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Technical home-brew grill ideas

Discussion in 'Traditional Customs' started by flamin' ace, Sep 5, 2014.

  1. no kool kustom is complete without a custom grille insert (except 55' fords, those things look great with stock grilles) but who in the hell wants to drop the $5,000,000,000 it takes to get a repop or rummage through a wrecking yard for three decades until you find a 54 Desoto? that's right, no one.
    especially not a poor as dirt teenager like me. but lately ive been hearing a lot of cool stuff from fellow hambers about creating a custom grille out of stuff you can get at home depot or even walmart. its a good method if you have zero moneys or you have a car that doesn't have any really good popular grille customizations.

    for instance: instead of paying or searching for a stock 49-51 merc grille, just get a shitload of cabinet handles and mount them to a custom bracket. this way you can decide the style and even finish of the teeth.
    make a run to walmart and pick up some chrome towel holders, cut em' to size and flatten out the ends for a budget tube grille, you could probably grab something longer at home depot for any post 58' cars:D
    everybody knows about the drawer pull grille so I figure that doesn't need explination.
    so if any of you guys have more budget grille options or really any cheap buildable kustom hacks we want to hear em!
     
    Legends47 and 51 Leadsled like this.
  2. I would show mine, but I ain't a honkey...
     
    Dave Mc likes this.
  3. chopolds
    Joined: Oct 22, 2001
    Posts: 6,208

    chopolds
    Member
    from howell, nj
    1. Kustom Painters

    Sometimes you can pull it off, sometimes you can't. Like the guy who used chrome drain traps to "look like" DeSoto grill teeth. It DIDN'T!
     
  4. peter schmidt
    Joined: Aug 26, 2007
    Posts: 660

    peter schmidt
    Member
    from maryland

    I found a desoto in the woods a couple years back and cut the front pan /grill off to put in my 52 chevy never got to finish it my first born forced the sale of it. Now I got a 49 hudson 4 door and I wish I still had the grill. It was a little ruff tho. I tried to source some oval stainless tubing to build a floating grill but couldent find anyone that sold it except online in like 150 plus ft length minimums. I wanted to get it in like 3 or 4 inch and cut it in half v it in the middle and tig weld these two little stainless fog light housings to it backwards for the ends. Then polish it all up since my broke ass can't afford chrome. I've seen someone use chrome handles shaped like ) with an custom opening I though it was a corvette grill at first it looked good imo
     

  5. peter schmidt
    Joined: Aug 26, 2007
    Posts: 660

    peter schmidt
    Member
    from maryland

  6. 49ratfink
    Joined: Feb 8, 2004
    Posts: 18,828

    49ratfink
    Member
    from California

    who you callin honkey?
     
  7. camerl2009
    Joined: Jan 26, 2014
    Posts: 203

    camerl2009
    Member

    Desoto's a little more common around my area then I once though although most are running and driving only in need of some light metal work and paint. I almost bought a edsel(4 door ranger) early this year that had not grill(it was $400 and needed very little body work) I was thinking of ways of making a neat looking grill I though about some 1/4 inch square rod twisted(like Indian Larry used to twist his down "tubes") would look nice when chromed
     
  8. sorry fellas, i guess 'homemade' woulda been better than 'honkey':rolleyes:
    most of this stuff sounds bad but if you do it right it looks great. you just gotta take your time doing it cause all it is is scratchbuilding stuff. and as i said before, with a slim paycheck and a monsterous insurance payment, sometimes its the only way for me:( plus literally nothing fits into my truck without a ton of facelifting.
     
  9. motoandy
    Joined: Sep 19, 2007
    Posts: 3,334

    motoandy
    Member
    from MB, SC

    My avatar grill is made from kitchen draw pulls......
     
  10. Dave 39
    Joined: Jul 24, 2006
    Posts: 57

    Dave 39
    Member

    What's a ''kitchen draw''?
     
  11. flamedabone
    Joined: Aug 3, 2001
    Posts: 5,440

    flamedabone
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Hey Honkey.

