1970 Jimmy grill fitment

[FireBros.]

I recently purchased a 1970 jimmy. The PO swapped a chevy eggcrate grill onto it and shaved the GMC letters on the hood. I guess he wanted a chevy. While I have always liked the eggcrate grill, it bugs me that my GMC has a chevy front on it. I did a little research and it seemed that the only difference between GMC grills was the black paint and the presence of the top trim or not. I bought a grill off a 67 pu and am having issues getting it to fit. All the holes line up correctly, however the width of the grill seems to be about 1/4" wider than the space between the fenders. Any education on this would be helpful. I looked at every thread mentioning grill swaps and never found the info I was looking for. I know 67's had a different hood, but that is not where the issue seems to be.
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[rsavage]

I wonder if you have 69-72 Chevy front fenders? It is my understanding that GMC fenders are the same 67-72 and the same as 67-68 Chevy. The 69-72 are different.
Here's a link to past discussion:http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=348804

[FireBros.]

Thanks for the reply. I looked through those difference threads, and I have not even got far enough along for those differences to be apparent.

The grill mounts between the fenders, and seems like it should be about the same width as the core support.
In my case it seems the grill is about 1/4"-3/8" wider.
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[67Steven]

Pictures of what you have would be a great help!

[FireBros.]

Yeah, I know pics will help. It's not here at my house. I'll get some as soon as I can.
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[FireBros.]

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From my understanding this is definitely a GMC fender with no indentation.

[FireBros.]

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Here is the core support, once again, to my knowledge it's clearly GMC
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[FireBros.]

Here's the grill. On closer inspection, I believe it to be the real problem. I think the mounting ears have spread just enough to be a problem, without making the grill look obviously bent.
Unless some one knows of another reason that this grill won't fit, I think I'll find a way to squeeze it back together, without kinking or denting it.
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[skorpioskorpio]

That's a 71-72 grill, not that that should matter. 68-70 grills are the same and the 67 is as well except for the embossed "GMC" in the center. 71-72s are a little different but should be interchangeable. The top filler is different between the slant nose (67-68) and the blunt nose (69-72), of coarse I'm referring to the trucks in general as all Jimmys are born blunt. My guess is that your fender ends may be tweaked from being capped with a Chevy grill or the whole fenders are spaced, maybe from the rear, so that the Chevy grill will fit. Seems odd the Chevy grill would fit at all actually if you see where the hood ends relative to the fenders, that is where the Chevy fenders end.

You should try and find a 67-70 grill though, the Jimmy shouldn't look like a Chevy (Jimmys are rarer) and a 70 shouldn't look like a 71-72 ('70s are rarer still). I'm sure there are some Indy pace cars with higher production figures, yet it remains the invisible cousin. At least the collectors market finally woke up about the SP Sprints .

[skorpioskorpio]

...of coarse all that said, I'm slant nosing my 70 and changing it from 4WD to 2WD so I am a believer in leeway.

[FireBros.]

Do you have a link or info on the differences between jimmy grills?
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[Tom Vogel]

That grill should bolt right in there. How do you know the ears are bent, maybe your fenders need some shims to bring them out a little. Previous owner could have taken them out to help fit the Chevy grill on there.

[Dale99]

Agree, that grill should fit. I would loosen the fender to core support bolts and corner braces. Then see if it fits.

You will also need whats known as the "eyebrows". Not sure if you got them when you got the grill or not.