VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Stone Guard

Does anyone know if some company offers a 31 Chev. STONE GUARD?
THANKS

Not aware of any but used ones are often available.

May be a brain cramp but I thought I saw them for sale in a Hamption Coach catalog. I know I saw them somewhere...

I have seen some repros in the past but they were not the same as the originals with the screen and emblem mounting.

Mine is not nice and shiny like some however it probably will take chrome. Just checking my options-thanks

I suggest taking to a good plater. A friend had one done by a nationally advertised plater in Houston. They did a good job on the second attempt (for one price). It was not cheap but sure looks good. Maybe the plater named in the 55-57 forum would do a quality job for a reasonable cost.

About the stone gard for the 1931, I recently have had two rechromed, and they came out very good. There is a lot of work that goes into having a good chrome job on your grill. I took them to the plating shop had him strip the old plating off of them. Then I heated the old solder off of the screen removing it from the frame using a wire brush I cleaned all of the old solder off of the screen and frame. I then took the screen back to the plater, and had him beed blast the screen. Next I made sure that all of the old solder was removed from the frame cleaning it with the wire brush and 80 grit sand paper. I bought a five pound roll of acid core solder, and tinned the inside of the frame. I then placed the screen in the frame, and clamped it to the frame and began to solder it you will use a lot of solder in the process but you have to make sure that the complete screen is connected to the frame the better the solder job the better the plating job will be, and you will not end up with nickel burn in the center of your grill after a few months. The same process is used for the emblem holder, and the crank hole ring. I have been using this process for a while. I learned it from an old time plater back in the 1970's when I restored my 1933 Chevrolet as the 1933 has a simular grill. The reason for taking the screen back to the plater for beed blasting is that he did all of the processes except the soldering. Good luck.

Thanks Larry,
I appreciate your reply. You give the kind of detail I like as I am detail oriented. You answered questions I had - like should I remove the grill from the frame before plating.

John, we are all in this hobby together, and if we can not help one another with things like a grill or other things that we have had to learn on our own it is not a hobby any more.

You got it right Gritch, when someone has to receive payment for some to the stuff we share openly here, it becomes something less than a hobby. ...Wanna buy a duck???? Ha!

Guys,
Has anybody went with a stainless steel wire mesh insert to replace the steel or brass and had that plated?
PS this is an old contact I dug up for making stoneguards:Dan Breen at dbreen@thebrassworks.net I think he is in San Luis Obispo, CA. I do not know if the guards would be exactly like original. Let us know.

As I understand it the reason to use stainless is as a substitute for chrome plating. Polished stainless will look much like chrome plating and be less prone to deterioration.

John,
Here is one on ebay for sale: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4504009972&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT

How I can hold the Radiator Stoneguard over the radiator and its shell?
Can you send me some pictures or graphics showing the engagement mechanism?
Thanks

There are studs that bolt through the bottom of the shell where the lower panel bolts on. Acorn nuts and washers go through the hole on each side in the lower outside edge. At the top is a special plate that screws throught the emblem hole in the top of the shell. A screw goes through the emblem plate soldered to the mesh at the top. The screw head is covered by an emblem that has a special backing that snaps into the plate.

Don't forget the rubber bumpers between the stoneguard and the radiator shell.

JYD! Are those rubber bumpers available anywhere? I took a razor blade and cut off the erasers on #2 pencils and painted them silver, or should they be black? :) :)

They should be black.

Yep, they should be black and the rubber bumpers used to be available but they have been discontinued. Some can be made out of black rubber door bumpers if you have a sharp knife.

Thank you!