The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Are Classic Parts grills any good?

I'm needing a new grill, just wanted to get opinions and feedback about their grills- 49 chevy, original.

Here is a pic of a after market grile, it fit better than the original. My grille.

AD__Pickup,That's one good looking truck. What does the motor look like ? I love that color !!!

bowtietim, That color is "Ocean Green" the orginial color when it left the factory. Here is a pic of the engine before the decals.

looks great,what color of orange is on the filter canister ?

Dang, that's sure a nice looking truck.

bowtietim, that is a "Fram Filter", I took it to the paint supplier and they matched the orginial color, I do not know what it is called.

leon2982, that truck of yours is nothing to sneeze at, nice job on that puppy.

Getting back to the original question, I have heard from many guys that the repo grilles are trash-poor fit, and worse chrome. But that is hearsay on my part, I used an original grille, which, in my opinion, is what you should do.

AD_PICKUP,I have an original grille in my truck,had it rechromed.Looking at yours,you can't tell that you have a reproduction grille.I have looked at them at classic parts of america"chevy duty",They are really nice looking,and judging by the fit,looks great !!

bowtietim, thanks, I was very pleased with the way it fit and looked. As I said before, I think it fit better than the original.

I have not used or handled a repro grill before so I can only go with what I was told. But I have a restorer friend that has been restoring AD trucks exclusively for 20 years. He always told me he had problems with the fit. This may have changed in recent years. Some of the repro parts have gotten better over time. He also told me how to quickly recognize a repro from an original in that the end tips of the chrome bars are not quite right in the forming. The original ones follow the curves in the bars 90 degrees right back to the body, where the new ones are a little flatter at the end and a bit more pointy. I saw what he was speaking of when placed side by side, but again this may have changed and it seems it would be a problem only for a perfectionist. Last, as a general rule I think all mass production chrome is not going to hold up as well as chrome from a good plating shop. All this being said, it is getting pretty hard to find a good original grill these days, (epecially a # 4 or 5 bar!)

Pretty truck...

My father has a grill from Bowtie bits on his 39 that looks and fits nice.

(If this post was in the Greasy Spoon, you might see responses like "I prefer the George Forman grill")

AD - Is that pearl beige on the dash? It looks very sweet. Good work!

50GmC253, that is "Sheen Gray Metallic" on the dash.