my grill teeth are welded to the horizontal bar, was that stock? There are bolt holes it looks like without bolts and the holes don't align? What gives......

JB

 

Sounds like the PO welded them instead of using the bolts.

 

'51's were welded . '52's were bolted

 

The ones on my 51 are bolted haven't seen a 51 welded

 

I've seen both on both year trucks. I don't think that the difference was year so much as it was manufacturing plant - or possibly even outside suppliers. When you're building the same truck at 16 different plants at the same time, some things are bound to be done a little differently in a couple of them.

 

They are bolted together on my '51... but it may not be the original grille...?

-Bear

 

My 51 grill teeth are bolted also

 

Well my inner self wants to find the spot welds and drill them out so I can bolt them in with cad bolts but no one will ever see it so I am going to leave them welded to avoid fitment issues even though blasting them will be more painful.

While I was taking it apart today it made me think the grill and teeth might be a good candidate for powder coat, maybe I was in the sun too long.

Thanks for for the info as always.

JB

 

On a 51 f6 parts truck the outer two grill teeth are switched so they are kinda pointing out away from the center.
I havent looked to see if they are welded or bolted yet.
would be pretty funny if it came from the factory that way.

 

the 51 f1 that i had,the teeth were bolted in.also each tooth had its own spot.you cant put the left tooth in the right spot & you cant put the right tooth in the left spot

 

I've owned 8-10 of the 51- 52 trucks over the years.....never seen any welded on teeth. As said, must be a regional thing?

 

Found a '51 front clip while on the "Great 2013 Parts Safari " in N. Wis. These were also welded on .
So what do you think was the cheaper attaching process ? Welding or bolting ? I am sure Henry went w/ the least costly method from '51 -'52 .
On this 10 yr. heater restoration hobby have found some other cost effective methods used by Henry .
!. Eliminating the '51 4" round adapter ring on the "52 fresh air tube elbow that connects the heater boot it to the fresh air door housing .
2. The thickness of the heat dissipation pan that the core sits in from the '48-'50 to the '51 / '52 is much thinner .
3. The amount of rubber required to make the '51 & '52 boot is exactly the same w/ the elimination of the adapter ring . So where was the savings ?

 

My bet is that welding was tried as a labor-reducing move that didn't pan out. Try sticking the grille in with all three teats rigidly attached to the bar -- no fun! At least if you care about scratching the paint. But tightening the bolts on the teats in-place is no treat either, working blind.

I bet the front-end assembly guys were all drinkers after a month on the job....

 

Ok. Here is the only picture I could find on the computer. Ill take another one and inspect for welds vs bolts next time I'm at the storage yard.
the two outer dagmars are clearly pointing outward not forward. Not that I would complain about that since they are still beautiful even if someone reconstructing them got the angle am wrong! Beautiful. Patina on paint makes me think these are in original (from factory locations) maybe this grill was assembled by one of those workers Ross was talkin about? Maybe a monday morning shift or late friday shift??

 

Dagmars. Love it. Never get tired of that term.
On my late '51 truck they are welded. The truck was assembled at Long Beach, CA.