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Tech Month: 11 tooth chrome grille for under $150

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by 1949windsor, Dec 22, 2008.

  1. 1949windsor
    Joined: Jul 30, 2008
    Posts: 60

    1949windsor
    Member

    I am editing this to make it easier for everyone to read. I did the original version and got some great advise from the guys on here (that's why there are some requests below that will now be answered up here) and since this is a work in process I adjusted my final version and basically have 2 grilles detailed here; 1 with a cross bar and one with a floating grille:

    First rendition:
    [​IMG]

    Second version (just flipped over):
    [​IMG]

    Floating Grille which I think am going with:
    [​IMG]

    I was looking around for a grill for my Chrysler I have been working on and the grilles that I liked were either in good condition and way too much money or the ones I could afford were in such poor condition that after repair and re-chroming, they cost more than the good one.....Sound familiar??

    I started looking around for pictures on Google Images and came across this photo:
    [​IMG]
    It is an early VW bug euro style bumper over rider. I thought it looked kind of cool. I remembered back in my teen years when I had a few bugs and thought that this might work. Went in to Mooreparts (a local VW parts place here in socal) and the guy behind the counter was more than helpfull in measuring the bumpers and over rider for me. He is a HAMB member himself.

    They are 2" wide by 7.25" tall.

    I went home and started calculating: $8 a piece for the over rider and $40 for the bumper.. That part definately works. I had about 9.5" of height for the grille. I thought what the hell for $140 bucks lets see what it looks like.


    Grille with Bar Part 1



    The most important thing I can say is not measure twice but more like 8-10 times. Here is why: the bumper comes with 4 holes already drilled in it..You have to take this into account when you are laying out your grille.

    Here is a layout picture to help expalin:

    [​IMG]

    1. Measure the opening width on your car. I suggest getting a piece of cardboard for foam board and cutting it to size and set it in there to get a visual of how your finished product will look. Write down the width you want to grille to be. Mine was 42".

    2. Put a piece of masking tape along the bottom of the bumper. Mark on the tape the center line of the holes that are predrilled in the bumper.

    3. Mark the center line of the bumper by dividing the distance between to two of the holes you just marked.

    4. Mark the width of your grille by dividing your grille width in half and measuring out from the center line. Put a second mark one inch closer to the center of the bumper.

    5. Lay the over riders on the bumper (within the width you just marked) and decide how many you want depending on the spacing and width of your grille. This is purely a matter of taste. Write down how many overriders you want to use. Mine was 11.

    6. Take the width of your grille and subract two inches. This gave me 40". Take the number of overriders and subtract one. This became 10 for me. Now divide your new grille width by the new number of over riders. 40" divided by 10 equals 4" of space between each over rider. Yours will be different.

    7. If your original number of over riders was an odd number, start at the center line and measure and mark where each over riders will go until you end up on the mark that is 1" in from the end of your grille. If you do not end up on this mark, remeasure and check your math.

    8. If your original number of over riders was an even number, start at the mark on the tape that is one inch in from the end of your grille and mark where the center of each over riders will be placed going across the bumper. You should end up at the other mark that is one inch in from the end of your grill. If you do not end up on this mark, remeasure and check your math.

    9. Lay out all the over riders back on the bumper and make sure you like the way it looks, we are getting to the point on no return.

    10. Check and see if any of the predrilled hole lines you marked ealiers are visible. if you do not have any of the predrilled holes visible....you suck! You get to skip the hard part and go to number 14. I had 2 holes I needed to deal with, You should have the same hole on both sides of the bumper visible, if not check your meaurements:
    [​IMG]

    11. This is where it gets tricky. You are going to have to cut and weld that portion of bumper out. Measure the distance between the visible hole and the next over rider line closest to the centerline of the bumper. Write it down. Mine was 2.75"

    If the holes that are showing are the holes closest to the centerline of the bumper, cut that part of the bumper out where you just measured and weld back together. Then remove all tape and start over at #3 again to deal with the outside holes...I said there was a lot of measuring.

