1969-70 Grill inserts

[Smitty]

Found this old article regarding 69-70 grill inserts. I was interested in it because some years ago I picked one up in the box with the Dealers name on the tag. It has the 3985056 number on the box. But it is in fact a 70 grill. NOS. The article was in the June 1997 issue pg. 20. Was going to post it but it is too large.....

[randy500]

Please post the article...you have my attention.

[Smitty]

PM me your email address. I'll send it to you as an attachment. Had my wife try to add it to the post but it was too large.

[dmjlambert]

That is interesting. I wasn't able to reduce the file size enough to attach it, but I was able to scan it, here is the text of the article:


Bowtie Bulletin, More Rare Parts by Seth Doulton

When you think of rare Chevy parts, the first things that come to mind are usually cameo parts or maybe accessories tike spotlights and razors. But would you believe that a grille is among the top ten rarest parts for 1947-1972 Chevy pickups? Not including hard-to-find accessories, the 1970 grille is one of the four most difficult parts to find; and among N.O.S. parts, it ranks as one of the two most rare. The 1970 grille was unique unto itself. If you go to your local Chevrolet dealer today, their books will show only one grille insert for both 1969 and 1970, and so it's been since August 1971. Here's how the story goes..
Chevrolet made some slight changes to the design of the inner grille for 1970. They put six rows of horizontal lines on the plastic grille, which also had flat, black rectangles just like the 1969 insert did. They used these grilles with the same outer grille on the production models. There were very few left over after production, so they went to dealers to sell as replacement grilles. When these ran out in the summer of 1971, GM decided to use the'69 grille as a service part instead of reproducing two different grilles. It’s no wonder they sold out; the inner grille sold for $12. I’d take a truck load! The outer grille was also a bargain just under $40. Wow! Now they sell for just under $300.
GM introduced new parts by the thousands each year, but I can't think of one instance where the cosmetic change was more dramatic than when the 1970 inner grille replaced the 1969 model.
If you are building a 1970 back to 100% original, I may have just told you something you didn't want to hear. Since the summer of 1971, everyone has listed 1969 and 1970 inner grilles under the same part number. Now you know that's not 100% true.
Needless to say, if you find one of these grilles in mint condition or N.O.S., drop me a line.

Page 20 CLASSIC TRUCKS/JUNE 1997

First picture caption:
The 1969 grille inserts didn't have a lot of definition and often seemed to be non-existent

Second picture caption:
The rare inner grille, which was mostly used on factory assemble trucks, almost looked like a billet insert.

[toolboxchev]

I have an early production 1970, and guess which grill they gave me?

Interesting and has me a bit jealous.

[randy500]

OP thanks for sending me the article, it is interesting, I knew the service part was wrong but thought it was opposite, thought it was the 70 that was the replacement for all grills.

[Smitty]

David
Thanks for reconfiguring the article for me. Was clearing stuff the other day and came across it in the box with the insert. Randy your welcome for the copy.
Smitty