Reproduction steel '32 grille shell

Are there any more companies than Brookville and Vintique stamping new grille shells? Anyone know who makes the inexpensive black e-coated ones on ebay for $345(shell and insert)?

 

How many more options do you need when both the Brookville & Vintique shells are very nice?

I'd be very afraid of a $345 grille & shell. My Vintique shell with Dale's insert was $600 - on sale.

JH

 

swap meets.scored a new shell for 150!

 

Naw, I'm not looking for any more options, just wondering if the ebay shells are actually a brand name shell with an offshore insert. I was curious if there were any generic chinese or taiwan units being made then hawked on ebay. Anyone know?

This is the $345 unit:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1932...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

I've had 2 of the eBay $345 deals and haven't had any problems with them. I also have a Vintique shell and Dale's insert. Honestly for the difference in cost, I wish I would have bought another eBay special.

 

Thanks for the info Bull, was there much difference between the vintique shell and the ebay one?

 

Not that I could tell. Perhaps it was thinner metal but that was not apparent either. My Dale's insert does fit much better though -- and it better for what they cost. Again, if I were to do it over again I wouldn't hesitate to go with an eBay special.

 

By the way, that is the eBay store I bought mine from. If you call them directly you can get the insert with the crank hole and shell with the radiator cap hole at no extra charge.

 

the Dale's inserts are supposed to be the best other than original fords

 

Half of the Vintique shells I see don't have the radiator cap in the correct place. It's offset by about a 1/4 inch. Really annoying.

 

I've tryed all the repops over the years and still on a car I really want nice I step up to a Gennie original 32 shell with a Dales insert.The hood seems to fit a little better with an original shell. IMO.

 

I wholeheartedly agree that you get what you pay for. I'm not looking for a caddy at a kia price. I'd like to get the car on the road with one of these, then toss in a dales insert at a later date. Any confirmations that the eBay ones are vintique shells?

 

I had 3 shells to work with. Vintique, Brookville & an Ebay knock-off.
The insert is a Dales.

Insert fit the Brookville w/ a bit of massaging. Fit the Vintique like a glove. The thin taiwan offshore Ebay shell- not even close.

Tried the Dales on a gennie too & fit like a glove.

 

Thanks Steves32, so there may be another cheap taiwan shell being sold on ebay. Interesting. Anyone else have any further insight?

 

The shells on ebay are nice ,The original insert fits them perfect ,The inserts fit but not as close as the originals ,I have sold a few shells here on the hamb ,One even to Pat Pryor and I showed him how an original insert fits these perfectly .I have bought and sold 7 or 8 shells and Gearhead world has the nicest shells,So buy the 215 shell and get a hold of an original insert ,On there inserts Id pass ,I have three original inserts and 2 original shells to compare shells and inserts to .My stuff is not for sale I even had a bob drake at one time ,Not as nice as gearhead world .

 

There may be more than one shell on EBAY. This one was bought about 5 years ago & was dirt cheap. It's installed on a friends car now w/ a perforated aluminum home made insert now.

 

My experience was that a vintique shell was too short by 1/4" for my original insert,couldnt even fit it into the shell. and the black chinese one fit better, so that is what I bought. Seemed to be as well stamped as the vintique, I had them side by side, and the chinese one seemed to be finished nicer around the edges. just my experience.

 

Ive used about 6 of the cheap 32 shells off of ebay, the inserts dont fit as good but they are aftermarket parts, what do you expect, with some finageling ive gotten the insert to fit pretty good, after painted up and detailed they look pretty good.

one thing ive heard about the cheap insert and better instert are that that cheap inserts tend to rattle a bit more, but if it bothered a guy enough he could take care of that.

JEFF

 

Lots of good info guys. It sounds like there must be generic after market shells being produced too. This is really interesting, keep it coming

 

The truth is that alot of aftermarket stuff fits better than the original Ford stuff. Brookville will tell you that if you're fitting there repop parts to original ford stuff you will have to do some fitting. I had a fiberglass shell and ordered a stainless insert from Speedy Bill and it fit perfect. I think it was just luck. I picked up a steel shell from a well known hot rod supplier and it would not fit my stainless insert. It was just about 3/16 inch to short. I'm not sure what the answer is except to order both from the same place. I know Dales fits them together before they ship it to you and they stand behind the stuff they sell.

 

I bought a '32 grille shell and insert from Gearhead on ebay, cost was about $325 all in. It's very nice, good enough to use on my hood-less truck.

 

I got one awhile ago,not sure who made it but it looked good until I tried to fit it and the cutout for the radiator cap was off center,so look close.

 

For whats its worth, I have vintique shell and vintique insert and they fit perfect! I also have an original setup that interchanges very well with vintique.

 

Thanks for all the great info guys, it sounds like there must be several different brands of shells being stamped out at this time besides the vintique and brookville. Please don't hesitate to comment if you have further insight.

 

Well,I've got a Vintique '32 shell with a Speedway '32 insert.The insert was a perfect fit which surprised the hell out of me!