69 grilles always dented

[tucknroll]

hey guys, my 69's I piece of the grille was dented but fixed now. just wondering why most all of them got dented. unless its been restored, they are always dinged. I don't notice other muscle cars dinged on the front but it seems like all chargers are. whats with the original owners all banging the front of their cars?

[Ghoste]

Well it's a little known fact but Chargers are pretty much the fastest of all musclecars (ignore stats to the contrary) and 69's with that split in the grille become just that little bit faster.  The fastest of the fastest you could say.  And as they fly down the road at those stunning velocities, what would be a soft hit on a regular car, such as striking an insect, becomes a much harder ordeal in the case of the 69 Charger.
This is why in designing the Daytona where they knew it would become even faster yet, the decision was made to move away from the soft metal and go to a steel nose.

[tan top]

        

[twodko]

Yep, what Ghoste said and I might add that the sheer wind pressures at these common speeds would actually deform the "I" piece trim.

[BrianShaughnessy]

I always just say 'drum brakes'.   

[Baldwinvette77]

I just always thought all 69 charger owners drove like stuntman mike 

mines dented, but to be fair the other 2 original charger grilles i have seen in person weren't dented 

[Ghoste]

Clearly Baldwin those two owners were highly intimidated by the awe inspiring potential speed their cars were capable of.

[JB400]

Beauty marks from cars too slow to get out of the way.

[Baldwinvette77]

Clearly Baldwin those two owners were highly intimidated by the awe inspiring potential speed their cars were capable of.

well, one of the grilles was off an R/T 

[Ghoste]

Very sad.  You're sure it was original? 

[charge69]

Mine's original !   

[stripedelete]

Shopping carts.....

[charge69]

Wascally wabbits !!!

[DTB]

Contributing factor? lol

[tucknroll]

thanks for the comments. just something ive noticed and wondered if it was just me.

[JamieZ]

I always though they were tool marks from trying to pry off that I beam to make it more like the 68 grille.

[myk]

It's from cruise nights and the knees of girls who hit the grill, as they put themselves into compromising positions, posing for pictures or whatever else they feel like giving up for the driver of the sexiest car at the show...

[Chargen69]

just noticed in the parts for sale section that a restoreable 69 grill went for 1000.

what would a restored one be worth?

[hatersaurusrex]

I'd say the logical answer is that the grille for other muscle cars cost $4.79+tax from JC Whitney, and a 2nd gen grille requires you to put a 3rd mortgage on your house and sacrifice three lambs and a virgin.

So brand X guys fix them, and Charger guys go 'mnnnaaaah that dent just gives it character'

[chaos52]

I've wondered the same thing about fenders. I bought 4 for my project and EVERY one of them was smashed on the nose.

[bull]

Probably because that center piece sticks out in front of everything on the car like a sore thumb and is therefore the first part of the car to arrive at a stationary object.

[twodko]

Bull, ya just ruined the mystique.

[Todd Wilson]

The I piece is a very thin piece of metal. Theres a hollow void between it and the grill. Years of driving with stuff coming up from the roads and maybe pulling too close to scrubs or landscaping and it doesn't take much to push them in.

I have read where if half of it is good you can make a mold of it and then use it to lightly tap out the other end of it and I have seen some very nice I pieces that have been tapped out and repaired.


Todd

[don duick]

I know that straight dent on the bottom of the I piece is from the bumper bar when the car was jacked with the bumper jack

[Mike DC]

     

'69 grille divider trim came dented from the factory.  Any straight ones you see have been repaired later.

Same with the front corners of the fenders. 

[tan top]

mine was dented when I got it  !!  ,  

second picture !! it was still dented in 85 with the second owner  

third picture , me with the charger !!  , day I got it  

[Ghoste]

Thats not dented, thats crushed. 

[kokxville]

Mine has a small dent in it.I might replace it someday,but other stuff has to be done first 

[tan top]

Thats not dented, thats crushed.  

 yeah it was bad ,  

I repaired  the I piece as best as I could & believe me it was dented &  mangled & split mess ,
this was before all the repop parts & before internet to search for NOS parts or used parts ,  
also the plastic centre section of the grill was cracked & broken &  bits in green were missing  
repaired it all , & made the missing plastic parts from scrap plastic  

 the areas marked in green ! was the damage, missing bits .
it looks ok , the  I piece is cracked in two places , could of done with a bit more shaping ,  was getting really thin   , but I wanted to reuse as much of the original parts to the car as possible at the time  
the I piece looks  better in person , than in a picture  
might get a repop one some day

sorry for the mini hijack  

[Road Dog]

My only grill damage is a couple shallow finger tip size dents on that center piece. Pretty good though considering that is closing in on 500,000 miles.

[tucknroll]

I tapped mine out the best I could and it looks pretty good. whats the best way to make it shine again if any?

[tan top]

 from the factory there is a coating put on , to stop the stainless & I piece tarnishing ,  once you start repairing  it , & blocking it with 180 to 320 wet n dry paper , it removes it , polish it in normal way on a bench grinder with buffing wheel attachment , &  polishing soap !! then use  either chrome cleaner or brasso  ,  because I had to work the I piece soo hard , trying to reshape it etc , it goes dull very quickly , so needs a polish up every  once in a while ( couple of months ) ,   so back to your question , any chrome cleaner or brasso  , metal polish , even 3m polishing compound will do the job  

[daveco]

They are just the right height for a grocery cart to tag 'em. Being thin aluminum doesn't help matters.

[Patronus]

Actually its because back in '69 all garages had to be 17' long. No exceptions. So, since the Charger is 17'-2" long, well.. you get the idea.

[Ghoste]

Ah, park by feel.

[bull]

Get a 68 or 70. The center pieces are never dented on those.