The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 1954-55.1 Grill Guard Mounting and Color

Hi Everyone, I'm still making good progress on my restoration.
Today I decided to work on how I would mount my NOS grill guard. To not scratch my actual bumper
I decided to practice on an extra bumper. Looks as though mounting the guard will put some good scratches in my painted bumper.
I don't have a copy of the Brush Guard Accessory instructions but I am thinking maybe Chevy included some type of gasket or something
to protect the painted bumper. Does Anyone have information on the mounting details or have already crossed this bridge and figured out
a way to prevent scratches??

I am also wondering about the brush guard color. The guard I have looks to be an orginal gray NOS color. Is this the color that the guards were left
when mounted or did they get painted one of the body/bumper/steps colors? Anyone know the color name or code for the NOS guards? Mine was stored for awhile and has a few scratches
so I am thinking about re-painting it.
Thanks for the help in advance. I included a couple of pictures for reference.

I have no idea whether there was a standard color for brush guards as they were an accessory item. The grey color is likely a primer, allowing the guard to be painted whatever color the user wants.
As far as dealing with scratches on the bumper when mounting, what I'd do is paint the guard and the bumper the same color as the bumper AFTER it's been mounted to the bumper.

I doubt if there's any real way to prevent some chipping at the junction even after that's done. It would be best to get it secured to the bumper as securely as possible so there will be no movement, although if you tap something with the guard, a chip will surely occur at the joint.

I would put a little door edge trim on the bumper guard edge .I have a mgb that has a similar rubber on the bumper pieces.

Find a powder coater in your area for bumper and guard independently and maybe clear coat after assembly.

How does the guard attach? Do you have to drill holes?

Otto, Here is a tidbit from Jim Carter on how the 1954 Bumper Guard was installed. It doesn't actually show if it uses extra holes or not, but maybe originalchuck can provide that info.

originalchuck, below are some snips from the 1954 and 1955.1 GM Heritage Resource PDFs that I think help shed some light on your painted or not question. In a nutshell:

1954 front bumper color spec listed as "Anvil Grey" in the basic info. 1954 accessories info lists the bumper guard for 3100 & 3600 as "painted or plated".

1955.1 front bumper color spec listed as "Bombay Ivory" except "White" when the main body color is "Pure White". Bombay Ivory listed as the color for the 1955.1 grille assembly. The 1955.1 accessories info lists the bumper guard as "painted or plated".

From what I can tell from this info, "plated" would have been when the trucks where ordered with the "Deluxe" equipment package. If I missed info or misspoke, others should be along to clear up what I found.

Hope this may be of some help.

Actually it says in the text that it uses existing bumper holes.

Otto Skorzeny. Agreed, it does. But the picture shows the guard uprights mounted outside of the 3 inner original bumper mount holes. I have a 1950 Accessory Guide Installation book that shows the similar style earlier bumper guard mounted using clamping style brackets that wrap around the bumper itself. I'm interested in seeing how originalchuck's guard is mounted and hope he will add a pic or two of the back side of his bumper and guard.

Sorry everyone for the late reply. Thank you for all the information and inputs. We've been without power since Saturday night, PG&E is estimating 8pm tonight so I decided to log on with the phone so I can reply. Gdads51 is correct my guard uses a clamp style bracket to attach it to the bumper. When the rain let's up I'll try to take a picture. Thanks..

I had forgotten about the Korean War era trucks having painted bumpers (the Anvil Grey that Dan's info showed). originalchuck's bumper guard may be finish painted that color, rather than primer that I guessed.

I took some pics of the clamp style brackets and attached them below.
I reviewed the 1954 and 1955 chevy books Gdads51 linked to the thread. The paint info pages state Gray Anvil for the 1954 bumper and Bombay Ivory for the 1955 1st (Unless the truck is painted white). So are we supposed to assume that the grill guard has to be painted to match the bumper color?
The accessory pages only state chrome or painted so I am still not 100% sure what color the guard should be?
Thanks, Chuck

My thought if the guard is painted, it should be anvil grey like the bumper.

Chuck, Considering you said your truck is a 1955 1st series and the original pic you posted above showed a “white” existing paint, I think you would be correct in using the Bombay White.

Only thing that would change that IMHO would be if your truck is going to wear “Pure White” paint.

Just my $.02 worth.

PS - The guard you have may actually be a 1954 unit which being “gray” like it is currently would be correctly finished for a 1954 truck. The design of guard for both years is the same. Paint it to match whichever works for you. 😉

The standard line here has always been, "It's your truck--do it however you wish."

If you're a stickler for "correctness", that's one thing, I guess. Otherwise, do it however you want.

[originalchuck]

The mounting brackets you are trying to use behind the bumper are not for that bumper guard.
The brackets you are trying to use are for the 1947-1953 truck grill guard.

The 54 & 55.1 bumper guard for 1/2 & 3/4 ton trucks { GM part # 986949 Group. # 7.828 } actually uses 4 mounting brackets
{ 2 behind the bumper that match the contour of the bumper & 2 braces that mount to the existing front bumper mounting holes}.

The original grey color on them was a lacquer finish & not primer.

Thanks for the information. You wouldn't happen to be selling any sets of the brackets? If not maybe you can provide some pics with measurements for the brackets and I can try to make my own.
Also, anyway I can get a picture of the whole sheet for installing the guard?

Thanks again, Chuck

We are not allowed to buy & sell parts in the forums but if you send me a private message , I can point you in the right direction.

MT, you've been a big help for Chuck. It's been great that you added all those images to help explain the mounting pieces and all.

And you can buy and sell on the site ... just need to do it in the Swap Meet. It's been great to see how the SM has evolved. More than just cut and dry posts. A lot of discussion about the items in details (and with advice!) takes place in there these. Try it ... you'll like it.