'68 Barracuda grille questions

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oldskool

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Had the unfortunately experience of someone backing into the front end of my '68. Along w/ metalwork, the grilles we're bent/cracked. I'm trying to understand what pieces I actually need to replace. Sadly, they're beyond bending back into shape.

It looks like there's 3 different pieces (not including the headlight assemblies which appear to be OK). My understanding is there is the grille itself, the outer trim, and the housing, is that correct?
 
Below are the grille parts for a 67 Barracuda. 68 is about the same with the inserts being slightly different. Hope this helps.

2016-10-28 11.35.26.jpg
 
Oh, man.I hope you or the person that hit you had insurance. This will not be cheap....
amen , hope you found out how much they are worth, before you settled ! " partsmonsta " , occasionally on here, does a pretty good job restoring these things
 
The 68 grill is three pieces on each side, not including the outer headlight section. The plastic center section, the chrome surround around the plastic, and the outer frame. Make sure the marker lights survived in good shape. Studs may be bent/broken off.
 
Sadly, this happened in my own driveway. Car was covered and I didn't find out until a while after it happened. Could've been postal worker, UPS, neighbor, friend, who knows. Stuff happens. I do have insurance but would rather save myself that hassle.

Yeah, I'm finding quickly how much all that trim costs. I got a body estimate yesterday and appears that it'll cost just as much as the trim alone, yikes. BUT, if I can get someone to restore for cheaper, that's a good suggestion.

Looks like I'll have to spend some time to remove it to assess the restorability. If you folks have other suggestions in addition to partsmonsta, I'm open. I'm not in a rush but don't want to miss out on summer cruisin.

UPDATE: Just read some threads on partsmonsta. Wow, I think I found my guy. That's the old school effort that I appreciate. Now I just have to figure out how to actually detach everything.
 
Some of the '68 parts are available on the after market, but not the outer aluminum trim bezel yet. I'm waiting for that to be repopped, but am considering sending my grill assemblies out for restoration. I really only need the outer trim surrounds no one makes yet.
 
When taking my 68 grill out I found it best to remove the entire header panel. I used a small wire brush in a dremel to clean the threads of the studs before adding some penetrating oil. I still had a couple that broke before turning loose. You can't be to careful when working on these grills.
 
When taking my 68 grill out I found it best to remove the entire header panel. I used a small wire brush in a dremel to clean the threads of the studs before adding some penetrating oil. I still had a couple that broke before turning loose. You can't be to careful when working on these grills.

I haven't taken the front apart before. What does the header panel include?
 
First the bumper is removed. The stabilizer brackets at the 2 ends can scratch paint.
The header panel is bolted to fenders, etc... 3 bolts at latch support are easily seen. Those bolt hole ears at the top of fender to header panel are slotted so just loosening those ( 2 at each side ) bolts works. Putting the thing back in between the fenders is a challenge since slotted sheet metal ears act like sharks teeth on paint too. Good luck
 
First the bumper is removed. The stabilizer brackets at the 2 ends can scratch paint.
The header panel is bolted to fenders, etc... 3 bolts at latch support are easily seen. Those bolt hole ears at the top of fender to header panel are slotted so just loosening those ( 2 at each side ) bolts works. Putting the thing back in between the fenders is a challenge since slotted sheet metal ears act like sharks teeth on paint too. Good luck

Thanks for the heads up. If I understand you, that's actually the main sheet metal that got damaged. Bumper is fine. I suppose the good thing for me is that the car was repainted (and pretty well, including engine bay) about 10 years ago so I don't have to deal w/ any rusted on, 49 year old, hardware.
 
Majority of these fasteners never got painted. You'll see how well the are hidden and shrouded.
 
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