Quote:
Originally Posted by chevyrestoguy
Solidaxel- I work in aerospace, and through the years I have accumulated a fair amount of sheetmetal tools. I'm always shopping for more, but the ones I want take up alot of shop space (shrinker/stretcher, english wheel, brake and shear). I basically use my bandsaw, an upright 3" belt sander, bench grinder, 100 amp mig welder, 175 amp mig welder, and straight and angle grinders. If I need a shear or a brake, I call one of my buddies who owns a shop that build racecars and use his. I really enjoy doing metal work.
Tri5Nerd- The grille bar has taken alot of time to fit right, although it doesn't look it. The width of the bar is actually about 2" wider than the grille opening, so the original '55 grille outer shell has cut-outs on each side to account for that. The backside of the bar has 1/4" attach studs about 8" apart, and the end studs go through the apron of the fenders and are attached with nuts on the backside. I still have to attach the other studs, and I may use internally threaded rods because the grille bar has a peak and the space behind it is about 3-5" and the factory studs are 1.5" long. Another thing to note is that the bar is made of potmetal and cannot be welded.
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There is a method of welding pot metal now, a friend of mine says he know how to do it but it's very tough to do due to the makeup of the potmetal.
The idea is to cut the ends off (45* angle) just after the light sockets on the Grillbar to make it fit inside the outter grill then attach a flat piece with studs that goes into the sides of the 55 grill, all the joints on the 55 grill will be weldedto make one uniform piece with studs in the top and bottom as you've noted.
Post more pictures if oyu have them.