How difficult is it to punch out the honeycomb holes?

[Mr. Met]

sorry, was on vacation. I am pretty sure all California Specials have the same lower grill whether they have ACC or not.

It looks like they normally come with a lower grille that matches the upper one.

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[law242]

takes a while but im happy i did mine

 

[KewlWinter]

I have a Dremel and orbital sander ready to work on mine soon. Sounds like I should put them awhile and borrow my buddies router instead. How long did it take with the router?

Only a couple of minutes. Just take your time and get the depth right in one spot until the hole clears, then go to town on the rest. Just to be clear, I used one of the smaller cabinetry routers used for laminate edging and the like.

 

[Thatguy]

Only a couple of minutes. Just take your time and get the depth right in one spot until the hole clears, then go to town on the rest. Just to be clear, I used one of the smaller cabinetry routers used for laminate edging and the like.

I've never used a router but I bought a small 1HP Bosch for this project. I told the person at Lowes what I'm using it for. He suggested getting a trimming/cutout bit. He said I'd be drilling a small hole in the center of one of the honeycomb then using the router to open that up. I'd have to do that for each one. I pictured trimming the back plastic down enough to allow it to fall out of the holes. Any advice?

 

[KewlWinter]

I've never used a router but I bought a small 1HP Bosch for this project. I told the person at Lowes what I'm using it for. He suggested getting a trimming/cutout bit. He said I'd be drilling a small hole in the center of one of the honeycomb then using the router to open that up. I'd have to do that for each one. I pictured trimming the back plastic down enough to allow it to fall out of the holes. Any advice?

The guy at Lowe’s doesn’t understand the details. Just like the saw method, you are removing a layer off the honeycomb back. All you have to do is set the depth of the bit to correspond with how much layer to remove, start at one edge in an open honeycomb hole and work over until you reach the other side of the blocked holes. Repeat for other end of grill, done.

 

[Thatguy]

This is where I started -

I'm finding that besides cutting the plastic, it's also melting it. So I stop once in awhile to pick some out of the holes. This won't be a quick process. I'm defiantly not doing the upper grill.

 

[KewlWinter]

This is where I started -

I'm finding that besides cutting the plastic, it's also melting it. So I stop once in awhile to pick some out of the holes. This won't be a quick process. I'm defiantly not doing the upper grill.

Looking at your pics, the bit you are using is too small. A bigger bit works better and it MUST be sharp! Don't force the work or it will melt. I found that with the bigger bit and working side to side to that the plastic never heated enough to melt worked very well for me. I actually have an upper off my 2018 that I replaced with an RTR that I will be clearing the blocked honeycombs before I sell it. I did this on my 2015 a couple years back.

 

[Thatguy]

I ordered a different bit from Lowes. I'll pick this one up to see how it works tomorrow. I found it while searching for a bit to cut plastic - Bosch 1/4-in Solid Carbide Upcut Spiral Router Bit

 

[FreedomPenguin]

why don't you just use some sort of cutter?
I have this tool, with this cutting blade. I use it on a lot of stuff, plastics, dry wall etc. goes through it all smooth as butter. it just vibrates back and fourth really finely, slices right through anything I've tested.

https://www.amazon.com/Ryobi-JobPLUS-Console-Attachment-Accessories/dp/B01K26W12Q

Will it work? no idea, but I dont understand how using a drill bit is going to work on this.

 

[Martinnfb]

or you can buy mine. Brand new ford part, never used, nicely sanded. Original packaging , box etc.

 

[Thatguy]

The new bit worked great!!! It cut it like a hot knife through butter. MUCH better than what I was using before. I'm just opening up the bottom to expose the intercooler. I'm going to leave the top alone. Oh yeah, I'm going to be picking up small plastic shavings for weeks!

 

[dirtwarrior]

This needs to be a sticky

 

[WD Pro]

I belt sanded mine and then finished by hand :

WD

 

[dirtwarrior]

Does this mod allow much more air into airbox

 

[EFI]

Does this mod allow much more air into airbox

Much more? Probably not.

But definitely a little bit more.

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