This is part eleven of a series of posts on this highly custom 1938 Chevrolet Truck restoration, in post one we introduce you to the project and the custom features to be fabricated.  In post two, we look at the individual truck parts that make up the front end build.  In post three, we cover the chassis build and drip rail removal.  In post four, we show you the process of metal finishing the fenders. Post five takes us through the panel restoration of the original inner grille housing panel and a custom touch of deleting the cowl vent panel.  Post six takes care of the lower cowl metal and left hand front fender.  Post seven covers the toe board panel, door lock upgrades, and mainly the upgrades to the inner fender support panel; this panel has to be heavily modified to take the new location of the hood side panels.  Post eight looks at how the custom hood was created to open by pulling forward instead of the original butterfly design.  Post nine covers the rest of the custom hood, which involves completion of the skin, and design and fabrication of the inner structure.  Post ten shows the firewall modifications.

In this post, we remake an original panel that is rotted out and the only replacement available is in fiber glass, which isn’t going to work for the customer, or fit with this type of build.  The alternative is to make one from scratch (flat sheet metal) using the rotted out panel as a pattern.
Check out the photos below, as we make the panel from scratch with the aid of the sand bag, plannishing hammer, and English wheel for total shape definition.

 Chevy truck lower grille shell before restoration

Original rotted panel is now serving us as a pattern.

Fabricating a new grille shell panel

Blocking out with a wooden mallet and a sandbag.

Plannishing hammer in use.

Pattern progress check.

Smoothing up and defining with the English bench wheel.

New to old….

Fitting to the original grille.

Chevy truck grille shell restoration completed

The end result looking smooth.

 

This is part eleven of a series of posts on this highly custom 1938 Chevrolet Truck restoration, in post one we introduce you to the project and the custom features to be fabricated.  In post two, we look at the individual truck parts that make up the front end build.  In post three, we cover the chassis build and drip rail removal.  In post four, we show you the process of metal finishing the fenders. Post five takes us through the panel restoration of the original inner grille housing panel and a custom touch of deleting the cowl vent panel.  Post six takes care of the lower cowl metal and left hand front fender.  Post seven covers the toe board panel, door lock upgrades, and mainly the upgrades to the inner fender support panel; this panel has to be heavily modified to take the new location of the hood side panels.  Post eight looks at how the custom hood was created to open by pulling forward instead of the original butterfly design.  Post nine covers the rest of the custom hood, which involves completion of the skin, and design and fabrication of the inner structure.  Post ten shows the firewall modifications.