1936 FORD Experts help please.

[Bondolero]

Can someone tell me what kind of reproduction grille this is ? It has original SS surround trim that may/may not have been added. The center bar and crank cover are made as part of the grille.
It appears to be made of some kind of SS ? but has some rust/ turning.
How can I recognize an original chrome deluxe grille or can a rust free painted grille be rechromed and look decent ?
thanks for any advice/info
Larry

[Tom Morookian]

It was either Brazil or Argentina that made 36 repops.

In any case, it it's really rust free and would survive bead blasting to remove every spec of paint and patina, it could be plated after a good acid wash and copper flashing.

[blucar]

The grille in my '36 is original to the car.. I'm the second owner of the car, I've owned it for over sixty years.
The original "chrome grilles" were not bright chrome on the top wings that extend to the hood.The bars were bright polished chrome on the leading edges, somewhat muted on the sides of the bars.
The majority of cars with aftermarket replacement grilles will be bright chrome on the hood sides. This is common because the grilles did not get painted to match the body color... An added expense.
My car has only had one repaint, it was repainted black in 1961.
I have read that one way to tell most original grilles, deluxe/standard is by the center bar, this being the actual center bar, not the snap on stainless trim. If the bar is one piece around the crank opening, in lieu of being spot welded together, the grille is most likely an original Ford part..

[Lanny]

There are Many different grades of Stainless Steel, non magnetic and magnetic
stainless . if a magnet sticks it's a cheaper grade of stainless and will get rust
on it . non magnetic is a higher grade of stainless, with More nickel, and will not rust.

Also, the better grade of Stainless will polish to a higher chrome-like luster.







.

[Rusk]

Originally Posted by blucar

The grille in my '36 is original to the car.. I'm the second owner of the car, I've owned it for over sixty years.

Hey blucar....can you tell me more about your headlights?

I've seen a similar look....like a sealed beam conversion dating back to the 40's and always wondered how it was done.

[blucar]

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Originally Posted by Rusk

Hey blucar....can you tell me more about your headlights?

I've seen a similar look....like a sealed beam conversion dating back to the 40's and always wondered how it was done.

If you're asking about the headlights that are currently on the car? They are stock '36 pods with sealed bead conversions for a '36 pickup with '36 pickup trim rings.. The whole system is a bolt together set up. The truck trim rings mount right onto the car buckets via the stock spring clips..
If you are asking about the headlights that are on the car in my "Avatar".. They are '40 Chevy pods, scribed to the contour of the fender, then bolted in place with 1/4" carriage bolts.. The Chevy pods cover the original headlight stand-off in the '36 fenders with no alteration..
Looking closely at the pix you will note two small holes in the fender under the headlights.. These are the front bolt holes for the Chevy headlights. there was one more bolt in the rear portion of the Chevy pods..
I went back to the stock headlights after the car was repainted in '61.. I was not sure I would like the look so I did not fill the holes or repaint the fender...
I also took the '37 Desoto bumpers off, replacing them with stock bumpers about the same time.. See pix..
Most people that installed the '40 Chevy headlights on their '36 Fords welded and leaded them into the fenders.. I did not have access to welding equipment at the time so I had to be more resourceful..

[Rusk]

I was referring to the current version, but I've always been a fan of the '40 Chevy headlights molded into the fenders.

Thanks for the info and those early pics of your car. I love it!