Hello HAMBers! I'm sure several of you have made your own tube grilles on this forum, I'm wondering how you went about doing it? Are there any tube grille kits I could get? Which is best costwise and long-term durability wise? I know they don't make any for a '57 Mercury, I plan on modeling it after the ones I've seen on '57 Fords. Any help you can give me is greatly appreciated!
i doubt they'll be making one for a 57 merc but butches cool stuff is starting to reproduce the bar grilles they used to make "butches rod shop" i know they have one for a 57 ford maybe butch would do you one up special???? hes a member here couldnt hurt to ask
I just bought some 1/2 in stainless tube with making a tube grille in mind. Not sure where to start so I'll be watching this thread. Normal Norman
If you use aluminum & polish it then spray it with a product called Sharks Skin it seems to hold up pretty good.
They were a popular swap onto 80's trucks and vans, if you could find one at the junkyard or swap meet that was too big, it'd be easy enough to trim it down to fit. Otherwise I would think 1/2" stainless fuel line would work although I don't know where you'd get it.
The grill in my ot daily was a "universal" tube grill that came un***embled. The tubes are held to the support bars with screws from the back. There may still be some of those in the back rooms of old parts houses that have been around for ever. I would check the JC Whitney catalog though as sometimes they still list stuff like that. Still it shouldn't be hard to fabricate a tube grill out of either round or square stainless tubing that isn't too hard to find.
I used pre-polished 304 S.S. 1/2" tubing to build this one my '69 El Camino. It remained shiny for the 10 years I had the car. Use tubing bender to bend ends and any other curves needed. Used three vertical supports on back side. These supports were notched out so tubing would fit and be spaced approximately 1 1/2" on centers....
Didn't see any Merc stuff here but if anyone else is looking for one- http://glorygrills.com/ Never done any business with them, but they seem to have been around for a while...
Thank you! I will look into this. I will also consider the copper piping if the cost to have the real deal made up is too much at this time....(I'm a college student)
I talked to a guy at goodguys here in charlotte last week about his. He used tubing painted black and then glued on thin chrome trim. It looked great and had to have been way cheaper. I think I am gonna go this route with mine. Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki Hosted on Fotki
Back in the early 80's. when my boss and mentor, John Pazcik, was building the 61 Dodge I now own, he showed me how to do a tube grill. He used 3/4 copper tubing, took his measurements, and put a wedge cut about 3/4 of the way through the middle of the tubing. Bent it, then brazed it back together. Made for a sharper bend in the middel, than just bending it. He then brazed each piect of tubing to 1 x 1/8" steel strap, to hold it together, and also to mount it into the grill opening. Then it was sent out for chrome. It is still in the car today, and looks good! Since then, I've also done grills out of stainless. The cost is initially higher, but you don't have to get it chromed, which is big money today. You can get SS tubing in all different diameters from McMaster Carr. Be sure to get something in a thin enough tubing wall to be able to bend it. 0.060 to 0.030 IIRC. Be sure to polish the tubing before bending, it's a bit easier, but you may have to touch up polish the bends, they do dull a bit. You can even use conduit, but you have the problem of welding on galvanized, which can make you sick, and also the cost of plating afterwards. I've made brackets that are nicer than the ones John made, Get a piece of steel, even just 16 ga. will do, about 2 In wide. get a hole saw and drill out holes evenly spaced the distance you want your tubing spaced. When finished, cut it in half, so you can weld/braze the tubing into the half round pockets you've made for a good support. Just be sure to do it straight, or angled, as the grill opening demands, for a good fit. Sy "HI" to your brother John, for me...I gotta get him to redo my website someday!
Good to see pics like this. Just spent the last 4 hours after first seeing this working out the grills i want. Been on my mind for ages now. I'm not using that method but got the juices flowing, tape out etc and now how the design of the grills sorted. Just need to go and buy 2 chrome shower rails and let the cutting and driling begin!!! Got a spare front panel so whats to lose!!
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