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TR2/3/3A TR3A grill

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tmc

tmc

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Reading through the posts from a search "TR3 Grill", it appears to me that my new grill doesn't necessarily have to be bent to fit. I have the old grill, but it fit into a "mouth" formed almost entirely of bondo, unlike the restored one. I don't think the old one is a good template. Leads to the question: if I do have to bend the middle of the grill some to fit in the mouth, how best to do that? It appears to me I can just use my hands (gloves on!) Any suggestions? Unfortunately, the paint work is all done, too, so avoiding scratches will be tough.......lots of masking tape, I guess.
 
I just did this and found the grill fit pretty well. There was trouble only around one corner and careful bending solved the problem, with no distortion of the flat grill face.
If you find the grill is a little wide you may be able to carefully bend the edge with gloved hands. It can be pretty snug without bowing. I masked the opening in any places I thought the fit would be an issue. Watch the screw holes in the grill, they have raised edges that will scratch paint.
John
 
I bent mine a bit by hand. I had a repro (that needed a slight bow) but replaced it with an original and it also needed a slight bow.

grilles.JPG


I ditched the repro because the ones available years ago had thicker 'ribs' than the original (lower example). You can best see the diff in the smaller openings and the crank hole.

I've heard that the current repros are much more like the originals.
 
FWIW, I dealt with the thicker "ribs" by carefully squeezing them with some big pliers (from the back side). Came out pretty good.

My former 3A had been backed into and I made the mistake of not stretching the opening back out before taking it to the body shop, so I had to put a fair amount of bend into the grill to make it fit. The ribbed portion was easy to bend by hand, I basically just held it to the opening and pushed until it went in. That left the edges bent up, so I gently tapped them back down with a body hammer.
 
Thanks for all the replies. As usual, very helpful.
 
A follow up question to the TR3A grill - - - should I install it in the front apron before I mount the whole thing or after I get the front apron on, aligned and tightened down?
 
After...There are some apron mounting screws etc. that are behind the grill. Also, the radiator duct has to be put in after the apron is on.
 
:iagree:
 
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