I decided to use the stock...
I decided to use the stock grille opening, so all I needed to do was make a pattern of the inner perimeter of the opening. Because the grille bars are 1-inch, and I’m going to set the distance between each bar and the grille surrounding at 1¼-inch, I took 2¼-inches off the outer perimeter of my pattern. I then transferred the pattern to a piece of plywood and used a jigsaw to cut out the shape, which gave me my first buck. Each grille bar will be shaped around the outer edge of the buck.
Unlike Pep Boy’s and Autozone’s mass produced abominations in a box that mount naked trucker ladies and nautical stars smack dab in the middle of whatever the trendy hip-hop vehicle’s grille opening is, hot rodders are forced to think beyond the shelf for grille treatments. When it comes to planting a custom grille in the confines of one’s truck, the hot rodder’s mind is obligated to run rampant with ideas and visions.
The most common cure for the nose challenged is to pirate grill surrounds, bars, over riders and teeth from various makes and models and transplant them. The ones reaching for a distinctive look take things to the next level—custom grilles. Objects such as door knobs, camshafts, chrome bullets, various expanded metals, and other ornamental objects from hardware stores and metal yards get adapted to the nose of the ride. The ultimate in a grille is creating a handformed masterpiece from scratch.
When it comes to creating...
When it comes to creating one-off grilles that are going to follow the contour of each grille bar, the inner bars must have a tighter radius, which means several bucks will be needed. To do so, another buck the same as the first was cut. Then using a tape measure, I downsized the radius by removing 2¼-inch from the perimeter of the buck, which gave me a new buck for the second grille bar. The third buck was made by creating a duplicate of the second buck, and then again removing 2¼-inch.
The most accessible way to creating a custom grille is utilizing various styles of metal stock. The geometric shapes of metal stock range from square to round and everything in between. Depending on the look you’re after will determine the stock you choose. Each shape will vastly give a different persona to the frontend; therefore it’s vital in choosing the correct look. For a more distinguished look, oval or teardrop-shaped tubing can be used to fabricate the grille bars. The problem with shapes of that nature is they don’t exactly bend and form into rolling lines, and therefore grilles of that character tend to be formed from round or small square stock. Regardless of which way one goes, handformed grilles always bring a sense of life to a frontend.
For the frontend of this ’57 Chevy, a custom grille is in dire need to round out the persona Star Kustom Shop is after. Straying completely away from the stock-style grille Star Kustom is going to construct a tube grille in the vein of the ’47 Oldsmobile’s grille. The stock grille opening will be retained, yet molded in, due to the fact the shape from the bottom left corner to the bottom right-hand corner is the perfect canvas for this style of a grille.
Here’s a look at the bucks...
Here’s a look at the bucks stacked sequentially. As you can see the radius stepping down from the first buck gradually gets tighter to keep the grille symmetrical.
When it comes to bending round stock, there are several ways. The most efficient and easiest way is to utilize a tube bender. For those lacking a bender, forming a buck and bending round stock around the buck via heat and pressure is a viable option. When bending round stock with a bender, either a hollow or solid rod is acceptable. Neither will kink, and they still retain an even and flowing bend. When it comes to heating hollow bars and forming them around a buck, things don’t quite work out that way. The hollow rod won’t heat evenly and it will collapse upon itself and form a kink. Therefore, using a solid rod is the way to go when doing things the old-school way.
For the grille on hand, Star Kustom has decided to use 1-inch round stock. Because of the weight of the length needed, only the bends will be formed from solid stock, and then a hollow bar will be welded between the bends. (The grille could be formed entirely from solid rod, but the weight at this diameter and length of rod would tip the scales of even Rosie O’Donnell!) Another thing to keep in mind is that when forming sequential bends the inner radiuses must gradually get smaller. If one were to use the same bend and only remove a few inches from the middle of the straight increments, the grille wouldn’t step down and stay uniform. Therefore, each grille bar in any type of sequential series must be formed around its individual radius. Enough hoopla, follow along as Star Kustom builds a grille from nothing more than common metal stock! CCT
When it comes to bending round...
When it comes to bending round stock there are several ways. Being that I don’t have a tube bender, the only way is to bend the bars around a buck. Smaller diameter bars will bend with pressure, but 1-inch diameter bars are first going to have to be heated. Because wood will just burn, I’m going to make a metal radius to bend around; therefore each radius was transferred to a metal work table by tracing each radius.
One-inch metal strap is then...
One-inch metal strap is then tacked along the trace line of each radius.
Because of the diameter of...
Because of the diameter of the grille bars, I had Phil Endicott, a friend of mine whom is a blacksmith, help me out by heating the bars with a propane kiln. At the top of each metal strap is a stop welded to the table. The bar, through self-inflicted tension, will lock itself between the bend and stop, which will allow Phil to bend the bar around the radius with ease.
Once bent, Phil secured the...
Once bent, Phil secured the bar to the radius with vise-grips, and waited for the bar to cool down to maintain a nice, tight radius.
Instead of using all solid...
Instead of using all solid bar, I’m just going to use each radius, and then weld in a one-inch hollow bar insertion. Therefore, I marked the radius at the point of the buck where the radius becomes flat. I also marked the bottom of the radius about an inch past the buck. From there I cut the radius out.
Next, the middle increment...
Next, the middle increment was welded between the two radiuses along the shape of the first wood buck made. Using hollow tubing will help keep the weight down.
When it came to fabricating...
When it came to fabricating the second bar I started off by again cutting each radius, but this time only welding one end to the straight bar. Then using pieces of 1-inch bar and ¼-metal shims I set the gap between the first and second bar. From there I marked on the straight bar the exact point where the straight rod needed to be cut to fit tight inside the inner perimeter of the first grille bar. Once completed, the third was then made.
With all three bars sequentially...
With all three bars sequentially stacked I then used a level to mark straight across the bottom of each bar for an even cut line across the bottom of the grille setup. Once the ends were cut off, I then restacked the bars and tacked the three grille bars together via several vertical braces. These braces will temporarily keep the grille bars in position in order to mount the setup and keep the even gaps.
With the braces in place,...
With the braces in place, I welded 2½-inch–long 3/8-inch bolts to the back side of each grille bar. Then I placed the grille setup into the opening and marked where my mounting studs will be drilled on the core support.
Once drilled each mounting...
Once drilled each mounting stud was outfitted with a washer and then slid into the mounting holes. Once the grille setup is spaced evenly inside the opening, each washer was slid up against the core support and tacked to the mounting stud. The washer will now act as a stop and keep each grille bar spaced appropriately once it is secured. At this point the grille fabrication was completed, and the temporary braces were removed.
Next, I brazed some brass...
Next, I brazed some brass around the washer and dressed the area to look like a clean stub, opposed to just a washer welded to a bolt.
There you have it! A custom...
There you have it! A custom grille that is like none other and ready to be sent out to the chrome shop.