What Color Are First Generation Barracuda Grilles Supposed to Be?

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Hello Dibbins,
I've been watching your build and got to say your doing a great job. Thinking about a white Barracuda with a white grill didn't sound right to me either. I looked up some white 65's and looked for white grills. I don't know if it is originally done with white but I think a picture i found looks pretty good.
mayfiledl4-e1537997364843.jpg
 
My grille is white also. My 65 Bcuda is EE1 Blue. I’m guessing it came from a white car. I plan on painting it blue.
 
Thanks for the photo, I guess it looks alright body color after all. Referring back to the photo in post #2. I was informed somewhere along the line those little "eyebrows" on the front valance I was told should be blacked out (in the photo they are white).
 
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And so starts another debate...I believe the grill was body color on certain colors only. Mine was natural (pot) metal on a barn find 65 that was a copper paint color (looked stock as everywhere was copper painted even engine compartment) but the fender tag said silver poly. Grill was definitely not copper....I personally don't think white, or red or light grills look correct but I've had mine for 25 years so I'm just used to seeing it like that. I have looked at sales brochures and can't seem to find proof that they were body color as the rear is usually pictured. Anyone got some Plymouth or Valiant sales brochures that show the grill as body color on a few different colored bodies? Cant comment on the valance, never noticed it 2 color until you pointed it out in that pic...with the stripe painted wrong but who's judging. Goes for the radiator support painted a light body color, no way! You should not see it through the grill, makes the grill look cheap IMHO. Flame on!
>>Do a Google search on 1965 Valiant Barracuda and the first 12 that show a grill: 2 are painted, 10 are neutral, not body color<<
 
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It would be nice to narrow it down. Maybe the first question could be: Were all the '65 Barracuda grilles painted black from the factory? Answer that and move on to more specifics.
 
Not a great example of a restored car (headlight bezels were never polished and these lack the flat black inner "eyeliner" of the stock bezels) but this grill looks black to me. Cliff's example has a black grill on a light body...I found one Canadian brochure showing a copper body and grill in a drawing, very rare shot it seems.

1965PlymouthBarracuda.jpg

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yeah, that's exctly what mine looks like now with the natural pot metal grill. Mine had no paint on it(?). Still looking for those bumperettes.......and the stripe is coming soon (even that was in the fender tag). I just noticed the valence color....Mine was repainted so I'm no authority on that but it looks nice. I wonder if my grill was a never painted replacement in a past life? Anything is possible I guess.
 
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pishta said:
yeah, that's exctly what mine looks like now with the natural pot metal grill. Mine had no paint on it(?). Still looking for those bumperettes.......and the stripe is coming soon (even that was in the fender tag). I just noticed the valence color....Mine was repainted so I'm no authority on that but it looks nice. I wonder if my grill was a never painted replacement in a past life? Anything is possible I guess.
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My wrinkled valence is original paint(ee1) and theres no indication of any black paint around the lower opening.
 
dibbons said:
Here is a black grille on a "for sale" vehicle (with the black eyebrows).

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Dibbons do you have a link to site selling the white car with gold stripe. I believe that was built by a fabo member friend of mine in Abilene Tx. and spent time in a showroom in michigan. If it is his old car I would love to tell him it went to the west coast.
 
Damn it sure looks exactly like it except for the wheels. He had 14" steelies with dog dishes and beauty rings on it.
 
The design intent was that the body color is continued through the grille. It's the same design intent, but more obvious on the '67-'69 Barracudas. A lot of first gen Barracuda center grilles don't look right painted in body color, because they are dented and more importantly the top of the grille center isn't flush with the hood and therefor interrupting the "flow". Unfortunately the grille centers are always broken, hard to repair and impossible to find in good condition. I've been thinking about trying to find a NOS grille (last one I saw was $800) to have it 3d scanned and then 3d printed.
 
65barracudaLA said:
The design intent was that the body color is continued through the grille. It's the same design intent, but more obvious on the '67-'69 Barracudas. A lot of first gen Barracuda center grilles don't look right painted in body color, because they are dented and more importantly the top of the grille center isn't flush with the hood and therefor interrupting the "flow". Unfortunately the grille centers are always broken, hard to repair and impossible to find in good condition. I've been thinking about trying to find a NOS grille (last one I saw was $800) to have it 3d scanned and then 3d printed.
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Gonna need a huge printer bed. Best to make it a 2 halves with the front of the grill as the bottom of the print and then attach them for a flush look that has a peak in the middle.
 
Original Paint '65 Barracuda for sale here on FABO as of today. It appears the "eyebrows" under and behind the front bumper are body color, not blacked out like I had been saying (preaching). It looks like the center grill may be body color (white) also, but hard to tell in the foto.

Fresno Barracuda.jpeg
 
By grille do you mean the center? I seem to remember the area around the lights being black out.
 
No expert, but after seeing a couple hundred of these cars in the junkyards over the years, grille was always body color from factory and I never saw the valance wings blacked out either. Promo video stating color flows down grill seems a more definitive answer to me.
 
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