The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Putting the Squeeze on your AD Grill Assembly.

Well, the grills done on my ‘50, not installed because I’m working on the final pieces
of tin, the two front fenders. I’m hoping to get them finished up and on by the end of
the month.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/138235326/large

Here are a few pictures of how it was assembled after it was run thru the paint line
and how I put the squeeze on it. It was all assembled with 3/16“x 7/32“ truss head semi-tubular zinc plated rivets just as was done originally at the factory:
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/grill&page=all

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Beautiful job again.

Good job Denny on the grill and making up the tools to get it done !!!!!!


Pete

nice, a lot of rivets, rivets

But.....like a bunch of people have told me, in fact, most
everyone that has restored one, soooo what, who's gonna see
that it was riveted rather than screwed or pop riveted together.
Well, I guess I did it just for me, just to see if I could do
it the way the factory did it, so as my old buddy Rick
says, "You see, you can't please everyone, so you got to
please yourself."
And I am pleased today!
DG

nice job, you should be proud.. I did not attempt disassembly on mine before painting

......you mean you didn't do it for me,Denny? I'm crushed.

Nice job pal. You did it for all of us. Your an inspiration to us all. If you want it bad enough you can do it!!

Once again you amaze with the attention to details!

And Alvin, I must have wanted it bad enough cus it was truly a challenge, that’s fo sho!!! It was a big disappointment when I got the rivet squeezer. It came nowhere near fitting behind the grills horizontal bars and I wasn't about to start grinding on that nice SS anvil. So that's when I decided to make a special anvil. A couple days worth of trial and error and I had it whittled out.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny your restoration projects continue to amaze and inspire me.
Thanks for sharing the pictures. Somehow I missed the ones showing how you did it the first time I viewed your post.

Chuck

I was getting off subject on a thread that Tim (bowtietim) started way back more than a year ago about the AD grill back bar color. So I started this thread about the disassembly cleaning and re-assembly of the grill after it was painted. For anyone that didn't see the discussion about the grill back bar color, that is the Waldorf White, I'd suggest looking thru that thread. I believe Bob (brjr51) thru his research came up with a real good match for that original color that we can use for: (Correction as per Tim’s post which follows this) the late 1949-51 AD grills. https://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=668303&page=1
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Pretty cool you made your own tool for the job. That's amazing and like others say, very inspiring. Are you a machinist by trade or just one heck of a shade tree mechanic?

This might be a little off-top because it has to do with colors and not the fine work that Denny has done on his grill:

Regarding 47-53 A-D "back bar color" being white, maybe I am misunderstanding terminology but some sites that have info on A-D year-differences show the following information (Jim Carter and an early Vintage Truck precursor-magazine article, for examples):

1947: Grille bars and "back splash" bars were body color. In addition, the leading edge of each painted outer bar had a horizontal stripe matching the cab stripe. There was also a single stripe on the cab "belt molding".

1947-48:
• During 1947-48, the Chevrolet painted grille-bars and "back splash" bars were body color. In addition, the leading edge of each painted outer bar had a horizontal stripe matching the cab stripe.
• On chrome grilles, only the outer bar was plated and the "back splash" bars were painted the body color, same as the painted grille.

early 1949:
• The "back splash" bar of the painted grille is silver gray and the outer bars have no pin stripe.
• On chrome grilles, only the outer bar is plated and the "back splash" bars are painted silver gray, same as the painted grille.
[Note: The above information does nor agree with information in the 1949 truck specifications manual, 5-15-49, which shows the inner bars being Waldorf White. It should be noted that several significant changes in a variety of areas were made during the 1949 "model" year.]

1950-51: The "back splash" bar of the painted grille was (Waldorf) white. On chrome grilles, only the outer bar was plated and the "back splash" bar was painted as the painted grille.

1952-53: Shortages during the Korean War are the primary reasons for the eliminating of bright work on the 1952 and 1953 truck. Therefore, painted items on these trucks included: hub caps, bumpers, grille, radio speaker horizontal trim, glovebox door, etc.
• The “back splash” on painted grills was light gray (Thistle Gray) to match hub caps and bumpers.

Therefore, it looks like the Waldorf White true-color conundrum is a 3-year "authenticity" concern.

Here is a 1936-1962 Chevrolet car/truck web-page with paint and ID-codes information from the specifications manuals. Need I ask that anyone who reads the information differently, should post corrections or alternative interpretations. (that web-page is "work in progress" - extracting the pages from manuals and resizing/enhancing/converting them is time consuming. I try to add a few years every of information every few weeks.)

Nope, just a shade tree mechanic Paul. During my working years I did just about
anything that needed to be done where ever I worked. Did drafting, machine work,
welding, panting, mechanical maintenance, some electronics, radio repair and
electrical, CMM programming and inspection, wood working, worked with
composites for a while, sheet metal journeyman, Teletype maintenance, Chevy Parts
man in my youth and, I‘m not to bad of a cook. So I just kind of picked up a whole
bunch of different skills, none of which I could be called a master at. 70 years of
experience and tool collecting behind you helps a lot during a restoration.

