Thread: 37 Ford reproduction grille?

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Having messed with a '40 Standard for a few years and looked at several Mercs of the same '39-'40 era, I know that the looks of the original cast grill is great in chrome or stainless. I recall a '40 merc with a chrome replacement grill that looked fantastic with a red-orange paint job, but still the point of this message is that a painted grill can look pretty good too as an inexpensive option and I note the '40 Ford Standard grill was painted black (what else?). You can even putty up the cracks if you paint it and then maybe a few chrome trim items can dress it up. Here is a picture of a painted '39 grill I saw at the Richmond Nats last year; although I am partial to red/orange/metallic paint this painted grill fits in well with the rest of the paint scheme. Another factor is that the '37 model sort of suffered from the looks of the Chrysler Airflow era of styling and so one could say a good paint job will bring out the best of a '37 but it is not going to make it "swoopy" anyway. I was born in 1937 but that was a funny year for styling! Actually I do like "Art Decco" styling because it is what I first remember, but it is definitely a unique style. If I had this '39 I would not be able to suppress a modification to replace the headlights with '40 chrome eyebrows but you know how it is, everyone has their own idea of what looks best. Note also that this '39 saved a bundle of $ by painting the bumpers too!

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder