Front grill fitment 🤔

Morning

Spent a frustrating couple of hours yesterday trying to fit the grill satisfactorily.

However there's an unacceptable gap between the lower edge of the bonnet/wing corners and the red grill trim.

See - pic. Can't get my head round it as bumper fits fine and headlights do too plus the panel gap is good.

My nightmare is something wrong with front panel we've fitted. The wings are the original as is the bonnet.

Comparing mine to other pictures I've matched it against shows a much tighter gap on other vehicles. 

Obviously with the car being white, will show up more, but it is clearly mis fitting.

The bonnet catch is not fitted yet and it's just resting on the rubber screw in adjuster pads, but as I say the panel gap is good.

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Any pointers?

I think that you have reached the optical contusion that is confusing to most folks.

Your gaps to me appear to be correct between all the fitments.

The issue that you see between the two pictures are angle of photo, and color of the car.

White against black head on produces one image that is optically unesthetic.
 
Where looking at the same car different color from a raised angle produces a different effect.

Even looking straight on a Darker car will appear more appealing to the eye. but the gap is still there hidden by the dark color of the car.

Hence the effectiveness of the Eye-Surround or "Spoiler" that Kamei made.

It hides the distance space.
Here is another angled shot at a OEM with caps about the same it just appears more esthetic

Installed from the top, the 4 round spoliers lip is DARK and hides the cap via the lip and the way it angles from the bonnet.






or this:


Yes they are darker cabbies, but 2 have the spoiler on them 2 don't.

While Purists don't like this, some do.  

But the purpose is that it hides this "Optical Confusion".

Took this slightly from one side and maybe not as low down but here is mine….for comparison maybe

Thanks Gents.

I still think there's a problem - I've looked at so many pics now to compare and the gap on mine defo looks too wide IMO 😏

I'll look at the thread Briano1234

Oh well might invest on the chin lip - I'll see.

How much adjustment is there on the grille? Could you file the holes a bit to gain 1/2cm in height?

The grill does look to low in the picture, so I would try Early-1800 advice an try the move the middle section up a little, there maybe some movement if you just loosen the screws a little but I'm not familiar with the early style grill.

Thanks for comments.

If I move grill up a bit then the lower clips won't be sat on the lip of the front panel.

 I've not fitted the bonnet with a catch yet and it's sat on the rubber adjusters to match the wing tops. I could easily loose 5 or so mil adjusting the bonnet down but then the wings are right judging by vertical panel gaps with the doors - see pic.

It was a pattern front panel from VW heritage. We left the bonnet on the car (as it was) whilst we rebuilt front end to use as a datum point. The front wing fitted ok for dry run before taking them off to paint. Bit of a mystery to me 🤔🤔

Hi, As a body worker of 50 years, I would suggest that you're going to have to live with it, assuming the grille is a genuine Vw item…

 IMHO The wings are dictating where your bonnet needs to be, so although the gap Does look a little wide, I can't see how it could be adjusted. You have a nice gap below the grille, ideally the gap should be the same size around the top.

 I must admit I wouldn't necessarily judge it to be wrong, just because these cars were built like that back in the eighties.

You could blow in some satin black on the front edge of the front panel down to the grille, which would improve the look, which on you car is exaggerated because it's white….. a proper head scratcher that one… good luck with it…

I've dwelled & slept on the issue. 

With the Golf, the problem is that I think the front panel fit is wrong and is lower by about 4mm than it should be. This is down to me & the welder chap when fitting it. We tested tyr panel gap relative to the wings and bonnet but not the grill. The grill (& corners) are fixed ONLY to the front panel. So adjusting the grill fitting on the front panel won't work as you'll increase the bottom gap then. 

The wings can be adjusted backwards, forwards and in/out a bit, but never down as this is dictated by the inner wing they sit on. The bonnet could easily be lowered to correct it as it's on adjusters, but then the panel gap would be wrong relative to the wings as you can't lower those at all to match.

The alternative scenarios are; either to accept it and get us good as one can, or strip the wings off and unpick / try and adjust the height of the front panel upwards by about 4mm

As you say a touch of blacking to the white front edge of the panel would reduce the optic effect of the gap.

Decisions decisions 

That's a lot of work to try and change the height of the front panel. It could even mess up the height of the slam panel making it throw out height of the bonnet.

Another thought I have, it might be possible to carefully upwardly elongate the holes where the headlights sit to raise them, (hammer & rounded block of wood) then elongate the grill fixing holes to suit.

If it were me I think I would go for the blackout option and forget it. Having that gap is annoying because you know it's there, I bet no one would notice if you showed the car off to others….

You could try a strip of black tape if you can find some, easily peeled off if you're still not happy…

Is it the OE grille?

This is a good lesson for others changing their front panel using a pattern one - check grille fitment before welding.

Hi Jazzydog

Yes it's an original grill.

I can perhaps get a very small amount of movement I guess, if I fiddle a bit more.

I'll put a strip of black tape behind the grill at the top edge and see what the result is. Don't have much appetite to strip it back again - but I know it's not right which is niggling.

Definitely a lesson to putting any front panel during restorations - use the grill as part of the lining up process.

Trouble is a couple of mil can really extenuate the gap.

I've done the same … I'm fitting a new eyebrow lip, it will make good my error abd I quote like the look 😂🤦🏼‍♂️

You'll have to send us a pic when you've fitted it 👍

Not a problem 15th February goes in for paint and should have it back on 22nd to put it all back together again 

Interested to see how you resolved this?

I have the same issue although the gap was always there with the original front panel fitted. The previous owner had fitted an eyebrow spoiler to remove the gap which I had painted when the whole car got done.

I think the lighter coloured cars do suffer with this gap more so than the darker colours.

The more I look at it the more I like the spoiler included to be honest





In both pictures the grill and spoiler are not fully fitted, just looking to see general end appearance 👌

I've resorted to probably getting an eyebrow panel.

It's the gap around the wings that's the issue too. I believe some were like that from new. You can't adjust the wings downwards and the front panel all lines up so absolute mystery., unless grill was a poor pattern one but it does meet the clip holes in the front panel where it should 🤷🏼‍♂️

Does spoil it for me as wanted to keep it stock.

As you say an eyebrow doesn't look too invasive