Larry Ernst '51 Chevy Grill, how was it made ??..

I love how simple yet full this grill is, does anyone know how they made it ? was it a combo of different grills put together or completly hand fabricated ??.. Rikster you might know the answer to this.. i want one in my 52' chevy hardtop.. so far what i've seen, no other grill will do!!.. any opinions ??.. ideas??.. Thanks guys.. heres some pics of it.
-Anthony

 

The original grille Barris used for the Larry Ernst Chevy was from an Canadian Ford (Meteor). I think this grille was produced in 1950 and 51. The 1949 Canadian Fords had a grille similar to a 1949 Mercury.



The grille was also offered in the US as a custom piece. Here is a scan of an early 1950's Barris Catalog (top right)



When Keith Ashley contacted Harry Bradley to help him built a "improved" replica of the second version of the Larry Ernst Chevy Harry suggested Keith to modify the Meteor grille to fit the grille shell better than the Barris version ever did.
Keith decided it would be easyer to made the grille from sheet stock and fit the molded in Merc grille shell perfectly, than to cut up a original Meteor grille and past it back together to make it fit.

"FASI" on here might tell you more about this... thats Keith

 

Hey Rikster, thanks alot.. i'll probably be better off building one then.. cause i dont mind cutting up a meteor grill to fit.. i just dont know where i'd find one!!! Thanks again!
-Anthony

 

I knew that Keith's grille had been "adjusted" to better fit the Merc grille shell, but I didn't realize it had been built from scratch. Some nice fabrication there!

Funny thing is, Keith's grille fits his car better than the stock Meteor grille fits the car it was designed for! Musta been Harry's famous attention to minute detail.

 

The things you learn. Thanks guys.

 

I have one for nsale in my shop. In fact I have 2 Meteor grills. PM me if you like .

 

I did not see this original post, thus the late reply. Rikster sent this to my attention and I can maybe offer some advice at this late date. I own the clone of the Larry Ernst car and we cut up two!! Meteor grills trying to improve the fit, with no success. A young talented craftsman at Randy Church Restorations made my grill from scratch, using only the original grill teeth for starters. I wanted the grill to better conform to the opening which is a modified '50 Merc shell. This entailed having the ends custom made. I have to say it is the most impressive piece of work on my car. Having seen it in raw steel, there is no filler in it before chrome plating. If you want to use the Meteor grill but have a better fit, you will have to change the shape of the grill opening as the grill ends are diecast and will resist any modification. I hope this is of some help at this late date. Keith

 

The original grille Barris used for the Larry Ernst Chevy was from an Canadian Ford (Meteor). I think this grille was produced in 1950 and 51. The 1949 Canadian Fords had a grille similar to a 1949 Mercury.

'49 and '50 Meteor grills were the same, Mercury style.
The grill in question is a '51.
Very hard to find even in Canada.