1936 Ford Grille Questions

DirtyDan

DirtyDan

Senior Member
I have not had much luck finding an original grille for my 36 coupe, so I am considering an aftermarket one. I currently have a chrome aftermarket grille that is way off on proper dimensions. The front bull nose/emblem sticks out from the face of the grille over an inch, and the opening will not allow me to use the stock stainless trim.

My question is... since an original grille hasn't come along yet, who makes the best fitting aftermarket unit. I have seen some that are stamped one piece and others that have the grill bars welded in. I will also be using the stock stainless trim, so it is important that it have the holes for mounting.

Any help appreciated.

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Bought one of Drake's repops a few years back. Not a bad little grille but I had to make pie cuts on each side at the top to spread the thing out to fit. I had to drill that grille to mount the stainless trim, but that is not a big deal.

Have you checked the side panels fit with that grille? I'm wondering if you need to rework the top radiator mounting holes of that grille to move it forward (or radiator leaned back more) so that the bull nose fits. Are you up against your fan?
 
Everything is lined up the way it is supposed to be. The car has a hood and side panels and the alignment is fine. It seems as if the peak of the grille is not enough for the contour of the bullnose. The bullnose is flush against the grille and still sticks out too far. The center does not dip down to allow alignment of the stock side trim either.

Kinda hard to tell in this pic, but here is the same car w/ the hood and side panels on:

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Dan, had the same problem with my '36 and I have the stock grill! I never was able to get a perfect fit where center stainless strip attaches to the hood ornament, still a slight gap. If you need any measurements let me know.
 
"Just another example of reproduction crap we have to put up with."

Yep.

The repop 36 grille (and there is only one, unless one counts some aluminum hot rod types) is, and has been, made in Argentina since the 1960's. And yes it is depending on your attitude, a) a piece of crap. b) the best available. c) of hole filler quality (much better than a empty hole). Incidentally, I think these were originally made in the US as a cheap replacement for the body shop market in the 1930's to 1950's.

If you look at buying a project (and do not have expectations of bolt on quality), the repro grill becomes a reasonable starting point (considering the lack of alternatives). Plan on cutting it apart and shaping the fit to the hood, fenders, grille ornament, and grille trim. Reshape and weld things back together and you should have something that is presentable.
 
That is a great looking blue coupe there! Having just gone through this, all I can say is good luck. Even with a decent original, getting everything to line up and fit is a challenge. I have a repop grille that is currently decorating my garage wall, I also found that in order to use it I would need to pie cut it up all over the place. I found a bent up original, and was able to do some straightening on it but even it was hard to get to fit in properly. You also need to be very certain that your rad mounts are as they should be. If you had a recore done recently this could be a problem too. But I had the exact same results with the repop grille, the ornament stuck out way past the nose of the grille and looked terrible.

I realize that none of what I just posted is actual usefull information, but was meant to let you know that many of us have gone through this exact same thing.

-Lyndon
 
Hi Dan, I have owned a '36 coupe for many years and also have had trouble lining up the hood ornament and trim (and the hood edges). The best thing I did was to throw my vintique ornament away and replace it with one from Bob Drake. Drake's still needed a little fitting- I ground off the back surface slightly, but now looks pretty good.


"I have seen some that are stamped one piece and others that have the grill bars welded in". Look for the one piece grille if you buy an original. I have tried both on mine; the grille with welded bars looked nice but seemed to be tougher to line up correctly. I was lucky enough to fine a nice one piece stamped grille and am very happy with it.

Scott
 

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Dan, I would encourage you to stick to the search for a good original. The level of workmanship and finish you've lavished on your car so far "demands" you do so. They're out there, you just need to keep at it.

I'm having a little CRS on this and was hoping one of the more nimble minded '36ers on here would pipe up. There were at least two versions of the factory grill for '36. The "one piece" being the more desireable, the multi piece the later production (speculated to be a cost saver for ol' Henry). I recall the repops are easy to spot in the way the bottom area for formed and welded together, but there are probably other immediate flags that would help you to not acquire another repop in error. I just can't remember what they are right now. Let's face it, some of the sellers honestly wouldn't know a repop from a stocker if they just happened to come into possession of a grill.

The '36 is one of the tougher front ends to get lined up properly, a good genuine Ford grille makes it a tad easier.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I actually have an original 36 grill that is in excellent shape except the all of the grille bars are removed from the last 5" or so of the grille and was filled in. I removed the filled portion and just have a hole there now. It was on an old 60's custom car. I wonder how hard it would be to find the bottom grille bars and weld them all in? Probably just as hard as finding another grille :)
 
Dan, one other suggestion (you probably already know this) is to look for a nice painted standard grille. This may have a potential to chromeplate better than a rusted deluxe grille. Scott
 
I have found a bare steel grille that the seller claims to be NOS. It appears to be the one piece stamped variety. Any ideas on what would be a reasonable price to pay for such an animal?

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$400-600 seems to be the going rate at the swap meets. Are there any grilles here in the classifieds for sale? There were a couple a few months ago I thought.
 
Thats my buddys grill that i am trying to sell for him it is nos i seen the original ford tag on it He wants 700 firm and i think thats a fair price considering how rare they are
 
I have called him and left a message. I'm very interested in buying it. Have him call me at 314-456-6540.

Thanks
 
There's one on ebay now (not mine), looks like the one pictured here already. Supposed to be NOS standard??? It's in Canada.
Starting price is $500
 
That grill on EBAY is the same one and is a 2 piece.I had a very good one I sold in the for sale section a few months back.No takers at $600.Sold it to a guy in Australia for $500 thru this site.I have one (1 piece)being plated now(costing me $400) and will sell the one off my 36 w/inner air baffle for $500 + shipping after I change it out.Its an original plated driver quality grille.NOS 36 grilles go for about $2000

The $500 grille of my 36 is spoken for by Dirty Dan
 
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