The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 1952 Repro Grill / Bumpers

Can anyone tell me how good the fit / quality of the repro chrome grill and bumpers are for my 1952 five window 3100 truck ? I live in the UK so I would be gratefull for any help as I need to order these from the US without seeing them. I also need some original rear lights and a set of door handles. Who is the best company to order them all from ?

Thanks in advance, from the sunny South coast of England.

I have bumpers from LMC they are great,also have grill from same supplier, grille started to rust right away they sent another ,also the fit was not good . tail lights are ok but chrome is poor ,I would not mind paying more for parts if quality was better. old navy 51..........

I just picked up a set of bumpers from Brothers, and I can honestly say that I've never seen a better set that wasn't done professionally by a plater. Chrome is smooth and mirror-like, not bumper and cloudy like some I've seen. Also picked up a complete grille. It didn't slip right in, but that's because the front sheetmetal has been bumped and moved around quite a bit, so it just took a little finessing. They have everything else you want, but you'll have to shop around for pricing.

All the repro stuff is the same, so which company to order from just depends on the price, service, and shipping. But almost all the repro stuff is pretty much junk. I guess bumpers are an exception to that statement. If you want good stuff, you need NOS. I suggest you watch ebay closely. Also some of the vendors have NOS and used originals, try the links and email them and see what they have.

fiftysixblack I picked up a used grill for my 49 on ebay if you want to see it go toothpaste

I bought the grill for $152.00 plus shipping so it was just over $200.00. In my opinion if you are going to spend 400 bucks you want something that is good quality and I don't feel the repo's are worth it. Now one other option you have is to find a straight Non chrome grill and have it chromed. And yet another option is to find some damaged grills and make one good grill by taking the good "bars" and putting them together.

However the simiplist way would probably be contact one of the member out west that has a ton of parts for AD's. Send me an email and I will give you his name or just check the Parts section to see what you can find.

Time and Money an abundance of each will get you just what you want!

Good luck

The chrome on my repro bumpers looks excellent, but when the metal itself and the lack of detailing such as deburring from the stamping process is compared to an original bumper it is crap. Front bumpers are easy enough to pick up in good shape, but it will take a miracle to find a rear that is not dented, twisted or badly rusted around the carriage heads.

Thanks for the advice guys, I could do with a few web site addresses if any of you can help. Please excuse my ignorance but this is my first truck so I don't know who to go to. For the last fifteen years I've been heavily involved with Cal Look Volkswagens. I've just sold my multi show winning '56 Bug, 2276cc 190bhp motor which ran mid twelves down the 1/4 mile. Great fun !!

My truck is a '52 five window which found it's way over this side of the pond recently. It's running a 350 Chevy motor with a 350 auto box, Mustang II front end and Camaro 10 bolt rear. Disks all round, servo & power steering make it a pleasure to drive. In fact my Audi hasn't been out of the garage for the past few weeks !!

Thanks again for the help, Tom.

*************

A short cut is suppost to be a challenge,
If it was easy it would be the way!

You need to find out, where The "OLD NAVY" Stores, are getting the chrome grilles for there Advance Design trucks. Where ever that is, don't buy one. Has anyone noticed, how poor of quality, those things are. The edges, of the grille bars look terrible.