Any early Impala guys here? 62 grille question.

[68 Stepside]

Hey all,

I've outlined the new project I've been working on in the following thread: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=536286

My father-in-law and I changed out the grille the other day (the original was bent up due to a minor fender-bender at some point) and the very well used replacement he bought doesn't fit well. The holes for the "teeth" in the top of the original grille are much larger than the holes on the grille we put in. Also, the "teeth" he ordered to replace the original grille teeth he couldn't remove don't come close to matching. In addition, the center of the grille sticks out quite a bit more than the original. We replaced the tweaked brackets with a set of straight originals.

Were there any differences in 62 grilles or the teeth on the top of them?

In the pics I posted, you can see the center of the grille seems to be sticking out pretty far. In the pic of all the teeth mounted on the grille, note the size and rounded-ness of them. In the pic of the single tooth, note it's much taller and squared off.

Any info you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

TJ

[impalamark]

TJ
I have owned two dozen 62 impala's in the last 30 years and have seen diffeences in trim on them depending on the assembly plant and I understand chevrolet had multiple
sources for many of the parts . why the marked differences i don't know except to
say 50 years ago you could not send a CAD file over the internet from factory to factory. i have seen these variations on original parts but not the fitment issue in the picture but several parts account for that fitment :grill-grill support-hood -hinges -core bracket etc.
Now that these parts are being reproduced and sourced from around the world it gets even harder. my only suggestion is to try to source the best original parts you can
Good Luck

[Torrey72]

Looks like your car has an under bite. The top of the grille needs to line up with the leading edge of the hood, but you know that. Here are some pics of my 62. The odd tooth you have pictured belongs in the center of all the teeth. hope this helps.
-Torrey

[Torrey72]

some more.

[Torrey72]

Two more. If you need more, let me know
-Torrey

[68 Stepside]

Wow,

Thanks for the responses guys. Torrey, I'll have to check the measurements on my grill now and see what I can do. Thanks for all the pics, how about some pics and specs of your entire car??