    If only the outer most holes are showing, cut the required amount of bumper out where the inner hole is located. If you see in the picture below I actually cut the 2.75" out about 4" closer to the center of the bumper. This eliminates any chance of part of that hole showing or interfering with drilling later on.
    [​IMG]

    12. Tape and spay some galvanizing paint over you welds front and back. This will not show as the over rider covers it.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    13. Almost done! Take off all the tape and go back to number 2. You already have all the measurements but you must layout the whole thing one more time. Mark where all the over riders go and double check to make sure that none of the predrilled holes are showing.

    14. Check One more time or you will be very pissed off if you are wrong.

    15. Drill 3/16" holes at all the points you just marked for the over riders.

    16. Cut off the excess ends of the bumper.

    17. Tape and spray the galvalizing paint on the ends of the bumper and on all the holes.

    18. Use 1" 3/16 bolts to attatch the over riders to the bumper.

    19. Build whatever mounting harware your grille needs and enjoy ;)

    This acutally on took about and hour and a half to do start to finish.

    Grille with Bar Part 2

    My front end has some complex curves and when I set the grill in there I did not like the fit so I decided to make some adjustments.

    [​IMG]

    I figured since the over riders covered up the splice in the fender fine, why not use the same concept to "bend" the fender into a shape that fit better.

    Here is the process I used:

    1. With all the over riders installed and the grille setting on some sanding sponges(for height adjustment) I set the grille in the opening where the middle tooth was aligned front to back where I wanted it. Either side had to be "bent" towards the rear of the car.

    2. Pulled the grille out and drew a line form the top to the bottom of the bumper in the dead center of the over rider. Remove the over rider and cut through the curved part of the bumper on the top and bottom leaving the flat portion in hte middle intact. Make sure your cut is in the dead center of the over rider and strait. DO NOT CUT ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE BUMPER

    3. Now take the bumper and fold it torward the rear of the car. Once the initial bend is made it is much easier to adjust. Put the grille backin the and look at the result. If you cannot bend it enough remove a little more material in a V shape.
    [​IMG]
    Once you have the bend the way you want it, put a good tack on the top and bottom and reinstall the over rider. Set the grille back in place and check the alignment.

    4. If you want to "bend" it torwards the front of the car you use the same proceedure except DO NOT CUT a V cut, just cut a slit and fold it in the other direction. This will leave a pie shaped hole. Cut a small amount of sheet metal that fits the hole and tack weld this into place.
    [​IMG]

    5. Make sure you reinstall each over rider as you go and check to see that everything is staying even. You can make an adjustment at each over rider to get the bend as close as you want it. Ths more over riders you have the more gradual the bend will be.

    6. Once you have the bend the way you want it, remove all the over riders and weld it all together. Mine looked like this:
    [​IMG]

    7. Tape and spray the galvanizing paint on all your welds.

    8. Reinstall all the over riders on the bumper and install in the car.

    Take your time if you are going to do this. Make sure your adjustments are even on both sides of the bumper.

    I have recieved some questions via email and wanted to share the answers:

    The VW parts are for for the TYPE 1 beetle from 1953 to 1967. The earlier bug and ghia bumpers I think would look even better but the prices go up to about $75 per over rider and $400 to $500 for the bumper OUCH!

    My main advice is to take your time measuring and cutting, it is a very simple process but because you are working with finished parts, there is no room for error.

    PM me any questions or post them here, and I will answer what I can.

    Here is a copy of the reciept, all the part numbers and such. Don't think they have many over riders in stock though some guy came in the other day and bought the whole damn box:rolleyes:
    [​IMG]



    PART 2

    Many people have suggested a floating grille. I liked the way the teeth looked upside down but not so much the way it looked with the bar on the top. Then taking the advise of the guys on here sugesting a floating grille I did a little photoshop removing the bar and liked it even better.

    I added 2 more over riders to add a little bit more shine since the bar was gone. So here is the final look and the process for the floating grille:


    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    First I had to buy 2 more over riders $16. Then went and bought some 1" square tubing and 6 feet of 5/16-18 threaded rod. That was $8. With nuts and bolts and everything (excluding the bumper which I no longer needed) this would cost under $125.

    1. Measure the opening width on your car. I suggest getting a piece of cardboard for foam board and cutting it to size and set it in there to get a visual of how your finished product will look. Write down the width you want to grille to be. Mine was 41".

