When I first acquired my 1948 Chevy three-window some years ago, I was kind of attached to the stock, painted grille … emphasis on “kind of.” But, once I swapped out the gray steelies and installed the chrome Cragar Star Wires, albeit a bit crusty, the blandness of the OE grille stood out, especially with the rechromed bumpers.
In the early stages of becoming the caretaker of this ’48 Chevy three-window, I had become somewhat attached to the standard-option painted gray grille. However, once the (kinda) matching gray wheels had been swapped out for the chrome Cragars, that started to change …
It was about that time of my aesthetic quandary that Golden Star Classic Auto Parts came out with their all-new deluxe stainless grille for the 1947-53 Advance Design pickups. It was also at that same time my truck just happened to be at Old Anvil Speed Shop, so I figured that was an opportune moment to swap them out … but it wasn’t going to be a simple straightforward job, as my initial test-fitting at home proved.
I’d been having difficulties with hood alignment—more so, getting the hood latch to open when it was fully closed—and had assumed it was simply an adjustment issue. Not so. Turns out, when the ’48 began its second life as a custom, it was put upon a heavily modified chassis, which included a whole-new front frame clip with what I’d call a “hot rod”-style front crossmember (picture an aftermarket Model T frame with a tube crossmember and a single mount for the core support).
… and a polished stainless ’47-53 replacement grille from Golden Star Classic Auto started to rub me the right way, if you know what I mean?! So, one Sunday afternoon, my son and I embarked upon the seemingly simple swap.
At the time, Nick Savage was working with Old Anvil, and as he pointed out to me, one of his major specialties was sheetmetal alignment and that he could diagnose an issue within minutes—which he literally did, pointing out that the front crossmember (without spacers/shims) was allowing the front fenders via the core support to sit much lower than it should, and instead of simply stacking said spacers/shims, he wanted to cut loose the core support mount and raise it up accordingly. To prove his point, he did just that: cut the mount free and jacked the front sheetmetal clip up until—voilá—the hood not only aligned itself much, much better with the fenders, but it opened and closed just as it was originally meant to!
A simple grille swap was out of the question. As you’ll see, Savage loosened up the group, then sliced the flat-steel perch off the core support crossmember …
Once Savage had the sheetmetal all in happy alignment, then and only then could we begin with the Golden Star grille installation as I’d failed to do on my own months earlier! Along with procuring a handful a “self-aligning” fender bolts (you know, the kind with the pointed tips?!), I also purchased a replacement lower core support gravel pan, as one was not in place due to the custom core support and it was needed to help align the front fenders and mount the new grille.
Without Savage and Old Anvil’s assistance, the Golden Star grille would likely still be sitting in a box in my garage instead of where it belonged: making the ’48 align … AND shine!
After prying open the hood with an old tire iron, what started out as a routine grille removal quickly turned into a potential can of worms.For the new grille installation to go smoothly, hood, latch, fender, and grille fitment and alignment came into question.Once I’d pulled the grilled out, the fenders literally dropped, as they were being held in place at the lower mounting points by the grille only—the custom core support now revealed (with no lower apron) why that was. Knowing more work was required, I simply stuffed the OE grille back in place and waited for a spot at Old Anvil to open up!As mentioned, Nick Savage was able to diagnose the misalignment issues within minutes—starting at the front and moving all the way back to the cowl, he knew that the front clip was angling down toward the front, the radiator core support mount being the culprit, which was easily fixed by repositioning the perch up and back.Here’s how the hood meets up with the cowl and the top of the fenders.Before he could adjust the core support mount, Savage needed to loosen the sheetmetal from the cowl forward, using a floor jack to support and, subsequently, align everything.With the group loose and ready to go, Savage sliced the flat-steel perch off the core support crossmember …… and with the floor jack still in place, set the fenders and hood exactly where he wanted them (in their respective aligned positions, both at the cowl and via the inner support rods).Panel alignment is an art form — especially on these old trucks. Changes made up front affect fitment at the back.
Savage just tacked the perch in place for the time being—once everything was fitting correctly, it was completely welded.Now, unlike my previous failed attempt, the grille cavity was much more welcoming to accept the Golden Star grille.With the floor jack once again still in position, providing support, the grille was loosely installed along with the upper radiator shroud.The hood will be able to latch for the first time in a long while.Stainless button-head Allens looked nice, but when it comes to “buttoning” up sheetmetal, proper “threaded-end” hardware makes a difference.Compared to regular body bolts, threaded end or “dog-point” hardware is much easier to get started. They make the process go more quickly.So, too, does having all the sheetmetal components in place, such as the lower core support valance, which mounts the lower portion of the grille, tying everything together as it should be.One last “adjustment” that had to be made was slightly moving the bumper out for the splash pan and bumper to fit and align accordingly.Just like that: new grille, aligned front end—and—a hood that opens and shuts just like it was intended!
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