Has anyone ever made repro '53 or '54 grills? Thinking of starting a business venture.

[Zenwren]

I have a source who claims they can make me a 3D rendering of my '53 grill inserts and surrounds and cast them in magnesium, aluminum, or plastic. Of course the catch is that the prototype is going to cost quite a bit. Just wondering if anyone knows of anyone who has ever attempted anything like this or how much interest there would be in it? I'm considering making a few of them in hopes of selling them to recoup some of the expense of making the initial prototypes.

[rockne10]

I've been advocating 3D printing. Many companies chrome plate plastic. It's all you can get on modern vehicles. Brass castings were available a few years ago but they still needed quite a bit of work to finish. I would not discourage exploring it.

[StudeRich]

No I do not believe anyone has been able to afford to make the Molds, YET.

[rusty nut garage]

We had a local club member who was working on this. He had a local mold maker cast them in bronze, they were extremly heavy. He had some cast in aluminum, they were promising.. The fit and finish needed more detail work. Sadly he fell sick and has passed.

No I do not believe anyone has been able to afford to make the Molds, YET.

[48skyliner]

My guess is you are talking about very small quantities of parts. You might consider another alternative, something you could do entirely yourself except for the chrome plating. Make a good set of molds off the original parts, then do a layup with glass cloth, or better yet a layer of glass and a layer of carbon fiber cloth for stiffness, then trim and sand to a smooth finish. This would probably be a pretty inexpensive project because the quantities of materials would be small. You would be building one-sided parts so they would be mostly one piece parts. I built some tips for the tail surfaces of a small airplane, very stiff and light weight with only one layer of carbon. They were two piece, bonded together and primed with epoxy primer. The molds were very smooth and very little hand work was required except for the bonded joint.

[Spannerbird]

An episode of Jay Leno's Garage talked about 3D printing to do exactly what you're talking about with out of production parts. I don't think it's going to be in any way inexpensive, but here's the link to the episode. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZrJsrTT4EA

[gordr]

I think there would definitely be a market for these, but....
They will have to be show quality. You could probably get $500 a pair for them, if show quality, and able to be used on a 400-point restoration without points being docked. I'd look at having them made of ABS plastic, and then vacuum-chromed? If you could scan perfect originals in a 3-D scanner, possibly the digits could be used to make a mold.

It would be great if you could find somebody who was being trained on these techniques in college or vo-tech, and convince them to do the project as a thesis or practicum, in exchange for financial assistance.

[Spannerbird]

I contacted a couple companies. One of which does ABS and scanning, the other does 3D metal printing.

[jnormanh]

I think there would definitely be a market for these, but....
They will have to be show quality. You could probably get $500 a pair for them, if show quality, and able to be used on a 400-point restoration without points being docked. I'd look at having them made of ABS plastic, and then vacuum-chromed? If you could scan perfect originals in a 3-D scanner, possibly the digits could be used to make a mold.

It would be great if you could find somebody who was being trained on these techniques in college or vo-tech, and convince them to do the project as a thesis or practicum, in exchange for financial assistance.

"Vacuum chromed" means a very thin layer of vacuum deposited aluminum. It has to be clear coated to have any durability at all, won't stand much weathering, and will never look as good as chrome plating. I can't remember ever seeing it used on exterior parts, and it often wears through on interior parts.

ABS is easy to chrome plate, and if made accurately, could be indistinguishable from originals when installed. The trick will be molding in plastic with acceptable straightness and surface finish. Not easy on a part that size, but it can be done.

This volvo grill, for example, is chrome plated ABS, and is available aftermarket for about $60. If Stude Grills could be sold for $500/pair, then there might be enough money to pay for the tooling plus a profit.

[Roscomacaw]

Even paint-ready fibreglass (or plastic) examples would be embraced. Look how many cusstoms have these pieces painted anymore. We dinosaurs can't begin to contemplate these trim bits not wearing chrome, but LOTS of less stubborn sorts would be happy just to have decent-fitting pieces that got the job done! And don't forget the noses of the '55s too!

[Spannerbird]

I was thinking that ABS might be the best option. People might want metal, but then having seen the price difference decide that ABS is much more affordable. After a while you wonder due to the costs of some of these processes and parts if the hobby is really that important. All you need is a super accurate scan, and then maybe a little bit of CAD work on it to make what people might see is how the part should have been made to sit on a flash drive until technology is available, or affordable to then have it made in the desired substrate.

I think it's wonderful that we now have the option of reproducing parts in the ways we currently do. Expensive or not, I'd rather pay $400 or so (random number) than twice that or more for a part in OK condition simply because it's original. Again this is more of my wallet talking.

[studegary]

The 1953-1954 grilles (shells) were reproduced in brass a number of years ago. They didn't do well due to their weight, price (at the time) and lack of demand ( that has now increased).

[Jeff_H]

If I recall correctly, member Lark Parker here on the forum acquired the engineering blue prints for these from the museum with thought of somehow perhaps making them from stainless.

I think there have been 1 pc fiberglass nose parts made (both grill shells and their surrounding sheetmetal as 1 pc of fiberglass) that were intended for race cars or rods but perhaps could be adapted to look more like OEM parts. I haven't personally seen one so do not know if possible.

[sals54]

I really like the sound of the 3-D printing. The size may be a bit daunting, but I will also make some phone calls to check on its viability. I could use a spare set.

[Spannerbird]

I emailed a 3D metal printer, and as of right now metal printing is absurdly expensive. A piece the size we would want could run nearly $10k