    2. Cut the 1" square tubing the length of the grille.

    3. Lay the over riders on the tubing and decide how many you want depending on the spacing and width of your grille. This is purely a matter of taste. Write down how many over riders you want to use. Mine was 13.

    4. Take the width of your grille and subract two inches. This gave me 39". Take the number of overriders and subtract one. This became 12 for me. Now divide your new grille width by the new number of over riders. 39" divided by 12 equals 3.25" of space between each over rider. Yours will be different.

    5. If your original number of over riders was an odd number, start at the center line of the tube and measure and mark where each over rider will go until you end up 1" in from the end of the tube. If you do not end up on 1" from the end of the tube, remeasure and check your math.

    6. If your original number of over riders was an even number, start one inch in from the end of the tube and mark where the center of each over riders will be placed going across the tube. You should end up at the other end one inch in from the end of your tube. If you do not end up on this mark, remeasure and check your math.

    7. Drill 11/32 holes using a drill press on each mark. If you do not have a drill press you can use a regular drill just make sure you drill strait or you will be spending lots of time evening up the over riders once installed.

    8. Cut the threaded rod into pieces that are long enough to place them where you want them front to back and at least 1 inch beyond the back of the 1" square tubing. (see photo)

    [​IMG]


    6. Screw one end of the rod into the over rider a few turns and tack weld it in place to stop it from spinning on the rod. If you try and just tighten a nut down onto the over rider you will not be able to get it tight enough to stop it from moving without stripping out the thread on the over rider, trust me I tried. Make sure the rod is strait when you weld it.
    [​IMG]

    7. Bolt the over riders to the square tube by using 2 bolts and lock washers per ever rider. Sandwhich the square tubing between the bolts. Screw one bolt on the rod about 1.5" put on 1 lock washer and push through the hole on the square tubing. Slip one more lock washer over the end of the rod and turn the bolt a few turns.

    8. Adjust the depth by pushing the over rider back up against the tubing and just turn the front bolt either clockwise to move the over rider out(toward the front of the car) or counter clockwise to move it in. Tighten the bolt on the back. Make sure it is very tight or the over rider wil turn when bumped!

    I painted mine a flat black to hide the suport bars. This was about half the work and time involved of doing the first version. So total time on this was about 2 hours. Not bad for 2 hours and $125.

    Brandon
     
    Last edited: Jan 15, 2009
    north coast greaser likes this.
  2. LOST ANGEL
    Joined: Jan 2, 2003
    Posts: 5,323

    LOST ANGEL
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Damn, clever! Nice job.-MIKE:eek::cool:
     
  3. chopt55bc
    Joined: May 10, 2008
    Posts: 886

    chopt55bc
    Member

    thats a pretty cool idea!!! but did you try flippin it over so the bumper bar is at the bottom? just to see what way looks better. either way, still looks good!!!
     
  4. LabRat
    Joined: Jan 10, 2008
    Posts: 1,551

    LabRat
    Member

    Kudo's for thoughts outside the box , you now have a brand new chrome grill for $140 !
    Damn ........ Neat tech thread too.
     
  5. Danimal
    Joined: Apr 23, 2006
    Posts: 4,150

    Danimal
    Member

    Would that HAMBer be MotorBikeMike?

    That looks really trick and if they weren't in the 'know' the might think it was DeSoto-esque.

    Nice work.
     
  6. Busted Knuckles
    Joined: Dec 1, 2004
    Posts: 1,846

    Busted Knuckles
    Member

    Great idea , this was discussed here a while back as well but yours turned out great . I to would like to see it flipped with the bar at the bottom.
     
  7. Smokin' Joe
    Joined: Jul 4, 2006
    Posts: 1,001

    Smokin' Joe
    Member Emeritus

  8. Squablow
    Joined: Apr 26, 2005
    Posts: 18,389

    Squablow
    Member

    There's another hamber with a 52-54 Ford that uses a VW bumper guard grille, except without the bumper. I'd like to see what this looks like flipped over also.

    I could see this with a Caddy bullet or a parking light in a housing on either end like a '53 Chevy.
     
  9. Patrick46
    Joined: Nov 26, 2008
    Posts: 581

    Patrick46
    Member

    Great Job!!! way ta think outside the box!...it really pays off sometimes!
     
