putting a 55 grill in a 57 chevy truck?

I rebuilding a '57 chevy stepside and the grill is rough. As im not a big fan of the '57s grill I figured nows the time to change it out. So what has to be done to make the '55-56 grill fit? Is there a lot of modification to make it fit or is it and easy trade out?

 

The biggest difference is that the 57 grill mounts on the outside of the opening and the 55 slips inside of it. You have to change the upper bar between the fenders that the latch support bolts to. Also if your front fender are ture 57 fenders you will have to fill the mounting hole that are unigue for the 57 grill.

 

Kinda figure that ....... might try to build me a custom type grill.

 

Whew, I saw the thread title and your name and thought for a minute YOU were planning to swap out your grille JJ. Having had a '57 in the past and now a '55 I like them both but have a soft spot for the '57 as it was my first.

 

Howdy Dan! Nope I will be keeping the 57 grill in mine!

 

The 57 sedan grill bar would look cool! Not sure how much you would have to nt, but if it was mounted to a blacked out panel so that it was "floating" it woulld be killer.

 

guy i bought this truck off of said the bottom mounts for the grill were changed from 57 to 55?..i'm guessing the piece right above the bumper

anybody know what else i would have to do to mount a 55 grill on there?..(short of buying one)
not trying to hijack this thread.. just figured someone here would know

 

You probably already know this, but just-case, the hood is a 1955-56 hood. The 1957 hood has flares on the top. I think the way to tell whether it is a 1955 or 1956 hood is by the mounting of the chrome ornament (I believe it was the same ornament, but the vertical mounting positioning was different). Truck looks pretty solid from the front, enjoy.

 

I also like the '55-56 grille a lot better (maybe I'm bias, I drive a '55 everyday ) BUT I like the '57 hood better - wish I could find one locally.

The splash apron for a 57 is indeed different than 55-56, as are the fenders and as mentioned above, the hood. Not sure how much fab work it would take to swap out grilles, etc. but I can't see it being THAT difficult.

If you don't think your fabrication skills are up to the task you can buy the repop splash pan for about $100 from Brothers,Classic, etc. Here they are below, 55-56 on top, 57 bottom.

 

Not to hijack this thread(but I'm gonna anyway)

Any of you guys got a chrome 57 truck grille? Aged, weathered, rusty---patina'd is desirable .....My bestest pal notsojollyRoger has been looking for about 2 years for one. Pic and price, if you can help

 

sure dont..if i run into one i'll let you know though

 

I'm doing the opposite, putting a '57 grill in my '55. I've been told I will have to cut the openings of the fenders for it to work.

I have a '55 painted grill. Some of the horizontal bars are dented and there is some rust. But if you want something cheap to see how it works before you spend big money on a repop grill or something, give me a holler.

Pic, its out of the truck now...

 

Guys I ran into a problem, I didn’t notice the hole on the fender which means my RH fender is a 57,
I have the chrome 55 grill and the LH fender is 55.
I’m worried about getting a fender as it could mean door to fender problems.
Does anyone know if the fender are the same shape besides the hole?
My top and bottom pieces are 55.
The grill that came with the truck fits in nicely but the new chrome grill doesn’t look right.

 

@Carl Wurfel The fender you have pictured would be the left hand fender, unless the photo is reversed.......or......you are showing the left hand fender that has a hole the right doesn’t have.

Left and right for vehicles is based on the view looking forward from inside the vehicle, not looking at it from the outside.

Ray

 

...I like the 55-56 grilles better, but the 57's are ok,...here's my 55 , mine is running a 57 hood, it's a bolt-on....you could remove the inner grille and make a nice tube grille to fit in the surround.

 

Fenders are the same mounting point and shape. You've found the difference

 

That would be a small project for someone with basic metalworking skills. I personally have no experience and 0 skills in metal, but I might be tempted to consider a small Bondo project in your shoes.
Another option if I didn't want to mess with paint might be to simply mount something there, like a badge or tag made to fit the angles, etc. There's no rule that everything has to be absolutely symmetric.

 

I think it is possible to mount the 55-56' grille within the 57' surround.

 

usually works out better if you notice the difference before painting the parts....which is why we like to mock things together in primer... sorry!


But yeah, a little bit of work with some metal and a welder and some filler, but then you have to repaint at least part of the fender.

 

you make it sound like I have done this before haha, I missed it, I missed that hole or thought it was part of the mounting not sure, I knew the black grill fit, quite the F up i agree.
I was worried that the grill hole is different on the 57 side. the new grill does not seem to fit the hole nicely, the old grill goes right in.

 

Well, now you've done it before. And don't worry, something else will catch you up on the next one you do.

Interesting thing about 55-57 chevy truck front ends, every outer sheet metal part is different on the 57, compared to 56. Hood, fenders, upper and lower valence, even the license plate bracket.

 

I need a new fender.

 

To bad your not out this away... Got a NICE 57 hood in the back yard

 

No you don't, modify the one you have, and have it spot painted where the repair is. If that is basecoat/clearcoat paint, the whole fender can be cleared, and there will be no chance of a blend line showing. You might also fab something like a molding to bolt in the hole, and make one for the other side also. If you are happy with your paint job as it is, I wouldn't get another fender, to avoid any paint match issues. Good luck Carl.

 

And that is why aftermarket SUX ASS !

Paint original grill or get it chromed...

As other piped in you DONT need another fender just fix the one you have and spot paint it/Blend

 

I was changing over to a '55 grille on my '57 and you are right that the aftermarket grilles don't fit that well. Filling the '57 grille mount hole in the fender is a pretty easy fab job, see pics. In my case I then went back to the '57 (modified) so I have to change the fender back also. As others have said, upper and lower tie bars are exclusive to '57 as well as fender lip grille mounting.

 

I think you are right, and especially since a new fender means a fender from brothers or LMC and what if end up with a different set of problems. Make one of the grills work and fix the hole.
Thank you.

 

I want to to put a 1955-56 hood on my 57 because it has a scoop I dont like..is it a bolt on ?

 

Yes, you can swap the hood.