The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop TWO parts questions

I an just about ready for a chrome grille and weather striping, I need advice on these two items regarding who sells the best quality and fit grille as well as all weather striping for doors windows and cab ???
1949 Chevy 3100 THANKS
BILL

There are lots of marketers who don't say who produces the weather seals they sell. That is one reason I use Steele.
http://www.steelerubber.com/

At Carlisle(PA) swap meet I saw the new grilles Classic Chevrolet Parts is producing. They had good quality, but I have no first hand knowledge of an installation of one.

www.classicchevroletparts.com

scotty47, regardless of who makes them I dare say it probably varies a little from grille to grille. I got a new grille for my 52 from them and it has held up well...but my panel stays in side most of the time.
When I got it, it appears to have "dust" in the grooves of the bar but the untrained eye would hardly notice it. Sort of like dusting a piece of furniture and then the next day looking at the dust on it. Not offensive but still there.
They had a good price on my grille when I bought it. They run a special sometimes and includes shipping if you can wait....for around $350.

I had to buy a repop (chrome)grille and front fenders for my 51 panel.

I got my stuff from LMC in 2008/9.

The grille looks ok…perhaps a bit thin in the plating here and there; but looks ok.
Turns out the top grille bar was about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch TOO long.
I compared it to the perfectly fitting originally bar to confirm this.
So, the ends had to be "trimmed"…… $600 at the time.
If I had to do it over I'd secure a good original and plate it.

To complicate matters the repop grille combined with the repop front fenders
was a nightmare in final fitting.

Anytime off shore reproduction parts are used we have to be prepared to cut,trim,
grind, elongate holes, and buy bags full of body shims!

my 2 cents
mike

I second the opinion of when you are buying reproduction parts and they aren't made in the USA, (and even sometimes then) there is a VERY good chance you will have to adjust it/them in one way or another. And nearly all the vendors have the same stuff. I don't know if Mar-K makes grilles, but if they do they would most likely be high quality.

I have done the rubber on my truck yet so I can not speak to that. But I look for a good quality original before I go for a Repop. Just my opinion, if you are not going to get OEM new quality for the price I would rather have a VERY GOOD Original. If you watch ebay and put the word out you can find some good deals on used grills. I bought mine by accident, thinking that a grill in this good of shape will NEVER go for this little money. Boy was I surprised, but only half as much as my wife!

Is there anybody out there that makes a grille in this country ? ? ? I know what you mean about imported parts as a whole they are JUNK. On a better note I bought a complete new box from MAR-K and it is absolutely beautiful the workmanship is great and everything fits perfect, in my opinion well worth the $$$. I have looked at weather striping from everybody and the prices are all over except for Steel which is about 4X the price ! ! ! is their stuff that much better to justify the price

Scotty47, I'll weigh in just a bit there on your last question. I agree that as a rule Steele has the best product but in MY OPINION they "cash in" on the name for some products that really are no better than others we buy. I purchased my weather stripping from another vendor for my panel and have been very happy with it the past 3 years. As we all know it has a lot to do with how well we install it. Therefore, I don't think the price at Steele for weather-stripping justified.......

.....I feel a LITTLE different about the windshield gaskets but my thinking here may be just due to my year/model. About a year ago I took the windshield out of my 37 to put in a new frame. I figured the old gasket I bought from JimCarter 15 years ago probably needed changing. I decided to go for the Steele gasket so a friend rode with me to Steele's facility to get some stuff. Their new windshield gasket was a little different, and pricey. I pulled the wallet out and paid big bucks. When I got home and compared I almost put the old gasket back on because it "hugged" the cab better than the smaller new one.......However, the wing vent rubber for my panel, from Steele, was much better than some stuff I purchased from another vendor. It was worth the money.

While at Steele I was told by_____that Steele doesn't make all their rubber stuff anyway, which I already knew. Them, Dennis Carpenter, and others buy and sell from each other which is the difference in different stuff as mentioned above. I also chatted with them about giving Stovebolters a measly 10% discount but it didn't happen!
I'm NOT bad mouthing them, just saying things are not always as they seem to be and we all have different experiences....and some things just aren't worth the difference in $$$$

Alvin, I have no doubt about your "cashing in" theory likely being true. That said, I also think the long term positive reputation for quality and service that Steele has earned is reason enough to consider them.