VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 37 Chev Grille ID

Can anyone tell me the differences between a 37 Chev passenger grille and a 37 Chev truck grille? I bought a really nice 37 Chev grille that was supposed to have been a truck grille, but the bottom of the grille is about an inch or so wider than the original grille on my 37 pickup. Also, there are a few other subtle differences.

Mark

Mark,

Your question is very interesting. I need the very bottom "v" shaped piece of the grill surround for my '37 car grill. While trying to find one, I've been told car or truck will work for my need. From what you're saying....maybe not! I'll definitely be watching to hear what others have to say.

Bill.

I tried searching previous responses by Chevgene(?) to this question without success. As I recall the dimensions, as you have discovered, are the key difference. The grills also have different part numbers, according to the Master Parts Catalog.

The truck and car grilles for 1937 are definitely different and not interchangeable. The length of the grilles are very close to one another, but the truck grille is considerably wider--by a couple inches.

"The truck and car grilles for 1937 are definitely different and not interchangeable. The length of the grilles are very close to one another, but the truck grille is considerably wider--by a couple inches."


Having had several '37 cars & trucks over the years, I completely agree with the above.

I have heard the same about the grilles not being interchangeable.

Something isn't making sense here. As several have noted, the truck grill is a couple of inches wider than the car grill. If this is true, what kind of grill does Mark have if he bought a car grill that is wider than the truck grill by a couple of inches. It should be narrower by a couple of inches! Beamer

Beamer,

I thought the same thing. Not sure what's happening, but I do know from hard experience that some after-market grilles, both for the 37 and 38 trucks and cars, are pretty bad fits. It might be possible that the arc of the grille is off, i.e., it's more shallow at its highest point, thereby making the measurement at the side edges too wide--I had this problem with a repo 38 grille.

If it would help, I can measure my 37 1/2 ton grille. Let me know.

Jim

There was a car show on Saturday at a nearby farming community, so I drove down to check it out, hoping to see both a 37 passenger car and a 37 truck so I could check out their grilles. Sure enough, there was one of each, however, both had been hot-rodded but retained stock-appearing grilles. The first thing I noticed is that the car grille has 18 grille bars on either side of the center bar at the widest point of the grille, while the truck grille has 14 bars on either side of the center bar. This is verified by the photos of grilles in the link to a previous thread about grilles in the current thread titled 37 Grille Reconditioning.

The 37 Chev truck grille I just bought on Ebay that was advertised as an original Chevrolet part is almost certainly an older aftermarket grille. It's actually pretty good quality, but it's too wide at the bottom to fit my grille opening. As Jim surmised, the arc of the grille at the bottom is off. You could easily flex it in, but you'd bend the bottom angle piece and the first cross brace in the process. To fit the grille in right, you'd need to cut the spot welds that hold the two sides together at the middle of the top, bottom and middle braces, then fit the grille into the opening and re-weld the two sides together.

Another significant difference I noticed between my original grille on my 37 pickup and the aftermarket grille is that the original grille bars vary in depth, beginning at 1" deep on the short bars at the widest part of the grille, then to 7/8" deep, 3/4" deep, and 5/8" deep moving toward the center. All the bars on the aftermarket grille are the same depth, about 1/2". This makes a difference in how the grille appears when looking at it from angles to either side of straight on.

Also, the aftermarket grille bars are not painted black like the original bars, though I wonder if a genuine Chevrolet grille purchased through the parts department would have come with the bars painted.

It appears to me that the quickest way to distinguish between a passenger grille and a truck grille is to count the grille bars to either side of the center bar--18 for passenger, 14 for truck. To differentiate an aftermarket grille from an original, look at the depth of the grille bars. If they're all the same depth, it's an aftermarket grille.

Mark

Good info Mark. I'll try to retain that in my gray matter for later use.

Great info, Mark.

QUESTION: Do you think the part I need, the bottom of the surround....the "V" shaped piece.....would be same for car and truck? Or would car piece still be wider at the very bottom?? Remember, this is not really part of grill. Actually the bottom piece of the pieces that go around the grill.

Thanks for your input.

Bill.

The 1937 truck grille is wider and flatter than a car grille....same for 1938. Was wider to allow more air entry for better cooling od the radiator

Bill,

The trim pieces that go around the 37 grille will be different also for a car and a truck because the grille/radiator housings (commonly called "doghouses") are also different from one another.

Jim