Want to thank everyone that has been helping me learn and identifying part/years etc. I have a couple more for you. This is what happens when you pick up a box of misc parts and really don't know enough about them. I picked up this grill. I noticed that the 3 silver lines are painted on (horizontal slats) and the color of the area around the parking/turn lights is dark, maybe black. My grill has 3 pieces of silver trim on the grill (horizontal) and the area around the lights are light grey. Mine is a 72 grill, the new one is? Also, what is the "color" of the area, Argent Gray, black? ETc Are all the comet grill interchangeable throughout out the years? New grill: My grill:
I know the Comet GT's had metal trim on the (3) horizontal bars. While they do come off....they will not fit a standard Comet grill.
The grills with the metal trim also came on some other early Comets. They tend to be cars with more options or trim. FrankTFs 72 Comet is one example. His has all the upper fender/quarter panel trim. Like Craig mentioned, the bars under the stainless trim are undersized with tabs cast in every few inches to grab the trim. Definitely will not fit a standard grill. I tried, ... hard .... That grill should bolt onto your car with no issues. It is only when you get into the later years that the parking lights changed, but I still think the grill itself will work through all the years. It just interfaces with the parking lights differently. I would call the color a charcoal or dark argent. BTW, DON'T attempt to remove the stainless trim from that grill if you elect to paint it. I would polish it up first and then mask it off. It is pressed into place and meant to be there for life.
How do I find out if my car orinignaly came with the grill with the stainless trim or not. Reason I am asking is, I have the trim but my car is very basic. No AC, NO radio Not even an antennae. LOL Is there a RPO code or something? I may have found a replacement grill for it, but it does not have the trim.
I don't think there were hard and fast rules on what cars got that grill. They tend to be pre-74 cars is all I know. I would use it and be happy with it. Comet grills are a lot harder to find than Mav grills. 5 Mavs made for every 1 Comet. A lot of Comet owners get frustrated and convert to Mav hoods, grills and bumpers.
I have a later Comet grille given to me by a friend; I thought about selling it, figured I may need it at some point. Like Jeff sez, "they are/may be hard to come by". If I recall, the grill and hood was on his car.
Hi Everett: Read your post about 'Comet Grilles' being Hard To Come By .. That's a fact . I've been salvaging them for the last 15 years and I have Six in Excellent Condition wrapped in plastic in the Attic just in case I ever need one. I would sell them but I don't want to risk ' Shipping' since the carriers would more than likely .. Destroy .. the grille by the time it got to the buyer . I sell them if they can be ' Picked Up ' at my plant in Deland , FL. but that's the only way I'll let em go . Hope everything is going great for you Everett.. I'm planning a visit to the Turkey Rod Run in Daytona Beach,FL on Thanksgiving Day to see what I can find for parts there . Bumper Boyz is there every year but their prices lately are RIDICULOUS for a Comet Front Bumper .. I could probably MAKE ONE for the $$ they want.(joke) ..Anyway .. Happy Thanksgiving out there .. I'm Thankful I'm Still Here !! Cometized (Chip)
Hi Chip! Yea, hanging on to the grill. When I get rid of the car the grill will be w/ new owner -- At least, that's the plan. As we know, everything don't go as planned. Thing's going relatively well wife & I, both seniors as you. Car in the garage for the most part, will take it out occassion as wx permits. Thought I wud be able to install new shortie headers, but, to late in season to worry about it. Will pick-up the project nx April, to cool, wet and damp for laying on the ground "creeper" for something considered hobby/toy. Happy Thanksgiving to you and family; glad to have met you and Alex this summer. Take care -- PM me anytime. Pleasure hearing from you...
Already happened to mine before I got it. I have a bumper, waiting to collect a hood, grille, and stone guard.....but not holding my breath.
Chip, Please tell me your attic is open and ventilated. Otherwise those grills will be baked. "Hey, hey .... your grills got grilled .... lol". Something tells me you have it handled, but it drew a picture in my mind. It's like the old guy that told me "you know those Hofner bass guitars, like Paul McCartney plays... I have one that I got brand new in the 1960s. Got it up in my attic." I freaked! Told him that he better get what is left of it and see if there are any good parts left. Florida attics hit 150 degrees plus. I imagine everything on that guitar needing to be reglued. Comet front bumpers .... I have had my car since 1992 and hoarded as much as possible. I have only had three "good" bumpers, ever. One was the rechromed one that came with my car. Another was pitted, but straight. The third was the lucky find, straight, minimal pitting, and no bumper guards, and that one is going on my car. Not super-shiny, but neither is my car. There was one, bent up like a pretzel, that I walked away from. After seeing that some bumper shops could still work with that, I now know I should have grabbed it. Hindsight ....
Hi Cap: Thanks for the input . I have the grilles wrapped in plastic and the ENDs are exposed so they're getting air .. I wrapped all of them because I don't want ANY missing pieces , or cracked areas. They should be O.K. My attic gets hot but I don't think I'm in any danger of baking them. Maybe I should go up and check it out eh ? We'll see if I can get around to that next week-end after Thanksgiving. I had them in a storage shed for about 4 years before they were stored in our building and it got pretty hot in there too . Seemed to look OK when I handled them for the transfer to the attic. They were still wrapped and none the worse for wear. I wonder whats happens to a car grille when it's left out in the Sun all day .. possibly a little browning ! . Chip
Chip, I know that outdoor exposure kills the grills. At one point, I ended up with the grill out of FrankTF's 14,000 mile survivor that spent most of its time in a museum (he has that back now through a turn of events). The grill was really fresh, like brand new, except a couple fins were broken when the car was transported. I was able to make very straight cuts, in order to revise the damage. I was trying to repair it, using chunks of a broken original grill that came out of a Panama City car. No matter how careful I was in cutting the repair pieces, they crumbled in my hands. Totally frustrating, I had to give up.
