VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 Reproduction 1938 Master grill

I recently bought a reproduction grill on Ebay. It turns out that I bought it from Dick Moffitt's company. When it arrived I looked it over and it was really nice, chromed painted and all. However each of the two halves were 1/2" wider then the original grill. There is no way it would fit without modification so I sent it back. The folks there said "they are all that way". I wonder why they would continue to sell something that doesn't fit.

I see re-chromeable grills on ebay fairly regularly.

I am pretty sure that I can have my original re-chromed, but for a lot of money. I thought a nice reproduction that costs less than redoing my old one would be a great choice. I just don't understand why they would be selling something that doesn't fit. I understand that they are a respected supplier.

Perhaps they were truck grilles. They were slightly wider.
In about 1948 Chevrolet began selling both the original stamped steel chromed grille for a 1938 plus a polished stainles steel grille.

Well Gene, that is what I was wondering. I couldn't get any information out of the seller but the grill halves are about 1/2" wider than the original car grill. Unlike the original GM stamped grills, these are made with a frame and separate grill bar pieces spot welded on. There is also no crank hole opening.

Why is it that when a company makes a reproduction part the part is usually not the same as the original part?

As one that makes some reproduction parts, it is because the high volume manufacturing process can use techniques, machines, dies and processes that the small volume producer can't. Dies are EXPENSIVE, access to large presses and other machines nearly impossible for short runs. Running a few parts, resetting the machine, running a few parts, resetting the machine is costly in time and money. Modern materials often have better properties so substitution produces a better product.

As an example it took nearly 5 years and several hundred parts before I began to break even on the steering column bushings. Had mold cost, die cost in addition to running costs. Have made a little now that we have made over 700 of them. We used urethane elastomer instead of rubber as it is tougher and will not deteriorate (harden) with age. Replaced the micorda bushing with bushing grade Delron as it has less resistance, less wear on the steel shaft. Also make them with enough wire so they can be used on the '29-'30 which is hard wired. The '31 and later used a twist connector. Research to make the proper product took too many hours to count.

That is all well and good and it makes perfect sense. However, I am referring to parts that either don't work or don't fit, like in the case of the 1937 grilles or like some of the other parts that are being made. What is the point of making the "reproduction" part in the first place if it doesn't fit or work correctly? A reproduction part should be identical in dimension, fit and appearance as the original OEM part. Remember the old mast jacket bushings that I&I used to make? They were junk and they didn't fit. So, what was the point of making molds and spending money to reproduce the part if the part doesn't fit? I believe that is one reason why you came out with the correct fitting mast jacket bushing because the bushings that were being made did not fit or work.

Years ago when the reproduction arm rests for the 1972 Chevrolet pickup trucks first came out, they were identical in appearance to the original but they were 1/2" too short. Same with the 1950's Chevrolet pickup truck parking light lens gaskets. They were too thin and the lens would move up and down in the parking light rim and rattle. It took two gaskets for the lens to fit correctly, so why not make the gaskets the correct thickness in the first place? There are other "reproduction" parts that have the same problem as well. Seems like some of these companies go to an awful lot of time, research and expense to make a part that doesn't fit or work. On the flip side of the coin, there are some reproduction parts that are fantastic and identical to the original OEM part...as all of the reproduction parts should be.

I will present a brief explanation. There is much more to the subject. Just ask Steve. He has a ton more stories that I and I have plenty.

I have also experienced the problems with ill fitting repop parts. There are several reasons for it. Primarily is that the majority of those parts are made off-shore. Several factors influence the poor parts. Converting from US to metric is a major one. If you don't know, the rest of the world is metric. Another is un or poorly trained personnel. A third is the lack of an approval piece to check fit, looks, material specification, etc. And finally is unethical producers. The parts are made and shipped only to find the parts do not match the test or approval piece. Now what does the purchaser do? Write off multiple thousands of $$$$. Try to recoup some money? You might not believe it but it is common for people to feel that a poor part is better than NO part. Some don't complain (others complain when part is perfect [another subject] so the seller does not know that they should check each part received. Some USA made parts are not 100% correct either.

Sounds like it is all a matter of money. As long as they get into your wallet they don't care if the part fits or not. Converting US to Metric might be a problem, but I doubt it, especially if the part is as far out as a half an inch. As far as I am concerned, if a part doesn't fit and it can't be made to fit then having no part is better than a wrong part.

With today's technology there should be no excuse for not making a part to appear and to fit exactly like the original.

I don't think that technology is the problem. It is the expertise and integrity of the manufacturers and their workers.

I suspect that in the case of the '38 grill the reproduction was for a '38 truck and the workers either didn't know it was different from a passenger or had been mislabeled or didn't pay attention to what was shipped.

As an example I recently ordered a set of five tires from Coker. I received three with sidewall void of DOT labeling and two with DOT labeling. Had to talk to four Coker representatives in attempt to get it all straight. Sent all five back at request of Coker. Received four with DOT markings and one without. Called back again, sent non-DOT tire back. Received another non-DOT tire in return. Finally after informing them that I was only going to talk to someone with authority to make sure that warehouse shipped the correct tire I talked to a supervisor who personally went to the warehouse (reported to be 4 miles away), hand selected at tire and had it sent to me. After over two months, finally had a matching set of five tires. Guess when I informed them that my next conversation would be with Corky, it got their attention.

I would say that it is the lack of expertise and a lack of integrity of the manufacturers and their workers.

I would suspect the grilles were made in Argentina. Years back a lot of reproduction parts came from down there.