  10. southpark
    Joined: Aug 2, 2007
    Posts: 712

    southpark
    BANNED

    cool idea but i think it would be 10 times better flipped over, to late now but that would of been perfect
     
  11. 1949windsor
    Joined: Jul 30, 2008
    Posts: 60

    1949windsor
    Member

    Here you go:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I have not decided yet which way to finish it. I am going to wait until all the holes are filled and smoothed to decide. The front of the car slants torwards the rear of the car from the top of the hood down to the top of the bumper. By puting the grille in the way it was originally, the teeth follow that line. I think it looks good both ways.
     
  12. southpark
    Joined: Aug 2, 2007
    Posts: 712

    southpark
    BANNED

    that looks great, much much better.
     
  13. cfish50chevy
    Joined: Aug 31, 2005
    Posts: 579

    cfish50chevy
    Member

    Good job......Ive been doing it for years on a ton of cars.....theres a lot of people on here that use them..my avatar is proof!...nice work.
     

    Attached Files:

  14. briggs&strattonChev
    Joined: Feb 20, 2003
    Posts: 2,236

    briggs&strattonChev
    Member

    Do you remember who that is? Id like to see a pic.

    I like the look of the flipped over (second version) more. They both look good tho and it was a great idea.
     
  15. rjgideon
    Joined: Sep 12, 2005
    Posts: 573

    rjgideon
    Member

    Looks good with the cross bar on the bottom, it sort of balances the headlights out. It looks like she's got a big ol' smile now (in a good way).
     
  16. skyrodder
    Joined: May 7, 2005
    Posts: 1,925

    skyrodder
    Member

    Looks good, thanks for sharing
     
  17. 1949windsor
    Joined: Jul 30, 2008
    Posts: 60

    1949windsor
    Member

    it is the 1953 to 1967 Euro style bumper and over riders
     
  18. 1949windsor
    Joined: Jul 30, 2008
    Posts: 60

    1949windsor
    Member

    I had posted a request for pictures about this here a couple of weeks ago and did not get any pictures.....It's really easy and looks really good. I have to be honest I was surprised myself at the end result. With how much it costs for studebaker or chevy parts I was surprised it is not more common than it is.

    I wonder if people are just embarrased that people will comment that they are using VW parts that are really inexpensive and easy to get irregardless that they are getting a great final product.

    Me I don't care. If it looks good and works well, who give a shit. That's what hot rodding is all about. I just love that we all have a place to now come and share our ideas...some good, some WTF, but at least you have the ability to decide for yourself what works for you :D
    B
     
  19. Squablow
    Joined: Apr 26, 2005
    Posts: 18,389

    Squablow
    Member


    I do too. The first version looks like its upside-down.

    I think this is going to look good in the car, I think you're going to want some pretty good sized parking lights/turn signals to fill in some of the blank space on the front fenders. Got any plans for that?
     
  20. Flava-Flav?
     
  21. Tate
    Joined: Aug 19, 2005
    Posts: 45

    Tate
    Member

    I did a really crappy photoshop, but I think you will get the idea. I think floating teeth would look cool

    [​IMG]
     
  22. Ian Berky
    Joined: Nov 28, 2007
    Posts: 3,644

    Ian Berky
    Member

    Looks great!! Thanx for posting!!!!

    ian
     
  23. Crease
    Joined: May 7, 2002
    Posts: 2,878

    Crease
    Member

  24. try blacking out the bumper with tape to see how that looks

    I should have read page two before posting!! Ok I'll second the floating grill
     
  25. Chopped50Ford
    Joined: Feb 16, 2003
    Posts: 5,854

    Chopped50Ford
    Alliance Vendor

    Innovative, I like it.
     
  26. 1949windsor
    Joined: Jul 30, 2008
    Posts: 60

    1949windsor
    Member

    I still have the original lights but they are kind of big, I have not decided yet on what to do with the space
     
  27. VonKool13
    Joined: Feb 16, 2008
    Posts: 1,039

    VonKool13
    Member

    Rad job dude, the second version is the money shot!
     
  28. 1949windsor
    Joined: Jul 30, 2008
    Posts: 60

    1949windsor
    Member


    I am kind of leaning that way to
     
  29. Very nice low buck idea.......Great Job!!!!!
     

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