grill damage/replacement

[BigRedTruck]

.............the bodyshop wanted to replace my entire grill cause one of the horizontal bar things was broke in one spot...don't people fix things anymore? that's like getting a new set of tires cause one of my two spares is low on air.....I don't even think they make 69 grills just 70 ones...i want a identical grill or to fix this one. or is it pretty standard to replace the entire thing?

[FORDification]

Is your grille a steel or an aluminum version? While the steel grilles are fairly easy to straighten and/or weld, the aluminum grilles aren't as easy. Bends or dings can be straightened, but once they're broke off, it's next to impossible to weld that thin aluminum and finish it so that the repair would be invisible. While it's possible, I would think that the man-hours involved would make a replacement grille look like a much sounder idea.

[morganater]

How do i tell the difference between a steel and aluminum grille? On both of my trucks the grilles came painted the same as the rest of the body color.

[bumt72]

Do you have a picture of the break and are you going for show quality? Depending on the break you may be able to create a backer plate then use metal adhesive to fix it.

Duramix
http://www.3m.com/us/auto_marine_aero/a ... amix.jhtml

Fusor
http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/merc ... ry_Code=MB

It's not real cheep, If you go fusor it would be around $30 for material but.....

I am thinking about using this stuff for some mods I want to make since welding isn't my strong suit.

[flyboy2610]

How do i tell the difference between a steel and aluminum grille? On both of my trucks the grilles came painted the same as the rest of the body color.

The easiest way is to use a magnet. If it sticks, it's steel. If it don't, it's aluminum.

[DuckRyder]

How do i tell the difference between a steel and aluminum grille? On both of my trucks the grilles came painted the same as the rest of the body color.

The easiest way is to use a magnet. If it sticks, it's steel. If it don't, it's aluminum.

I thought the painted ones were steel and the shiny ones were alum.

[NM5K]

I thought the painted ones were steel and the shiny ones were alum. >>

Yep, thats pretty much it. If it's "silver and not painted", it's aluminum, and is a custom or ranger grille. This would be hard to fix. Some pro's could probably do it, but it's not for the faint of heart. One wrong move, and it's a blob of junk...It would never really look right. I'd find one in a junkyard, or e-bay...If it was painted ivory, it's steel. Those could be fixed much easier. BTW, as far as I know, "but don't take this as total gospel" *all* steel grilles were painted ivory at the factory, along with the painted bumpers, and headlight cups, no matter what the body color was. Ivory is a slightly different shade than the usual wimbledon white. A tiny bit more brownish/yellowish maybe??? Just a note for the purists... MK

[BigRedTruck]

thanks....yeah i've been looking around for a replacement having some luck

[F-100Ranger]

I've read of some guys taking the steel grill and having it chromed.

[BigRedTruck]

thats a option but they always seem to come out too shiny or reflective... I only really need the inserts but nobody makes those even

[1968Ranger]

If you need the inserts yours is not an original 69 grill. The 67-69 are one piece save the headlight bezels.
I have seen the inserts for sale in LMC and Denniscarpenter.

[BigRedTruck]

guess not then i just assumed they were all like that...