I've gotta' chop this '32 grille insert a few inches. I just got it back from having it stripped and to my horror found that EVERY DAMN GRILLE BAR has been brazed at the top and bottom AND at the mid support locations! WTF!? Has anyone else ran into this? It's looking like I'll have to chop and re-weld every grille bar right smack dab in the middle. Had it not been brazed I would have just cut the surrounding structure and lopped the bottom of each bar off and put it back together. I could use some advice here, guys! I'm thinking that trying to cut or remove all that brazed **** out is going to ruin the insert as well as be a TON of work. Am I stuck with cutting and welding it right through the center??
Cutting it in the middle might put the cross bars too close together. You could probably heat it up and knock most of it out with a wire brush. . . then heat it again and try to pull it apart. Just be careful not to warp it.
i would chop the top as your bars are already destroyed at the top anyway. my weekly metal work blog www.themetalsurgeon.com
Hmmm... So you think it's possible to knock most of that out with some heat? Wow. That would be super helpful. Ideally, I LIKE the spacing of the cross bars, so if I could brake it loose I would rather cut from top AND bottom, just to keep it proportionate. I haven't taken the actually measurement, but I think it's going to end up being about a 3-1/2" chop.
That's also not a bad idea. You might be able to get away with cutting the top off right before the bend (where it's still straight) then cutting the bars to the new size and shape, then putting the top back on and tacking the bars in place at the top, behind the lip. You'd still have to clean that brazing out from the top, but no grinding or cleaning up welds on the bars in the middle of the grille where you can see it. I'd move the cross bars down bit just to keep everything in proportion to a stock grille. . . but I've also been known to overdo things.
Yeah, I've got that "overdoing it disease" thing you refer to as well. Just measured it... I need to remove 3-3/8" to make it fit just right. Not even a standard chop. So, you guys are essentially thinking that I would cut the bars along the inside edge of the top/bottom (or both), then cut the surround above/below (or both) of the center supports, cut down the bars accordingly, clean out the brazed areas where needed, and weld it all back together? Hmmm.... I like this.
I've never been able to get brazing to melt cleanly away from the steel. You'd probably and up filing a whole lot of brazing after you pulled the bars out of the melted joint. Sell it and get another. Maybe a repro, since you'll need to do some tweeking for fit anyway. The price originals go for, I bet you'd be well on the way to the cost of a repro.
By the way, the cut out sections you're seeing aren't the top, it's where the crank hole was. Here's how it looked before I had that gnarly orange paint removed...
This is a repro. Not an original. And I don't have time to start over. I have to cut it down this weekend. I have to work with what I have.
Taking an inch and 11/16th's out of both the top and the bottom would mostly likely solve the problem with the cross bars looking odd. I'd clean the brazing out of the top and bottom, thencut the very top and bottom off (right at the bend). Cut and re-shape the bar, then slide them back into the surround, tack them in place and call it a day. . . .obviously as said up top, getting another one that isn't brazed to all H3LL would be the easiest thing to do. . . but who ever does the obvious, easy thing?
This could happen, but if he does the very top and the very bottom, all of that mess will be cut away. Then in a perfect world he can just clean up the "slots" with a cut off wheel, and put it back together. . . .and if you can't get the brazing to melt away, just cut the bars right at the edge of the surround, and grind what's left out of each slot. Then chop the bars and put it back together. The main thing is not having to clean up the welds on each bar if you chop them where you can see it. . . cause that's going to be annoying.
Ether, superior metal man, just cut mine 3 3/8. Both my shell and grill are aftermarket. He did an awesome job. My grill is stainless. Sure looks good now.
scooter, he cut the grill in the middle. Disconnected the bars at the bottom and cut there, then re attached. cut the shell at the lower corners. awesome job, no filler needed.
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