Hows the brookville filled top 32 grille shell and insert(575.00),also some on egay for (390.00),,any of these worth a ****
Haven't bought the one your talking about .Tried the cheap insert and of course it was horrible .Also had a Bob Drake ,No insert ,Also a fibergl*** shell from Wescott's These shells will fit an original insert perfect .For inserts I think its a ****shoot .I've looked at 100's of cars and there is a gap around each shell at the top .Which is wrong. If you try the 390.00 let me know .
I purchased one of the ebay cheapies, For a daily driver I'm putting together..Shell and insert combo..Shell seems to be lighter than Brookville-Roadster repo's, but well constructed for the money...Insert is a poor grade of stainless as a magnet wants to stick , but doesent...Insert fit well in an ordg. Ford shell,,after market gl*** or steel shells..Mine was $345 and shipping..Prices must of gone up...
The BEST quality insert by far is the Dale's Manufacturing one made in Ok City. They're $350 +tax+$30 shipping = about $410. I have a new one I didn't use hanging on the shop wall I'll sell you for $300. You come and get it and bring beer. I put one in a B-ville shell and still had to rework the shell a little, but it fit great.
Worked on a car with a brookville. They insert fits mediocrely, like you'd expect. What I didn't expect was for the sides to be "****ed in", from front to the bead at back, making the corners of the shell and rad. try to occupy the same space. I had to hammer/stretch it out to clear. We had a super clean original to pull templates off of. Oh, and it wasn't a filled top shell.
The Dales insert is hands down the best repo out there. I've got one in a Brookville shell. Satisfied!!! Frank
The Brookville's aren't correctly shaped either, compare one to an original and look at the band around the rear where the lacing goes, the metal is doubled over and needs work, minor to some people I know. I also have not seen one that didn't require work to make fit correctly. Brookville stamps their shells in house and over time the dies wear... they will never replace them. They also send their shells out to have the openings stamped in. Vintique shells, the 'black' ones on the auctions have the correct shape, but often the stamping is inconsistent, I had one where the holes were stamped 3/4" off and the bezel opening was about on the side of the shell it was so bad, but like any aftermarket part, they all need work. I was lucky enough to find a NOS Henry Ford '32 shell for my roadster, comparing it to the Vintique, it's ridiculous how off the aftermarket stuff actually is. For inserts, Dale's is definitely best, run your fingers over the bars in Dale's insert then over a Vintique, you'll hear how loose, cheap and harp sounding the Vintique is, the Dale's is also quite a bit heavier.
My brookville shell accepted original insert perfectly with ZERO tweeking...Im quite happy with it. It offers a uniform gap around the shell. When I got it, I put it next to a real one (not mine) and it was very much the same (with the exception of drain holes if I recall - but dont hold me to it...its been 6 years and 60,000 beers later). However, i've been quite pleased with it. Ive been lucky to have had a few original inserts go through my hands over the last few years, so I cant help you with that, but I can highly recommend the b'vill grill shell. Good luck.
I had a vintique unfilled shell, it would not take an original insert at all. to short in the opening by about 8mm. and curvature was wrong in the corners.ended up swapping it for a chinese stamped one, which fit the original insert much better. go figure.
I have been told ol' Henry had several places stamping the originals, which is why the fit is different between original shells and original inserts. Ol' Deuce Roadster will chime in, I'm sure. I'm pretty sure I heard that info from him...
Yep, that is correct, and the VERY early reproduction shells, had a different shaped crank hole opening. There were about 4 different inserts as well, I have 2 of them in my room right now, the all steel one with the stainless snap on trim ring around the outside, as well as the all stainless band one with the steel bars, there are 2 other ones as well. One with stainless trim ring that didn't come off and one other one I'm unsure of at this moment. My all stainless band one fits my NOS shell better than the steel with a stainless band one and everything is original Henry Ford... just a mix and match game
That's the weird thing ,I have two henry shells and three inserts and they all fit the same ,Perfect . I guess I got the same manufacturing plant .Does any body know ,Which insert repo fits a stock shell perfectly .Sorry to hijack thread ,Ive sold many shells that were repo as I said before ,Even had a moon shell.From many years back ,Fibergl*** ,Got hosed on that one ,Spent hours fixing it ,To sell. My roadster Im building Has a painted shell and I would like to go stainless ,Body work is done on shell and Im done putting hours in it .
I have 3 of the Brookville shells up in storage. I got sick of the ****ty way the Dales inserts fit. I been using the unfilled Vintique which fits the Dales insert better but there is an issue with the top opening being off to the right about 1/4 inch, so I filled the dam thing, and am fairly satisified. Can't beat a gennie Henry!
i have a brookville shell (filled top) with dales insert and its great fit... the insert with the $575 (usa made), is a dales....
I got one off ebay 220.00 It's for a driver I'm building, it fit to original shell I have very well. at least I thought so.... It is what I 'm going to run...
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