Thread: Removing grille shell on a finished car

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Need a little help here. Something is not right. It's the cheapazz EBAY insert. The 2 bars that space the vertical bars on insert is 3/4" lower on 1 side.
I've got a new insert for now (can't afford the Dan Fink one right now) & I need to pull the shell. I can see I need to unbolt the front of hinge for my 4 pc Rootlieb hood, do I need to touch the radiator? I can't recall.
Can someone give me a step-by-step on removal of the shell? I'm nervous as hell about chipping something during R&R but that insert is driving me nutz.
The driveway makes the whole car look like it's crooked in this pic but pay careful attention to the POS grille- it's cross bars are clearly lower on driver's side. I've measured the car everywhere & it's that insert.
See?

First of all, put something like 2 inch wide masking tape on every surrounding area. Go way beyond the area you will be working on, and also put tape on the shell itself in any area that might contact something else.

Generally, deuce shells are held on by fasteners right at the sides of the shell and possibly at the top. You will want to go slow and systematically remove anything that is in your way until you are able to unbolt just the shell itself. Enlist another person or two to help as extra hands can be holding things while someone else unbolts them.

Every car is put together differently, so you just have to keep removing stuff until you get to the point where the shell can be slip up and away from the car. You should not have to remove the radiator. We've had the deuce shell on and off of my Kids T a bunch of times over the past few weeks, and you just have to do it like I outlined above.

Things like towels and rags taped to the frame and suspension help a lot too.

Don

Your picture makes the whole nose look out of whack. yes the bars definitely go downhill to the drivers side. It is very possible to pull just the shell,if the headlights and moon tank don't get in the way,as the shell will need to come foreward at least 2-3 inches . Might be easier to pull the whole radiator and then seperate them. Good luck anyhow. Hank

In my opinion ... you have to remove the hood.



The bracket on the left is the front hood hinge. It goes on top of the shell and bolts thru to the brackets on the radiator. Then there are two bolts on each side ... of the shell. The three slots are for the cowl lacing.



With the hood hinge bracket removed, along with the 4 bolts on the sides ( 2 per side ) .. the shell should be able to be moved slightly forward and then lifted straight up. Fairly easy to do ... especially after you have done it a few times ...

If you want a Dan Fink insert and you're going through the hassle and risk of removing your shell on your beautifully finished Deuce, why put another cheapie in it? It's not like its an eyesore as it is, personally I'd get the insert you want before I took it apart... but maybe you LIKE doing stuff multiple times!

I would not use masking tape. At least not the light white kind. Use the blue or green painters tape. It will come off easier and the adhesive will not harden. Ask me how I know.
CCL

Yeah, I should have clarified that. Blue and green is all we use too.....little more money but well worth it.

Don

Well guys, my plan was to start this weekend but the flu had a different idea. My wife has been down for over a week & I started feeling odd Sat morning.
The grille I want is over a grand & right now- I'm pinching pennies for 2 weeks in Kauai at end of Jan 08. Everyone I talked to w/ a 32 said the shell is a snap to remove so that's why I planned to install this one for now. I have a full plate until after Kauai & this one is a new one I'm borowing from a buddy. It's polished stainless & pretty nice. He won't need it for at least a year. I'm registered for a bunch of shows- including next Sat at NHRA Museum, John Force Racestation in Dec & GNRS at Pomona just before I go to Hawaii. I wanted to swap the grille out for some of these events. If I like it ok- I have the option of buying it from him.
I have plenty of blue tape- a paint guy recommended sticking the tape on your jeans 1st so it's easier to remove.

What Do You Want For The Insert Your Removing? My Budget's Tighter Than Yours. Thanx

The insert you have now may well be a Vintique repop. The better one available (as a repop) would be the Dale's Manufacturing out of Oklahoma City, related to Obsolete & Classic auto parts (formerly Obsolete Ford Parts until Ford sued them). Fit is going to depend on your shell. There were production variances whether it's an original or a repop, though the originals were probably more consistent.

As for the tape on the jeans thing, that's fine for "normal" tape to reduce the sticky, but would render the blue/green tapes almost useless for sticking.

I have my choice of 2 inserts to pick from. The one that's in there now- PO said it was an EBAY purchase. I have no clue what brand it is. All I know is it's crooked. Parked at a show- I see people checking the car- they get to the front & their head tilts. Pisses me off.
The 1st one is in the box & is from Bob Drake. The second one is custom, non-traditional & I hessitate to post pics for fear of being banned.

Body is RodBods, shell is steel but I don't know who's. The build sheet from builder says Rootlieb shell but I didn't know they made shells. Probably a missprint & probably from RodBods- or whatever shell they used in 1999.

Originally Posted by ALLEYCUSTOM

What Do You Want For The Insert Your Removing? My Budget's Tighter Than Yours. Thanx

If you lived local- I'd give it to you.