I pulled a '69 (?) steel grille out of a junkyard yesterday
for my '68 f250. Maybe I should have waited for a '68,
but most '68 grilles I have seen were aluminum (and beat
up, of course). Anyway, I got the entire thing for
what I would have paid for one new headlight door alone.

Does anyone know how I can straighten out the grille
by myself? I am starting to worry that if I bring it to
a body shop to straighten, it will end up costing me
more than if I had waited it out and bought one on ebay.

Here would be my proposal to a body shop:

do only the first 2 steps of the following (I will do the rest):

* straighten grille
* sandblast
* fill in minor holes, etc.
* prime
* paint

I figure they would probably want to charge me at least
$100 for straightening alone so any help on this would
save me some money, thanks!

Also comments on the notion of putting a '69 grille in
a '68 welcome. It actually came off a relatively well preserved
'68 f350 4x2 in the junkyard.

-Steve
'68 f250 4x4
etc.

 

If you are gonna use heat, be careful. OR you can get it best you can and maybe use a body filler if you leave marks from the vise-grips (like I did on my 69 alum. ranger grill, but its ok, for the old grill and a carb, i get a *perfect* one). The grill should bolt right up, and it is easier to just take off the hood latch and flat piece between the grill and top radiator support than just the grill.

 

It's steel, not aluminum. I have an aluminum '68 grille
but it seems weak and I don't know how to work
with aluminum at all.

How would I use heat on steel? I have a little weller hobby
torch. (I tried it to bend an aluminum kickstand with
absolutely no success.) Should I heat up steel before
trying to bend it? Should I take the paint off the steel
before applying heat? Sorry for dumb questions.

-Steve
'68 f250 4x4
etc.

 

How bent is it?
A few minor dings can be knocked out with a good body hammer and dolly, then sanded, filled, and finished using normal bodywork techniques.

You may want to consider asking this question on the bodywork forum.

 

I straightened mine on my truck after I hit a deer. It took me 4 hours to do but no one could tell it was bent to hell. I used pliers, punches, a ductwork type of flattening tool and a lot of pacience.
Dan 03 Edge 4x4

 

There a couple of "small" dings but the biggest problems
are ~1 and ~3 degree bends in the middle horizontal "bar".

-Steve
'68 f250 4x4
etc.