I found a nice 50 merc grille shell & i'd like to put it in my 51 ford. I've never done this & I don't want to ruin a nice shell. I've looked at an old how to in the little books & it shows them cutting the shell in half & yet some pics of shoeboxes in progress it doesn't look like the shell was cut in half (Kustom7777 coupe comes to mind). How about the hood to shell? 51 hood is shorter than 49-50 in the front lip area. How did you do it? If any one has done one of these please feel free to post info or pics on what you've done or if you would have done something different in hindsight. Thanks Billly
Haven't done it yet, but I have a '49 shell for my '51 Ford as well. It will most definitely need to be sectioned something like 6-8 inches of not more. I plan to take it in 2 sections out of the straight parts. The portion between the center and the corners. This way it won't effect the compound curves in the corners or the peak, plus it will take some of the depth away. Just my .02. Good luck.
its actually not too hard to do,,,,,you do definitely need to narrow it though,,,,,you will end up cutting away a most of the surrounding metal, and basically use just the opening,,,,you will need to make some relief cuts in the curved area to help coax it in place,,,,these are the only pics i could find of mine.....thought i had more,,but cant find them,,hope these help a little.....
Slowandlow I think we may have to add to the front of our 51, hoods because once the upper grille bars are off the hood doesn't extend the same length as the fenders, 49-50 hoods do, ya know what I mean. I figured the outsde of the shell( where it originally bolted to the merc fenders) would have to be trimmed away, but i'm still not clear on the actual cut & narrow part. Kustom7777 it doesn't look like you cut & narrowed your shell. Am I right? & for those that do cut the shell is it just a matter of preference as to if you want a wider or narrower opening?? Billy
Billy, Try to find Canadian Ford ( Meteor ? ) Grille Shell ! It is same design as American Mercury and bolts into 49-51 Ford ! You will also want 49-51 Meteor Hood or 51 Ford Hood ! Good Luck, Sonny
billy,,,you are right,,in the pictures i posted, i didnt narrow the shell...i decided later on to narrow it a little because i thought it looked better,,,just a matter of what you prefer..
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