    This was two bumper guards some 14ga and a trip to the chrome shop. I think I had under 200 in the whole thing.

    [​IMG]

    Here is a little bit better shot.

    [​IMG]

    See ya, -Abone.
     
  12. F-ONE
    Joined: Mar 27, 2008
    Posts: 3,271

    F-ONE
    Member
    from Alabama

    Draw pull is actually correct 18th century English for Drawer Pull. We still speak it down here.
     
    buickvalvenut, Thaplumbr and 46Chief like this.
  13. gatz
    Joined: Jun 2, 2011
    Posts: 1,817

    gatz
    Member

    Ha !...you could power the wing(s) with a wiper motor.
     
  14. Dave 39
    Joined: Jul 24, 2006
    Posts: 57

    Dave 39
    Member

    Thank you Dave
     
  15. tfeverfred
    Joined: Nov 11, 2006
    Posts: 15,791

    tfeverfred
    Member Emeritus

    Did you, by chance, mean "Hokey"? Like, Hokey Ass Message Board"? Somehow sneaked an "n" in there? Either way, good luck with it.
     
  16. Fixed the title...let's try to help this young fella out by keeping it on-topic.
     
  17. motoandy
    Joined: Sep 19, 2007
    Posts: 3,334

    motoandy
    Member
    from MB, SC

  18. 69supercj
    Joined: Apr 5, 2010
    Posts: 356

    69supercj
    Member

    67-70 Mercury Cougar tailight bezels welded together would look similar to the grill above if your needing ideas.
     
  19. clem
    Joined: Dec 20, 2006
    Posts: 4,188

    clem
    Member

    Nice grille motoandy!
     
  20. Rot 'n Kustom
    Joined: Sep 24, 2004
    Posts: 2,086

    Rot 'n Kustom
    Member

    Find a "Pick-and-Pull" junkyard in your area and just walk through it. Keep your eyes (and mind) open and see what appears. Don't worry about finding a grille that's been used hundreds of times. Just look for shiny and shape and use your imagination.

    Look at truck grilles as they are larger than those on most newer cars. Check out the big Buicks and Caddies. If you find a grille you like that's too small, can you buy two or three and piece them together? Or cut one in half and make a split grille?

    Remember, this doesn't have to be a forever thing. You can always change it later.
     
  21. birdman1
    Joined: Dec 6, 2012
    Posts: 1,591

    birdman1
    Member

    That's IT!! Use your imagination and do it DIFFERENT! I am so tires of rich boys going out and buying everything new and hiring some one else to build it! Make it different, be unique!!
     
    steven fralin and jakespeed63 like this.
  22. It's Southern and correct for what others call drawer. HRP
     
  23. Motochris
    Joined: Aug 13, 2007
    Posts: 128

    Motochris
    Member

    Not just the Ford can keep the stock grill. :)
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2014
  24. Motochris
    Joined: Aug 13, 2007
    Posts: 128

    Motochris
    Member

    Oops...missed the pic.
     

    Attached Files:

  25. Motochris
    Joined: Aug 13, 2007
    Posts: 128

    Motochris
    Member

  26. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 33,861

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Photo in the upper left shows my old 51 Merc with a cut down 65 Caddy grill I ran in it for a few years. That was before 65 Cads were collectable and the one it cam out of was a 50.00 parts car with a rod out though the side of the block.
    [​IMG]
     
  27. scampy72
    Joined: Apr 29, 2011
    Posts: 16

    scampy72
    Member

    at lowes you can get 8 ft sections of flat aluminum bar stock, works great. can be bent and what ever and the price is pretty cheap, how you want to afiix it to the car would be up to you.
     
  28. I've used a bumper and over riders for mine (my avatar) from a 1960's Morris 1000, I'll see if I can find clearer picture
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Sep 19, 2014
  29. 29tudor
    Joined: Jul 16, 2007
    Posts: 303

    29tudor
    Member

    ImageUploadedByH.A.M.B.1411143895.891509.jpg
    69 mustang front bumper cut to fit
     

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