32 truck grill on a car???

I'm building a 50's/ 60's style 30 roadster high boy on a 32 frame, and my buddy last week dropped by with an original 32/33 ford truck grill. The thing is in great condition, but I was gonna run a 32 car grill, and can't decide. Anyone running one of these on a car? Thoughts on fit? Is having a truck grill on a car lame?

 

i think a truck grill would be fine on a commercial type vehicle , but on a passenger car i'd use a passenger grille

 

I ran one for a long time because the 32 truck grills fit on a Model A radiator. The car grills don't. I was happy with it because I was running a hopped up banger.

Once I did the flathead swap and got a 32 radiator, I switched to the car grill. They look nicer

 

Did he bring a 32 grille or a 33 grille? They are different. I think a 33 truck grille can only look good on a 33 truck. Too big for a car, especially an A. A 32 truck grille is thinner and may be OK depending on the style of the car.

 

They look a little large to me, but I think it is one of those things where the average person wouldn't notice. I agree that they look most at home on a comercial application For some the real question would be is a genuine 32 truck grill as good as a reproduction car grill?

 

Listed on ebay a long time ago

32 truck shell I believe.

 

Thanks guys, yeah I agree. I think this one is a 32 (it seems thinner, so non commercial?) I think it looks a little too tall as well, and there is NO way I'd cut an original Henry piece.

 

Wow! Can't argue with that.

 

haha yeah "OK" is not really my style. For the weight of my wallet, I think I'll go repop. Looking for more of something along the lines of the infamous nimrod roadster, or rural rods.

 

I like the truck shell on this one. The headlights are probably off a truck, too (Diamond t, White, Autocar, etc.).

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7586140&postcount=64

Not the best pic but that's a 33/34 truck grille on my car.
I think it looks great on there.

 

This is not a 32 truck shell,,too thick. HRP

 

Killer ride! Yeah I think it flows better on a vicky

 

32 passenger car grill & truck grill. HRP

 

Thanks !
I think the trick with that grille is to be sure it sits like it does on the truck.
It leans back some. On my car that's a stock A hood with a 107 " wheel base.
It's thick but that let's the radiator go deep into the shell or more forward.
Never could have got a blown hemi in there with a stock hood without that shell.
It just worked and might only work with similar circumstances

 

I really like '32 commercial Grills, They can be real hard to find. Especially cheap (I know because I'm looking). Josh's A roadster pulls it off nicely.

 

Another a little more clear.

 

You need to just stop looking for awhile. I looked high and low for a good '32 commercial for over a year. I ended up settling for a '34 pickup grille. About 2 weeks after I bought it I stumbled on a great looking '32 grille for $125..then another..and then another. Now I have 3 of them.

 

They fit a '30-'31 A like it was made for it.

 

I guess it is personal preference, however I think the 32 commercial looks great on one of my personal pre-war favourites, the Robert Stack roadster. The attached images came from the thread here about Stack's A.

 

here is one;

 

Will a '32 commercial shell fit on a Model A radiator?

We've got a '32 passenger car shell to put opn this A truck. The patina would match perfectly. We haven't switched shells, yet, because the radiator on this truck is great. We've got a '32 radiator, but it's not as good. It runs so nice and cool the way it is, we don't want to sacrifice dependability for vanity. If a commercial shell would fit this radiator, that might be perfect.

 

here is a truck shell on my old 30A roadster I built several years back
[still belongs to Hamb'r Legendary Lars]

 

I've got a stock (or reproduction?) A radiator in mine. It hangs right on it. I don't have the hood hinge retainer supports on, so the hood is just laying on top, but it all lines up. The lower attachment hole lines up pretty good, the upper need to be lengthened. Matches right up at the fender and frame.

 

That dont look original Henry unless someone welded up the filler hole on top.

If the Radiator is too high:

1- THere's two differet Model A front crossmembers. One has about a 1/4" drop at the radiator mounts. I've cut them out & flipped them around to lower the radiator.

2 - Put a straight edge (maybe 2"X3"X90" metal beam) on top of the frame to see if its bent.

 

reproduction? Cause it looks cherry, huh. Look original to me.

32 Commercial fits cause it came with the same model A engine & 30/31 radiator. Hey, where there V8 trucks in 1932? If so, I wonder if they had the car grille?

 

Count me as a 33/34 commercial user...it looks a tad out of place, but the extra room this thing buys is pretty substantial....plus the price was right, a gift from my dad for my build, it had been hanging on his garage wall since I was a kid.




still not sure if its a 33 or 34

early Mustang 4 row radiator fits right in there no problem