While roaming the countryside near Vacaville, California, a friend of mine stumbled over something metallic poking out of the sandy desert soil. Being a hardcore car guy, he had to investigate the mysterious metal object that had tripped him up, since it appeared to be some kind of grille.
A few minutes later an original stamped ’33 Ford grille shell was pulled from the loose dirt. It was reasonably straight and the enameled Blue Oval was still in place at the top of the shell. Most of the chrome was gone and the lower surround had plenty of pinholes, but a good deal of solid metal was intact. My friend asked himself, Could it be restored? Perhaps, with enough time and attention! He decided to take it home.
The ’34 Ford grille in these photos isn’t the same one that my friend pulled out of the dirt (that ’33 grille is hanging in my garage), but it, too, was in sad shape. Was it beyond restoring? Would it be more economical to purchase a reproduction grille? The true automotive craftsman is reluctant to give up on any piece of original equipment. We won’t try to tell you that there isn’t a significant amount of time invested in restoring a stamped grille back to a condition where you’d want it mounted on a modern street rod. But the price of an original grille continues to rise faster than a share of blue-chip stock—and the owner was willing to invest the time, money, and effort to have an original ’34 Ford grille on his street rod. Check out how this is accomplished, then decide to save a grille of your own.
