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new grill concept

makovai

makovai

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I love the 72 grill but i am sick and tired of the plastic inserts so this is my next concept. As the programmer of the laser shop I will cut a steel prototype, make some adjustments then cut one from polished stainless. This will mount to the core support so weight should not be an issue.
Since IGOR is the plant manager of this facility i guess i need to make him one too.

conceptual drawing:
2180334_189_full.jpg



Cad layout for laser:

2180334_190_full.jpg
 
Very nice. Really wanna see how it turns out.
 
Looks cool, I can't wait to see the final product. I know it's a bit early but are you considering designing grilles for other model years too? I bet a lot of people on here will jump all over the steel grilles since many of us are having trouble with the plastic ones too.
 
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Im pretty sure this will look really nice. The problem is a new plastic grill cost about $85 I will have more than that into material alone. So i doubt i will be able to make these cheap enough to pass along. but who knows. I will see what i can do. We need to beat up IGOR. As the plant manager he will be the guy who decides on cost......im just a peon :haha:
 
makovai said:
Im pretty sure this will look really nice. The problem is a new plastic grill cost about $85 I will have more than that into material alone.
Click to expand...

True but we only buy one, good and strong for the entire lifespan of our C and K series trucks. :D
 
makovai said:
Im pretty sure this will look really nice. The problem is a new plastic grill cost about $85 I will have more than that into material alone. So i doubt i will be able to make these cheap enough to pass along. but who knows. I will see what i can do. We need to beat up IGOR. As the plant manager he will be the guy who decides on cost......im just a peon :haha:
Click to expand...


I don't think you have to be price-competitive with a cheap plastic POS.

Demand will be driven by the price, but I think you've got some more room than $85 to still sell plenty if that's the goal.

Since I like the look of the '69-'70 grille, I guess I'll have to wait a bit longer for you guys to come up with the inner grille design for THAT one...


:usaflag:
 
well i started to put it together. it actually goes pretty well but each pieces gets a little harder. I need to start taching them on because the last piece i was installing started pushing the other pieces apart. It may be this weekend b4 i fire up the mig and start to tach the pieces.

2180334_191_full.jpg
 
That is awesome. I don't own a 1st gen but still, that is some awesome work. I can't wait to see your finished polished stainless version. Also i'm sure as Greg already said that if you were to make and sell these that you don't need to worry about keeping in line with the cheap plastic insert pricing but if the price is reasonable enough i'm sure you could easily sell them.
 
ok...i couldn't stand it......i guess ill mount it this weekend.

but. wow is it heavy.

2180334_192_full.jpg
 
Sir, that right there is a work of art. Throw some powder coat on it and.....well hang it on your wall as it's just too heavy to install on your rig. That's what the stainless grill is meant for.
 
well i added the bottom bar. i will cut the tabs for the bowtie and vertical mount tommorow. It looks like i got all my dimensions pretty close.

2180334_193_full.jpg
 
Looks good -

BUT (and I know this will drive you crazy) are the outer two vertical strips wider on the plastic than the steel grille?
 
It could be the angle of the pic but it looks like the grill you made has evenly spaced horizontal bars where the original grills lower bar is closer to the next up than the rest?
 
Greg72 said:
I don't think you have to be price-competitive with a cheap plastic POS.
Click to expand...

x2

I got a metal grill from Bigjbear that looks almost identical to my repro '83-'84 grill. It needs a good sanding and repaint, but otherwise I'm looking forward to installing it, and I would've been willing to pay more for it than I would have for an equivalent plastic grill. It's not going to deteriorate in the sun and crack like plastic. With proper maintenance, it'll last as long as the truck.
 
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