Mostly this note is to document the condition of my original grill. Compared to some I think it is in pretty good shape.
Pic #1 shows the driver headlight surrround. I think this is typical of the damage these things see.
Pic #2 shows the center section. A quick look and it appears that the grid is 100% good! Even the area behind the nose piece is fine.
Pic #3 shows the worst of the center section. The plastic that holds the bottom screws that attached to the pass side headlight surround is broken off. PO had made a repair by placing a strap of metal under the plastic that held the two parts together. You can see the screw holes left when I took it apart.
Pic #4 shows the pass side headlight surround and the missing piece of the center section still bolted on with completely rusted up bolts.
in better shape then most mitch.
lots of good threads on here for repairs, one thing i do which stops any of thesestress cracks coming back to haunt me , the support frames are week, just spotwelded ,i mig weld them in joints and to the underside to stop the flex, just did a friends one, hold it in the middle and shake it, it will flap like a set of wings,
but not after you weld flimsy spot welded joints where no one will notice
Quote from: fy469rtse on August 19, 2014, 08:13:13 PM
in better shape then most mitch.
lots of good threads on here for repairs, one thing i do which stops any of thesestress cracks coming back to haunt me , the support frames are week, just spotwelded ,i mig weld them in joints and to the underside to stop the flex, just did a friends one, hold it in the middle and shake it, it will flap like a set of wings,
but not after you weld flimsy spot welded joints where no one will notice
Good thought, I like it, I think I'll follow your advice. Thanks.
yes it's well worth doing, nothing worse then going to all the effort to repare grill , bonnet's up and the first time you lean on that grill support, , ! CRACK ! been theer done that , this helps
Quote from: fy469rtse on August 19, 2014, 08:28:59 PM
yes it's well worth doing, nothing worse then going to all the effort to repare grill , bonnet's up and the first time you lean on that grill support, , ! CRACK ! been theer done that , this helps
Wait...bonnet!! Just a little :poke:
If you make the header panel stiff , you will want to use some rubber shims between it and the plastic grill . That brittle plastic needs some forgiveness, because the fit is never that precise.
So, starting to get the old grill out and looking over the pieces. The trim looks pretty rough so was thinking of buying a repop set. Looks like Classic industries and AMD are the same. Anyone have any info on quality and fit? Somewhere, IIRC, I heard that the metal on the repops is pretty flimsy.
I bought some reproduction trim for mine, only problem I had was with the clips. The lips on the backside of the trim that the rectangle part of the clip slides into are not as good as factory (go figure :rotz: ) I had to crimp the trim down some by hand and use some soft tools to make the trim actually fit the clips. I only had trouble with the 2 curved end pieces. The long straight ones seemed to be okay.
Quote from: BLK 68 R/T on January 29, 2017, 08:40:23 PM
I bought some reproduction trim for mine, only problem I had was with the clips. The lips on the backside of the trim that the rectangle part of the clip slides into are not as good as factory (go figure :rotz: ) I had to crimp the trim down some by hand and use some soft tools to make the trim actually fit the clips. I only had trouble with the 2 curved end pieces. The long straight ones seemed to be okay.
This is how all of the trim sets I've used have been too.
Quote from: Charger-Bodie on January 29, 2017, 08:57:09 PM
Quote from: BLK 68 R/T on January 29, 2017, 08:40:23 PM
I bought some reproduction trim for mine, only problem I had was with the clips. The lips on the backside of the trim that the rectangle part of the clip slides into are not as good as factory (go figure :rotz: ) I had to crimp the trim down some by hand and use some soft tools to make the trim actually fit the clips. I only had trouble with the 2 curved end pieces. The long straight ones seemed to be okay.
This is how all of the trim sets I've used have been too.
I had the same problem.
That is to be expected when buying reproduction trim that only costs $280. :insertsarcasm:
Quote from: Lennard on January 29, 2017, 09:20:48 PM
Quote from: Charger-Bodie on January 29, 2017, 08:57:09 PM
Quote from: BLK 68 R/T on January 29, 2017, 08:40:23 PM
I bought some reproduction trim for mine, only problem I had was with the clips. The lips on the backside of the trim that the rectangle part of the clip slides into are not as good as factory (go figure :rotz: ) I had to crimp the trim down some by hand and use some soft tools to make the trim actually fit the clips. I only had trouble with the 2 curved end pieces. The long straight ones seemed to be okay.
This is how all of the trim sets I've used have been too.
I had the same problem.
That is to be expected when buying reproduction trim that only costs $280. :insertsarcasm:
I saw the price at AMD and CI, complete set is $389 :o
Try mega parts
Quote from: Charger-Bodie on January 30, 2017, 09:05:34 AM
Try mega parts
Ahh...$250, that's better, plus they also have the hardware sets for less money.
Thanks
Just paid $179 for my trim set through an Ebay vendor, free shipping as well. I had the same issue as described above with the corner pieces, other that that they look great.