Restored a '69 Grille for a Fellow DC Member

[bill440rt]

Thought I'd post these pictures on here. SUPER-nice DC.com member here wanted me to restore his '69 grille for his General Lee (I'll leave him anonymous for now unless he wants to post here).

The grille was pretty nice to begin with. No broken fins, but it had a few cracks here & there. One of the stop tabs on the driver's headlight door was missing, so I fabbed one & bonded it in. All plastic repairs were performed with SEM rigid plastic repair material, then primed with SEM flexible primer surfacer.
The silver was painted first, using Ford/Motorcraft argent silver in a spray can. It's a little lighter than the original shade, but I've used it before with great success & after seeing my grilles he also wanted his a little lighter shade. Black was then done with DupliColor Semi-Gloss black.
All new hardware & trim was supplied, and he even had the grille support blasted & then powdercoated black.

I still have to install the hood latch & vacuum lines, but here is the overall finished product.
Enjoy!

[bill440rt]

More...

2nd pic is the repaired stop tab.

[bill440rt]

Last few...

[69*F5*SE]

Bill, great work on the grille.     What did you use to fabricate the headlight door stop?  I have one missing also and would like to fix it.  

[Charger-Bodie]

Looks Excellent Bill!! 

[tan top]

  ........ ..that looks real nice     good work Bill 

[Brock Samson]

  good stuff! 

[68 CHARGER R/T]

looks amazing bill . bill can you give me your  info or number  so i can send you the money soon for the two door  moldings .   thanks      rob 

[bill440rt]

Bill, great work on the grille.     What did you use to fabricate the headlight door stop?  I have one missing also and would like to fix it.  

Thanks all!  

F5, making the door stop is actually pretty easy. First, using some thin cardboard I made a template of the stop on other grille door (an old box from a 12-pk of soda works great for this). Folding the template the opposite way now makes a mirror image for the other side. I then transferred this to some sheetmetal, & cut it out with tin snips. I bent the tab up using a bench vise.
Now, to attach it. Holding the template on the grille door, I marked a small 1/8" hole in it where the remaining plastic was. I drilled a hole in the new metal tab, then marked another holed & drilled that in the grille door. The new tab was scuffed & cleaned to promote adhesion. I used some of the plastic repair material (you can also use bonding adhesive), placed the tab lining up the holes, & used a small pop-rivet to hold it together. Once dry, I sanded the remaining repair material & filled the rest with more plastic repair material. Sand this some more, apply some polyester glazing putty to fill any more imperfections, prime, & your done. Once installed, you will never see the little pop rivet. It turns out to be a nice, strong repair.
It's pretty easy, you'll have no problem.  

[bill440rt]

looks amazing bill . bill can you give me your  info or number  so i can send you the money soon for the two door  moldings .   thanks      rob 

Hey, Rob!! 
PM sent. 

[Ryan]

mine looks better 

just messin with ya. Looks great man

[resq302]

Very nice work Bill.  Of course, after seeing all the other stuff you have done, I would expect nothing less!

[oldschool]

wow,thats nice!!

[TylerCharger69]

Did that grille come with the headlamp bezels??  I thought only 68's had them since mine and a lot of other 69s ive seen dont

[69*F5*SE]

Bill, great work on the grille.     What did you use to fabricate the headlight door stop?  I have one missing also and would like to fix it.  

Thanks all!  

F5, making the door stop is actually pretty easy. First, using some thin cardboard I made a template of the stop on other grille door (an old box from a 12-pk of soda works great for this). Folding the template the opposite way now makes a mirror image for the other side. I then transferred this to some sheetmetal, & cut it out with tin snips. I bent the tab up using a bench vise.
Now, to attach it. Holding the template on the grille door, I marked a small 1/8" hole in it where the remaining plastic was. I drilled a hole in the new metal tab, then marked another holed & drilled that in the grille door. The new tab was scuffed & cleaned to promote adhesion. I used some of the plastic repair material (you can also use bonding adhesive), placed the tab lining up the holes, & used a small pop-rivet to hold it together. Once dry, I sanded the remaining repair material & filled the rest with more plastic repair material. Sand this some more, apply some polyester glazing putty to fill any more imperfections, prime, & your done. Once installed, you will never see the little pop rivet. It turns out to be a nice, strong repair.
It's pretty easy, you'll have no problem.  

Bill, thanks for the information.

[bakerhillpins]

WOW. That's just amazing. 

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Nice job bro!   

[bill440rt]

Nice job bro!   

Thanks, Chris! 

Did that grille come with the headlamp bezels??  I thought only 68's had them since mine and a lot of other 69s ive seen dont

Tyler, you are correct. The bezels only came on '68's. The owner supplied them for this grille. I have them installed on my '69 grille also, I like them & feel it finishes it off.

A few "peeves" of mine. The repro hardware kits left a little to be desired. Many of the nuts & bolts are not 100% authentic or correct. Some kits were also incomplete, so I either had to raid my personal stash or re-use some of the old hardware in other areas. This was done in inconspicuous spots so they wouldn't be seen when the grille is installed in the car. Overall, they are not bad, but with the quality of repro parts nowadays they could have at least been complete.
The owner is truly a GREAT guy, he was pleased. 

[6d9 charger]

Bill, Thanks again the grille  far exceeded my expectations . It was like christmas morning today , at 6 am i was in the garage started bolting it in !

It looks great , i will post some pics when i get a chance , again  A HUGE THANK YOU  to you .

[7chargers]

Thats why I love these cars so much, I just looked at that restored grill and I just keep saying hot damn.... The 2nd generation grills just look so mean!! Awsome work!!

[bill440rt]

Bill, Thanks again the grille  far exceeded my expectations . It was like christmas morning today , at 6 am i was in the garage started bolting it in !

It looks great , i will post some pics when i get a chance , again  A HUGE THANK YOU  to you .

Hey, Pete! 

I know that 6 am wake up call all to well, also! 
So glad to hear you are pleased, hope the installation went smoothly.

So.... how about posting some pics of the finished installation?? 
 

[bucko81]

Bill- How did the powder coating of the grille frame come out?  Did it look good?  Considering doing the same to my grille frame and actuator brackets.  what color of powder coat did they use on the frame?

[6d9 charger]

the frame was  coated with a semi gloss finish as well as the actuator brackets .  i am very happy with the powder coat , it looks clean and neat .

[bucko81]

Good deal, was considering doing the same thing along with the bumper brackets.

[bill440rt]

Yes, the powder coating did look nice & neat. Seemed very durable & scratch resistant.

I've always painted mine, but that's just a matter of preference.