Having fitted a three bar grill I needed to fit some chevrons to the bonnet to complete the look. I hadn’t been able to track down any that were designed to fit over the curve but had sourced two options: a pair of modern plastichrome ones for sprucing up number 4 grills and a pair of new-old-stock AX era chevrons.
I preferred the look of the older chevrons and they had the added bonus of being genuine Citroën parts. For reference they are 75mm across the tips and 35mm between the mounting pins.
Having got the measurements of 120mm from the tip of the top chevron to the top edge of the grill and 10mm spacing between the two chevrons I made up a cardboard jig to figure out the correct placement for the holes.
The notches are to help align the jig on the centreline of the bonnet which is hard to see if the jig is covering it. (The lower pair of holes here are from “measure once”, the upper quad are the holes from “measure twice”.)
The location of the holes were then transcribed onto some masking tape on the bonnet. This has the added advantage of protecting the paint from the drilling and leaves a clean hole.
Then the bit I was least looking forward to: drilling holes in my bonnet. The masking tape is useful again here as it helps stop the drill bit sliding on the paint – even when centre punched this is a real risk. Once the drill had started a high speed and gentle pressure were the order of the day to slowly and evenly get through the bodywork. The chevron mounting pins have plastic barbs which compress as they go through the holes and expand to grip the bonnet. After measuring the size of the pins at the base a 3.5mm drill bit was needed.
After some treatment with paint applied with cotton buds to provide some kind of rust delaying effect on the edges of the holes, the chevrons pressed in. This was a bit nervy as the force required to get the barbs through the holes was – I felt – very close to the braking strength of 20 odd year old plastic.
Once fitted they complete the look of the three bar grill.
Not being shaped to fit the curve of the bonnet they do stand slightly proud but this is only noticeable up close and from certain angles.