credit to Therock88's posts here, as I found his posts very educational: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/f...cement-253687/ I've read through the diagrams linked in TheRock88's first post there, but didn't find any references on how to plug in that black square panel inside the grill bar. Also related, MrGB's youtube videos on front fascia removal was a treat to watch.
Here's how the new bar arrived. Exterior first, then interior. Thank you
That hole is where the tow hook goes and it has a cover which you should still have on your original bar.
It flips out with a simple pry of a trim removal tool or even a fingernail, and is held on with a little plastic tether strap.
You can then remove it easily by rotating the "base" of the old tether strap 90 degrees so it slides out and off, and then you can put it on the new bar by inserting the little triangular prong through the slot (shown in the bottom right of the hole in your second pic) and turning it 90 degrees.
And you might consider the “sto’n show” plate holder made for the F-Type. It is very well made, virtually invisible under the car when the plate bracket is removed, very sturdy when the license plate is showing, and it takes about 3 seconds to install or remove the plate bracket. There is no drilling involved for installation. You remove the centre front bolt of the existing under-tray and use instead the bolt provided with the Stow’n show. This installation is done once only and takes less that 5 minutes. Brilliant, and your new centre bar remains pristine. Worth every penny (and I am generally a skeptic!).
The "sto&sho" is a great device, makes safety inspection easy, off and on in seconds.
As far as "what goes in the square hole", I believe it to be a round peg..
Appreciate the suggestion and testimonial for the sto&show mounting solution. Very grateful to be a part of this community, and looking forward to many years of readership and participation here to enhance my F Type ownership experience.
Center grill bar replacement - what goes in this square hole?
