The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop '53 GMC Grill twisted into grin

Ok, I have some basic knowledge of aligning the front hood and fenders on an AD, but I have a GMC with an annoyingly goofy grin. If you look at this picture http://i891.photobucket.com/albums/ac112/Twotone_photos/My%20truck/IMGP1253.jpg you can see that it curves all the way up at the corners and comes within 1/16” of touching the fenders. In this picture the grill is hanging from the center two bolts at the top only. I have to push the grill up at the left and right sides in order for the other bolt holes to line up. The hood latches fine and is good at the fenders but you can see that the latch panel that the grill hangs from is much too low in the center which then pushes the center of the grill down into that goofy grin.

To complicate things; there is a small panel in front of and at the base of the inner fender on both sides about level with the valance panel to direct air toward the radiator that looks like it is hanging too low at the outboard side. as if the fenders were setting too low. Yet at the rear of the hood it looks like the front of the hood could come down a bit.

I’ve seen the same grin on other AD (or rather ND) GMCs but not after a restoration, so I know it’s common enough and correctable. I just need to know how.

Also, if the cab is sitting too far forward could that tilt the radiater support forward causing this problem?

I think the answer lies in the grill surround which will realign the piece you have it bolted to.

FriedGreenTmater, I appreciate your reply but I don't follow you. The part that the surround and the grill are bolted to at the top which contains the hood latch is structural. The grill surround and the grill are being pushed down in the center by this part. Replacing the grill surround has no corrective effect on it.

Also, should the radiator support stand straight up (plumb)? Mine does not. It leans away from the firewall at the top. If the radiator support is supposed to stand straight up, that would in turn tilt the part in question up and correct my grill problem.

I am having the cab mounts replaced next week. As it sits now, the cab is too low in the front causing door alignment problems as well as contact between the firewall and engine. I am hoping that new cab mounts will not only correct these problems, but also pull the fenders back, stand the radiator surround up straight, and wipe that silly grin from my truck.

twotone,

I think that FGT is referring to your missing grill surround used on 1953 GMC trucks?

That grill surround, when in place, would help to line-up the radiator support parallel to the firewall. Can you post photos of your radiator surround (from above and relative to your inner fenders)?

I pulled that grill surround off of my truck just prior to taking the picture above. I pulled it off because I wanted to find out why the hood latch panel was pushing the grill and surround down. I don't understand how the grill surround could push the radiator support back any more than the headlight could push the fender back.

The bent grill and surround are simptoms of another problem

In this picture http://i891.photobucket.com/albums/ac112/Twotone_photos/IMGP1254.jpg you can see the forward tilt of the radiator.

In this picture http://i891.photobucket.com/albums/ac112/Twotone_photos/My%20truck/MyTrucks7.jpg you can see the gap between the grill surround and hood. It doesn't look that bad here but I can stick my finger between the two.

Yes, twotone, I now see your problem clearly.

Here is another front end for comparison.

Here is another 53 with more of a gap, I think?

In the photo of the blue '53 you can see a bit of that grin in the grill where the center of the grill has been pushed down. It is more obvious in the more wore out trucks like mine. you can also see in that same photo that the doors sit too low in the rear. That leads me to think it starts back at the cab mounts.

I think that when the cab mounts go bad the cab tilts forward, pushing the fender support rods forward thereby pushing the top of the radiator forward. That would cause the hood latch panel to tip down pressing down on the grill in the center. My cab mounts are so bad that the firewall rests against the engine and my doors are almost impossible to work with

To be honest, I am only grasping at straws.

If anyone is interested in the continuing saga...

I replaced the front cab mounts and patched the floor board and kick panels over the weekend. Now not only do my doors work great, but it has actually fixed the ‘grinny grill’.

So if anyone has a GMC with a slight bow to the grill it might mean your cab mounts need replaced. Especially if your doors don’t close right.