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SA grille discussion
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Brungeman
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 7:40 am    Post subject: SA grille discussion Reply with quote

OK so a guy in our local club has a very negative opinion of the SA grill...
I on the other hand, have a very negative opinion of the square headlight's on my van...

He claims he has seen dozens broken... well, I have seen more than dozens of stock grills broken including the one on my 84 Laughing

I think his only valid point is that there are less "mounting pins" on the SA grill... so if a user screwed up and neglected to correctly attatch all 3 he/she could lose the grill.

Is the SA grill a bad option? I have round headlight buckets to swap, what is the positive vs negative of running an SA grill over a stock round grill... I already know that at best the stock square headlighs even with relays suck!

what say you?
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Zero419
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 7:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I want one.
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Brungeman
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 7:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

hero419 wrote:
I want one.
Applause
me too!
I am leaning toward it actually... The club member I mentioned is very active and very vocal, so I want to have my reasons ready for when he says "But..." and I can fire right back! Twisted Evil I am not trying to justify my actions to him, but more a friendly banter of sorts... Wink
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PDXWesty
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 7:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Why care what someone else thinks? Get it if you like it, enjoy it, and let others look on in envy.
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insyncro
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 8:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The plastic that the SA grill is made of and the reinforcing around the mounting areas is very thin.
What the "guy" is talking about is how quickly the areas will crack once mounted to your van.
I have seen hundereds of SA grills throughout the years...at least half or more are cracked.
I have sent back numerous brand new ones that are cracked from shipping.
Love the look, can't stand how flimsy they are!!!
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Zero419
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 8:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe reinforce them.
Sucks that they want so much for something that is poor quality.

Supply and demand.

Stop buying them people!!!!



I want one cheap. Very Happy

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SeattleDownhill
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 8:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If anyone has a broken SA grill.... I'll take it off your hands. I got mine used and it was all busted up. So I want to use parts from another grill to fix mine. Will pay cash money!

As for whether or not to go with a SA Grill? I was stoked when I went with it. I got the high powered headlighs and relay setup and such and I absolutely love it. In combo with some Hella driving lights, I can see amazing in the dark! People i'm behind don't seem to like it even when I'm running only my low beams... My headlights are BRIGHT!!

The grills do crack, but my old square grill was cracked. It's a 2 year old van... I'm 6 months older than the van, I'm not bummed about the grill being cracked. I have more cracks in my bones over the years than my grill does... So though I do want to fix my busted up one, I would rather run a cracked SA setup with some bright ass lights, rather than a busted up square grill with poor lighting.
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fastwagens
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 8:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I haven't seen any but the ones I have were broken. I still want one.
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syncrodoka
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 8:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have been running the SA grill for years and have never had any cracking. All 3 of my vans have them in fact, where are they prone to cracking?
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BlackDogVan
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 9:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

syncrodoka wrote:
I have been running the SA grill for years and have never had any cracking. All 3 of my vans have them in fact, where are they prone to cracking?


Yeah! x2
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xoo00oox
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 9:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

....Maybe this would make him happy. This is an '86 I put the old syle grill in and cut my own holes then put in aftermarket fog lights. This picture is from one of the Terryville CT. shows if anyone here goes to them.

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Gobbles
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 9:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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I love my new SA grill and the accompanying 75/110 bulbs-thanks Sean and company at transporter werks in Raleigh, NC-the grill may seem a bit flimsy but the metal tabs on the corners adhere it very well to the grill opening-it seems to be holding up well-try plastic weld for a cheap fix? I had the high powered relay enabled squares but these babies properly positioned blow those out of the water-I fell very safe driving at night now
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speedtek
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 9:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This Arrow
PDXWesty wrote:
Why care what someone else thinks? Get it if you like it, enjoy it, and let others look on in envy.
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psych-illogical
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 9:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I personally love the look. I usually associate it with Syncros since that's where I've seen most of 'em but I have seen a few on 2wd. I think it's an improvement over the square headlight versions for sure but that's certainly a matter of opinion.

BTW, if these things crack and/or break so easily, why don't you ever see them in the classifieds?
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r39o
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 9:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Go Westy has replacement lamp assemblies. That tells me another thing may be happening too. Do driving lamp lenses fall off? I have seen plenty of factory Hella grill mounted lamps that the lenses fall out of.

I can not find the link to the adaption of Mercedes lamps and cutting of the stock grill. I want to add that back to the FAQ, if some one can help.

The DIY setups seem to be much better but not near as simple. I actually like the look of the stock grill and the lamps.

FYI: I am a square lamp hater. I admit it. Maybe we need a poll! Smile Smile
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syncrodoka
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 9:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Do driving lamp lenses fall off? I have seen plenty of factory Hella grill mounted lamps that the lenses fall out of
.
I have never had a issue with that even with trail running my truck with the grill for years. Vibration should have made this problem visible by now.
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r39o
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 10:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

syncrodoka wrote:
Quote:
Do driving lamp lenses fall off? I have seen plenty of factory Hella grill mounted lamps that the lenses fall out of
.
I have never had a issue with that even with trail running my truck with the grill for years. Vibration should have made this problem visible by now.

Maybe it is heat related. You are in the North and I am in the South. I have had some fall off my Caddy which I drove infrequently and sat a lot. Also the same thing happened with some A1 Cabriolets with factory round driving lamps. I know nothing of the SA grills though.
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vwlovr
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 10:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

they are fragile, but they aren't shite either. the first one i bought got destroyed in delivery, but the one i have now has lasted me several years and i have removed it more than a dozen times.

i personally like how it's attached to the van. with a screwdriver and a body panel tool i can pop it off in seconds. sure you can destroy it by removing it incorrectly but how is that different from any other part?
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mtnwater
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 10:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I love the look, but both of my inner lenses accumulate water and both reflectors have started to rust. Anyone else have this experience? I've pulled them several times, dried them out, checked the rubber boot for leaks, etc. and can't find any obvious spot where water is getting in....

Happy the GW has replacements. Spoke with Van Cafe a month or so ago and they too will be selling them soon.


Last edited by mtnwater on Thu Apr 21, 2011 11:55 am; edited 1 time in total
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PNWesty
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 10:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

SA Grill is on my to do list. Not a high priority, but hopefully sometime later this year.
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