Cutting down a 60-61 c/60 grille

[jonzcustomshop]

here was my process for cutting down a 1960-1961 Viking/Spartan grille to fit into a c/10.

first I set it in a 64-66 grille support to see if it would just fit- the first 2 pics show the fit- I know of at least one truck where this was done-

I laid it on top of a stock 61 apache grille, and you can see that the 60 series grille is narrower than the apache- in the 3rd pic the other side is pushed even, and you can see that the apache grille is about 2 inches wider.

in the 4th pic, you can see the difference in the brackets, notice how on the inner bracket top part of the apache is flat, and the 60 series dips down.

5th pic- I determined that 7/8 of an inch was a good amount to cut out.

[jonzcustomshop]

first I drilled out the spots on this flat backing plate, and then cut it off of the bottom.

next I cut the whole grille.

you can see there is a bit of misalignment at the bottom corner.

I was able to clamp it into alignment with the vise grips

[jonzcustomshop]

now the hard part: the brackets.
first I screwed the headlight rings to the bottom part of the grille, then I put the buckets in and screwed them to the top part of the headlight ring.

I determined that I would need to use the top 1/2 of the 60 series inner bracket, and the bottom 1/2 of the apache bracket.
then for the outer brackets I used the apache piece.
I cut the end of the outer brackets off, and bent a piece of metal to attach them to the grille.

next I cut a notch in the support (after determining the center) for the two inner upper bolts.

[jonzcustomshop]

here are all 4 holes for the brackets

I had to cut a slice in the outer bracket to get it to reach the support, then the top hole was too long, and would have gone through the support in a bad spot. so I cut a piece off the bottom portion of the big truck bracket and spliced it in, and mounted it in place so that I could utilize the stock upper outer hole for the 64-66 support.

the inner bracket was a bit easier, and I cut another mounting piece off the big truck brackets to mount the lower portion of the grille.

these brackets were like a big puzzle where you make up your own pieces.

here are the upper and lower brackets ready to be welded and trimmed

[jonzcustomshop]

the brackets all finished up.

I had to pie cut the edge to get it to line up.

the grille resting in its new home!

[jonzcustomshop]

I probably got at least 8 hours in this project- of course a lot of the time was head scratching, and trial and error.

I probably bolted the brackets to the grille 10-20 times, and I bolted the grille to the support at least 5 or more times.

a big part of the time was a slight twist in the grille on the drivers side that I did not notice right away. I ended up having to recut and weld that side , and the redo the bracket that I made as well. at one point I had the top of the grille on the left side in the right place, and I just stood on the lower bucket, and it finally bent back to where it was supposed to be!

so that says a lot for finding an original paint un bent grille to start with if you can.

the apache / c/10 brackets I used were off a 62 grille, I determined that the apache brackets are the same 60-62.

you should be able to use any grille support 60-66 chev/ gmc for this project, the outside top bolt hole is in the same spot on all 60-66 grille supports.

[doobiebro]

Nice fab work jonz as always!

[chev-obsession]

Looks killer! Can't wait to see it on the truck!

[scotts62]

Sweet!

[1963c-10]

Very cool grill. Looks like a lot of work but its paid off nicely!!!

[Mathew21]

Great job!

[jchav62]

Nice! I'm diggin' it...

[chev-obsession]

Getting ready to cut mine down! Wish me luck!

[ImpalaJim]

nice work!!!

and good luck!!