Good information Tim, thanks for researching that. I didn’t mean to mislead the guys
into thinking all the AD’s were painted the same. I don’t have access to all of the
resto-packages, rather I don’t have the time to go thru them all and compare them.
As you noted, that’s very time consuming and god knows I’ve got enough of my
time taken up with out trying to be 100% correct in everything I post. I will make
a correction to my previous post about all the Pre-‘54 AD’s having a painted back
splash.
Worth noting though is that the ‘77 Subaru Plaza White when seen in person and
in the sun light is actually a very light gray shade. I’ve often wondered if a lot of
the colors weren’t the same and only the name changed for marketing purposes.
I think that’s what took place with the interior color which had several names but
over the years all seemed to be the same color.
Last year you had mentioned that you were going to send me samples of the offsets
that you had found for the “Thistle Gray” and “Anvil Gray” as used on the ‘54-‘55
trucks. I’m still interested in seeing those samples and would like to compare them to the Waldorf White.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

And from the restoration packages posted at TOCMP comes the following,
which is the same as that which Tim has posted on his site;

Resto pack for 1948 Conventional Trucks inner bar: Forester Green Baking Dulux (Standard) or body color.
Resto pack for 1949 Conventional Trucks inner bar: Waldorf White Baking Dulux
Resto pack for 1950 Conventional Trucks inner bar: Waldorf White Baking Dulux
Resto pack for 1951 Conventional Trucks inner bar: Waldorf White Baking Dulux
Resto pack for 1952 Conventional Trucks inner bar: Thistle Gray Baking Dulux
Resto pack for 1953 Conventional Trucks inner bar: Thistle Gray Baking Dulux

I don't see any mention of Silver Gray for the 1949 model year
in the restoration Packs. .
Now if we only had a good sample of "Thistle Gray" and "Cream Medium"
we would be ready for the judges at any show.
DG

I had PPG modern offsets (from 9 years ago) for Thistle Gray, Anvil Gray, and Cream Medium (these were used in various places in 1954). I'll see if I can find the codes.

I'd say they are not at all like Waldorf White (even the rich-cream looking Cream Medium).

Sorry about forgetting to look these up.

Hey buddy, when ever you get the time. If you can find the codes that would be a big help. I've been holding off on the bumper and hubcaps for the '54 till I find the right colors. I have some of the gray on the bumper I found under the black over coat but I would have to take the bumper into the dealer and have them match it up. Same thing goes for the hubcaps, I'd have to have them match the color and that's always a crap shoot.
Gotta run, meeting a few buddies that I haven't seen since I was a kid 50 years ago.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Well, here’s that comparison between the faux Waldorf White and the original Thistle Gray from the ‘54 hub caps. Notice that the paint that was preserved under the blue bow tie paint is a different shade now than that which was exposed to the elements. I would go with the shade that was in the middle. Now, is that ’54 thistle gray the same as the thistle gray from ’52 & ’53?
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/138281855/large

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny, great job on the grill it looks great. I just wanted to say thanks to you for all your knowledge you share on this site. Being able to see other folks work through the challenges of working on these old trucks is an inspiration to folks like me.

Kenny

Tanks for the kind words Kenny, I need them once in a while to counteract the beatings
I get from my "big old wife".
Honestly though, I've got the time to experiment with these type of things now that I‘m
retired. My goal has been to ask how they built it at the GM factory and then try to duplicate the results here in my shop.

Over the years I've kind of pigeon holed the guys with these old trucks into several
groups. None of them any better or worse than the other, just different ways and
motivation in their approach to the work.
The first are the guys that actually do use them as daily drivers for work or as second
vehicle to handle the hauling chores around the estate. Their prime focus is usually
to keep them running and most are not really concerned about the trucks’ originality.

The second bunch of guys are the show guys and they are the real glutens for punishment. They're the hotrodders or classic car perfectionists who want their trucks to stand out above all the others. Most are show trucks with thousands of hours in custom bodywork, matching seams, block sanding and gallons of bondo till every line is straight as an arrow and 12 coats of color sanded base coat clear coat paint work. These trucks are the big buck items and are so perfect that it's a sin to drive them for fear that the radiator might pick up a bug or god forbid, a stone get thrown up and chip the paint. These are the trucks that make up the best in show winners and guys with a wall full of trophies to justify their work.

Then there are the guys that feel like I do. These old trucks have served their masters for 50, 60 or 70 years and deserve to be put out to pasture, to work no more and only be used on a nice clear summer day for a drive in the country or to the store for a loaf of bread and gallon of milk. To be used to take your date out on Friday evening to the next town over to the cruise night for a burger and malt. We’re focused on preservation, meaning keeping our trucks period correct and as close to the way they actually were when delivered back in the day. Which might include a foot print on the running board or a door ding from the fat lady that parked next to you with her five screaming kids.
I’m not into rust rods I’m all for cleaning up the rust, the dings and dents and whatever else needs repair, but enamel was the paint no deep shine clear coat. Ill fitting seams were the norm the day it was delivered and a plain black pine bed sufficed. I’ll never win a prize with the old gal for best of show, but I would sure get a kick out of eavesdropping while some expert on old trucks was telling his buddies, “See here guy’s, here’s one that’s all original.”
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Wow, that is beautiful work.
I was trying to figure out how the heck they got rivets into some of those spaces.
I Imagine they were tooled up for a specific job, but your tool looks to be the right way to do it!
Nice work!
Jeremy

I didn't have a 1” or 1.5" anvil at the time that I assembled the grill Jeremy, but it did
finally come in, now that the horse is out of the barn. But, even that will not work in this
tight of a space. The stem on the roll-over dies are to long and have to be ground down
some and as you can see from this picture, you would have to do some grinding in several
other places to get any of the factory anvils to work. These stock SS anvils are simply to
expensive to be grinding away on them so the home made version was the only option for
me at the time. The problem with the stock anvils here:
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/138408546
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL