'70 Side Vent Grill?
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,242
Likes: 12
From: Kalispell MT
'70 Side Vent Grill?
I'm doing a little homework for a new paint job and ran across a resource that shows in '70 the side grills were only chromed on the horizonal lines. The car was redone by a previous owner about 10 years ago and now sports chrome on both the vertical and horizontal edges. So now I'm wondering if the side vents on the car are maybe from a '71 & up or if my resource is wrong. Can anyone confirm correct scheme for the '70?
Assuming it is correct for the horizontal only chrome, any suggestions on how to remove the chrome on the verticals? I'm guessing just detailed sanding and masking.
Assuming it is correct for the horizontal only chrome, any suggestions on how to remove the chrome on the verticals? I'm guessing just detailed sanding and masking.
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,259
Likes: 2
From: MS
The 70/early71 grilles are built different from the mid71/72 grilles, and there is really no way to add chrome to the early grilles, so the car must have the later71/72 or service replacements which were the later style also. If you look at your grilles, you will see the raised horizontal edge that is chromed; the vertical edge should not have this raised part, on the 70 grilles the vertical edge is just flat painted smooth to the end with no place to chrome. If you have the raised chromed edge on both the horizontal and vertical edges, then somebody switched to the later grilles and you will either need to leave it as is or find the correct grilles; no way to remove the chrome from the later grilles and have it look right since the raised ridge will still be there.
Drifting
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 1,970
Likes: 91
As wfo76 stated, the later grill has a raised edge, or a step up to it. The 70 does not, as you see in the photo. You could however leave the chrome in both directions. I stripped the paint off mine to redo. The entire piece is flash chromed.
You could still tell if it was a 70 grill looking at it closely from the front, or a more obvious difference would be to take the grill off and look at the back. There's a world of difference between the two.
You could still tell if it was a 70 grill looking at it closely from the front, or a more obvious difference would be to take the grill off and look at the back. There's a world of difference between the two.
Drifting
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 1,970
Likes: 91
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Drifting
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 1,970
Likes: 91
And to see the difference here's a newer piece
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/70-71...spagenameZWDVW
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/70-71...spagenameZWDVW