hi, has anyone used a 48-50 repro grill? mine is in tough shape...any thoughts? my thought is by the time i buy a used one that at the least needs to be stripped and detailed ill be into it for the price of a repro...just wondering how the quality is.. thanks..

 

The only repros I've seen are fiberglass. I bought a used one at a swap meet for $30 and still spent $300 having it fixed by a restoraton shop.

 

Mine was banged up pretty good when I got it, was even missing the bottom bar (was ripped off and lost somewhere along the way). I actually went to see a feller in Saskatchewan (11hrs drive from me) about some other parts and asked him if he happened to have one on the bars just lying around loose. He rustled around the pile for a bit pulls one out and says hows this one. It had a little tweak to it and had also been ripped off a grille. When I got home first thing I did was straighten out the twist then held it up to my grille for fitting.....had to look twice because the metal was tore in precisely the same spot as the one I was missing....weird.

I welded the thing back on and banged out any remaining dents in the balance of the grille then sprayed it with two coats of high build primer. Looks like new. I spent maybe 6-8hrs total on the grille.

The other thing one needs to remember is that these grilles are not just for looks, they actually form a structural part of the front of the truck. I would think that over time the FG ones will crack or rub through.

 

hi, thanks for the replies.... my fenders are glass and the fit to the headlight buckets is just aweful...the funny thing about my grill is the bars are absolutly perfect....but the headlight "bucket" areas are horrid...very rotted..swiss cheese everywhere.... i looked at a grill for sale a few weeks ago that is the opposite...bucket areas are perfect..but the grill bars are bent... i suppose i could buy it and carefully remove the bars and try to make one from two...but again..thats when i was starting to wonder if buying a repro would just be easier... they are all fiberglass? all the repro's?
maybe ill just spend the time and rebuild mine...its so bad, that the piece thats supposed to bolt to the inner fenders isnt even there anymore....but again..the grill bars are damn near perfect... anyone have one for sale? thats real good?

 

just found one listed in Fairlane's online catolog...apears to be metal....lots of money tho...guess ill hafta think this over...

 

Here's a thought...cut out the cruddy parts from your grille, buy the other bent up grille you found real cheep, cut the patch panels off the bent up grille. This should be a piece of cake. Second option would be to drill out the spot welds in your bars and the ones on the other grille and replace as necessary....Just be patient and you will find what you are looking for with the right amount of work required in the right condition for the right price.....being in a hurry for things will cost you big bucks......

 

hi, yes i did think of that.. the issue is that the one i looked at a few weeks ago, the seller wants way to much money for it.. well what i mean is, its probably worth what he wants for it...yet not to me cause im simply gonna cut it up...ide certainly do this project if i could find one thats got really bad grill bars and is for cheap cheap money.....anyone got such a piece?.. there is also a plus to this that i think i could set the bucket areas into my fenders, get everything square and fitting correctly..and then maybe cheat just a bit and place the bars in accordingly...as it is now im really cranking on my fiberglass fenders trying to pull them out and around the grill...

 

Post some pictures of your grille....and keep looking, I have found grilles up here for $20 Canadian and they are complete with the stainless strips.

 

I have 3-4 steel grilles for sale in various condition. From a 4 to a 9.5 in condition.

PM me if interested.

Thanks, Ilya