1980 grille emblems

[deadllama]

So, I know 1980 square headlight trucks are a love-them-or-hate-them thing... I love them, and more importantly for this thread, I own one of 'em, a Silverado. My (stock, original) grille is missing its emblem. (It's also currently black, thanks to the previous owner, but I plan to repaint it soon.)

Do the 75-79 bowtie emblems I see for sale at LMC and other places work bolt onto the '80 grilles too, or does the one-year-only grille mean it's also a one-year-only emblem that nobody makes replacements for?

[rickit]

yes but they hang over about 1/4 inch

[rickit]

I found this bow tie on a chrome license plate at a auto parts store I removed it almost a perfect fit it was a lot cheaper to and I think it looks better

[LeesTruk]

Llama, when I got my truck, a previous owner evidently had a similar situation with the missing emblem. Their solution was to make a replica out of cardboard and paint it red. I suppose it filled their needs, but it was rather tacky and didn't survive long. I , too, couldn't find a real emblem, so in looking, I found that a modern bowtie from an Impala trunk lid was almost a perfect match for the cavity in the grille. I had to do some fine sanding on the sharp edges of the emblem and it fit perfectly

[mongocanfly]

That's looks really good Lee....do you remember what yr model impala?

[LeesTruk]

IIRC, it's from a '08 or '09 Impala. I have another just languishing in my tool box

[deadllama]

Originally Posted by LeesTruk

Llama, when I got my truck, a previous owner evidently had a similar situation with the missing emblem. Their solution was to make a replica out of cardboard and paint it red. I suppose it filled their needs, but it was rather tacky and didn't survive long. I , too, couldn't find a real emblem, so in looking, I found that a modern bowtie from an Impala trunk lid was almost a perfect match for the cavity in the grille. I had to do some fine sanding on the sharp edges of the emblem and it fit perfectly

I need to repaint my grille first, but that does look good. This may be the way I need to go, short of an '80 with its emblem still intact showing up in a junkyard near me.

Did you order the Impala emblem from somewhere?

[mongocanfly]

looks like 06-16 impala uses the same emblem..found em on ebay...think im fixing to buy me one...https://www.ebay.com/itm/2006-2016-C...4AAOSwGXlbmVqW
mines a 81 model and now im wondering if the emblems were the same

[LeesTruk]

Hmm... better hold off on that purchase, Mongo. I went to that sight, and saw a pic of the bowtie on a ruler. The size isn't the same as what I used. I'm gonna have to go into my receipt box and try and find the one for my emblem. Mine is just over 7" in length

Check GM #15791402 on ebay. Emblem should be less than $20

[mongocanfly]

Yeah I found one with some measurements for the impala...way smaller than my emblem recess....

[deadllama]

Thought I'd post a followup. This is the same emblem LeesTruk used. I painted the grille with the silver Duplicolor wheel paint, and didn't have to sand much at all to get the Malibu emblem to fit. Got the black spray paint off the metal trim with acetone (I missed some spots, but it's mostly gone).

I also discovered that my grille did actually have the silver part of the original emblem on it, but the yellow/gold part was gone before the whole front end got painted black. Original emblem is GM #14007555, in case anybody wants to spend $350 on one of the ones on eBay right now.

Attached image is a before and after. To me, makes a huge difference in the look of the truck

[mongocanfly]

Looks good llama....could you get some measurements of that emblem?...the ones I found are to small for my 81...but they may have changed sizes from 80 to 81....

[LeesTruk]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-CHEVROL...EAAOxyuDpSEEQ9

Mongo, it's this one

Yeah, Llama, lookin' good

[mongocanfly]

Thanks Lee...I'll get one ordered....

[TKCR]

The 1980, is the same as the 81-82. There is someone on a FB Page that has NOS ones for $250.

[mongocanfly]

250?....he can keep it....just bought a brand-r-new one for 18 bucks

[mongocanfly]

Got mine in mail today...had to do a bit more edge trimming than I thought I would but it fit...but the adhesive tape on the emblem wouldnt hold...luckily I had a couple rolls of 3M emblem tape..so now its stuck....it looks fine for a driver truck though..looks better than a painted emblem reccess...before and after...