Technical BODY, Another Home Made Grill Shell Project

After bobbleed posted the Custom Grill Shell TECH.... H-BOMB get's a FACE!! post, I got to thinking.

I have had an extra 50's GMC grille surround hanging on my shop wall.



I have often thought that I could use it to make a custom grille shell. I have had a 32 shell hanging on my wall also, but now it is finally going to get used on my RPU project, so I figured I needed something to fill it's spot.

I also needed to brush up on my metal working skills (or lack of) for my rpu project, so about a month ago I decided to give it a try.

Here is what I came up with.

First step was to cut the center out...



...then I mated up the two outer portions and welded them together.



I decided that the newly formed grill shell didn't have enough "meat" to it, so I used a piece of 1/4" round to from a new back perimeter. I then hammered some 20 ga sheetmetal to fill in the area. I don't have a shot bag, so I stacked a couple leather welding gloves on the floor, got my ball peen hammer and starting hammering. I roughed the panels out and then got them close enough with a hammer and dolly.



The shell was now starting to look like something. With the addition of a piece of 1/2" EMT to the bottom it almost looked like a 32 shell.



I then need to add the lower pan. I cut out some wooden bucks to form the pan in two halves. I then clamped them in and fired up the old Oxy/Acetylene.



After I got it all tacked together, it really was starting to take shape.



After I got it all welded up, I cut in the crank hole and drain holes. I then spread on a little filler, spayed on some primer and finished it off with some metallic copper. The coler looks better in person, but I think it came out pretty well.



I was going to make a stock type grille insert, but that seemed like way too much work for a wall hanging, so I decided on a piece of sheetmetal, ala race car, painted a creamy white.
Here is a crappy picture of the almost finished product.



Now I just need somebody to lay some cool striping on it and I will call it done.

Neal

 

that is the coolest fucking thing ever.

 

I think the price of 50 GMC grill surrounds just went way up on E-Pay.
If you hadn't let the cat out of the bag here you probably could have gotten $1500 to 2 grand for that. Nice work

Ya think this guy would notice if his came up missing? How do you look at something like that and think, Hey that's a fat 32 shell? It minds the boggles!

 

that is so awsome!

you make me feel stupid cause i've not thought of doing the same thing.

good show holmes.

 

Dude thats amazing. I just need some patch panels....done...can you come over and help?
Tim
MBL

 

The ingenuity on this board never ceases to amaze me. On a car, at a show, 9 of 10 would walk right by and think it was gennie FOMOCO. Outstanding!

 

that is one nice piece of work.

 

I'd say your metal working skills are honed to the Nth degree. Keep up this shit and your name will be added to the best fabicators list!

 

Oh you clever boy! That's a damn good looking shell there - can't believe how close it resembles a 32 shell. Maybe even better since it has more a pronounced peak.

Will have to keep an eye out for one of those GMC surrounds at the swaps from now on (the wife wants me to build her a roadster).

 

This is one of those "Holy shit that is amazing" posts while being simple enough that most folks could probably get close to the same results.

Awesome work and ingenuity.

Tech-O-Matic please !!!

-JH

 

Wall hanging? Geez, I can't wait til you do some "real" work on the car! Very nice.

 

I'd say this one belongs in Tech-O-Matic for sure.

HOW TO WE GO ABOUT TRANSFERING THESE KIND OF THINGS OVER THERE?

 

That is some beautiful work! I think it looks BETTER than factory!!

 

I second that HARRISON! That is so fucking awesome! You could probably be set for life by making those and selling them to people who think they're deuce shells. Damn thats cool...

 

WOW......put it on the RPU,it looks better than the original
Clark

 

THAT'S SICK!! (in a good way!!!)

 

That is cool as hell! Nice to know theres folks out there with talent like that making hot rods! Too many people just buying them anymore! The folks here amaze me! Keep it up!

 

WOW, take a chevy grill and make it a deuce grill. F#@&ing cool. Now every time I look at a grill, I'll be thinking how to make it a deuce.. Super cool and a must for the tech section!!
thanks continentaljohn

 

Where's that thread on best custom fabricator?
I think we have another name to add to that list!

 

Thanks for the nice comments, but I am really just a hack. Bondo and primer are my friends.

A couple of people have told me to use it on the RPU. One friend said then I could tell people "I am puttting a 51 GMC grill on a 32 Ford...you should see it "

It will be a wall hanger though, I have a nice original 32 insert that doesn't quite fit in the homemade shell, so I am going to use the original.

Any of you artist/striper types out there have some ideas for the insert? I like Tommy the Greek style striping, but any suggestions would be great.

Neal

 

I almost cant blame you for hanging it on a wall. Thats art, pure and simple! But it would be cool to have it on a car too! My hats off to you!

 

SWEET!

FONZI

 

Talk to Johnny Ace. He's been wanting to do Alfred E Newman on one for me but I'm still bucks down.

 

Holy Shit that's cool. Soon as I saw the first pic I knew where it was going, but had no idea it would be so slick.

That's a gift you got there man -- to look at a GMC grille surround and see the makings of a deuce shell? Yeah.

later,
Steve.

 

my mouth is hanging wide open.how did you see that in the gmc grille?thats the coolest.or ginchiest or whatever .

 

WOW--too cool

 

WOW, Neal, you have really pulled a rabbit out of the hat with that one. Pure magic!

 

I am awed. That is as amazingly perfect a use of shape as Picasso's sculpture of a babboon made from toy cars--and it's a lot more useful. Sow's ear...silk purse...and we got too see the evolution.

 

Dammitt, way to make a guy feel stupid.
Who would've thunk?
I'm simply blown away by your skill and ingenuity.

 

Picasso sees, Picasso welds--

http://freespace.virgin.net/peter.forbes2/cafe.htm