Grill question

[THE AMERICAN GARAGE]

HEY PEEPS! I AM FAIRLY NEW TO THE BOARDS AND HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE GRILL ON THE '53 GMC PICK-UP I BOUGHT BACK IN NOV.

PRETTY MUCH ALL OF THE TIME WHEN LOOKING AT '53 GMC GRILLS THEY ALL LOOK LIKE THIS:



ASIDE FROM THE FRAMED OUT AREA AROUND THE GRILL ITSELF HOLDING THE "GMC" TAG, ALL OF THE GRILLS I COMMONLY SEE HAVE VERT SIDE COLUMNS AND FOUR HORIZ BLADES.

NOW COMES MY QUESTION...BASED ON THE PICTURES OF MY OWN GRILL BELOW, WAS MY GRILL SOME KIND OF ODDBALL OPTION DONE IN CHROME?
YOU'LL NOTICE THAT IT IS ONLY 3 HORIZ BLADES ENCASED IN AND SET BACK FROM A PUSHED OUT FRAME WITHIN THE OUTER FRAME CARRYING THE NAMEPLATE. FOLLOW?







THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY ANSWERS!

~DOC

[54 jimmy]

good question my 54 gmc was a 1 ton dually and has the 4 bar grill. i have seen the three bar before. i think it may have been a 53 year model thing. cause i only seem to see it on the 53 models ,but i could be wrong.

[OrrieG]

Maybe it is from a different series larger truck (1- ton, COE or ???). Just a thought.

[BIG CHEVY 3600]

I can't tell the measurements but it looks like the bars are spaced wider apart on yours. Could be that a PO took one out and spread them out for some reason. The model year would be the best guess however. It should be easy to check that on forums like this. Just look for pictures of each year, that should explain all this.

[THE AMERICAN GARAGE]

I DID NOTICE A 1948 GMC CHROME GRILL ON A 1950 3/4 TON TRUCK PICTURED ON PAGE 32 OF A S/C BOOK CALLED CLASSIC PICKUPS OF THE 1950s By Mike Mueller. I'M THINKING THAT THE CHROME GRILL, OBVIOUSLY AN OPTION STEP UP OVER A PAINTED GRILL WAS OFFERED IN A SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT VERSION THROUGHOUT THE 48-53 YEARS OR AT LEAST PART OF THAT TIME.

THANKS FOR YOUR ANSWERS AND OPINIONS!

[TheEstablishment]

The grill you have is from the larger trucks, such as the 1 1/2 tons and the COE's. It looks like someone modified it to fit into your truck, which is why it sticks out so much. The 1/2 through 1 tons had grills like your first picture for the entire run of the body style. Some were chrome and some were painted.

[1956cameo]

I bought a chrome three bar grille like you have in your truck at a swap meet, so I know it is factory. Like was said above me it is most likely from a larger truck and sometime over the years found it's way into your truck.

[THE AMERICAN GARAGE]

WHILE THESE SEEM LIKE REASONABLE ANSWERS, I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT THE LARGER THE TRUCK, THE LARGER THE GRILL. I AM LEARNING THAT'S NOT THE CASE. I AM LEARNING ALOT FROM THIS SITE!

THANKS!


~DOC

[sgtusmc]

Yep, just as stated above. My 53 has the 4 bars. the 3 bar grill is from the bigger trucks.