HELP!!...PB Grille

[Canadian PB Kid]

When I did my post trip inspection after an outing last week, I discovered that one of the vertical grille ribs has vibrated enough to break it away from the outer brace... Has anyone else experienced this and most importantly... would anyone have a fix without taking the rad and grille assembly off...

 

Thanking in advance,

 

Cheers!

 

Dave

[broker-len]

there is a grill on E bay

[Canadian PB Kid]

6 hours ago, broker-len said:

there is a grill on E bay

Yea, thanks but that would still entail removing the rad and grille assembly, disassembling the unit to replace the grille. If I was considering doing that I would just weld up mine. Normally I do not troll those web sites, I will "presume" it'll need stripping and painting... I did mention in the original post that I was seeking advise on a suggestion for a repair while the grille is still on the car.

[Scott Bonesteel]

Knowing generally how these are constructed (I have 34 Plymouths, a 34 Dodge Panel, which has a similar grille), I would work up a dollop of JB Weld, push it into the shell and then push the grille bar into the dollop before it dries.  Tie wrap or wire the grille bar so it pulls against the shell until the JB dries.  If you wipe off the extra before it dries, it should be invisible.  Once dry, if you can apply another dollop to the rear of the grille bar and spread it, that should help secure it.  These bars are spot welded to the shell and are not too solid to begin with so I would think the JB would be at least as strong.  Otherwise, grille and radiator off and break out the MIG.  Good luck.

[TTR]

Well, after owning a PB for almost 35 years and +/- 100.000 miles, I couldn't tell you how many times one of the grille bars have broken off (more commonly at the bottom) in mine.

In fact, one fell down about half a second after the attached photo was taken on the day I took delivery of the car back in 1989 (gave us a good laugh).

After several times of removing the grille and welding the offending piece, I gave up about 10-15 years ago and now just tie the broken off end of one to the bars on either side of it with "bailing" wire.

For me, life is too short to stress over something like this with my own cars, especially if it doesn't affect drivability, reliability or safety and I'll keep wiring any that needs it until something else requires the grille removal.

Last time I repaired any was at the time I had the new radiator made in 2015 and now have 3(?) bars wired since.

 

P.S. I don't think epoxy (=JB) or wire feed (=MIG) welding are ideal for something like this as both are too brittle or hard. Properly done Oxy-Acetylene or TIG welds are "softer" and more flexible for something this delicate under constant stress of vibration.
I would also consider adding some small rod or narrow sheetmetal strip behind the to-be-welded end for additional support/strength...

... and professionally speaking, I would recommend doing same to top & bottom ends of all bars while the grille is off and accessible. These are over 90 years old, after all.

 

Edited June 17 by TTR (see edit history)

[Canadian PB Kid]

On 6/16/2024 at 7:42 PM, TTR said:

Well, after owning a PB for almost 35 years and +/- 100.000 miles, I couldn't tell you how many times one of the grille bars have broken off (more commonly at the bottom) in mine.

In fact, one fell down about half a second after the attached photo was taken on the day I took delivery of the car back in 1989 (gave us a good laugh).

After several times of removing the grille and welding the offending piece, I gave up about 10-15 years ago and now just tie the broken off end of one to the bars on either side of it with "bailing" wire.

For me, life is too short to stress over something like this with my own cars, especially if it doesn't affect drivability, reliability or safety and I'll keep wiring any that needs it until something else requires the grille removal.

Last time I repaired any was at the time I had the new radiator made in 2015 and now have 3(?) bars wired since.

 

P.S. I don't think epoxy (=JB) or wire feed (=MIG) welding are ideal for something like this as both are too brittle or hard. Properly done Oxy-Acetylene or TIG welds are "softer" and more flexible for something this delicate under constant stress of vibration.
I would also consider adding some small rod or narrow sheetmetal strip behind the to-be-welded end for additional support/strength...

... and professionally speaking, I would recommend doing same to top & bottom ends of all bars while the grille is off and accessible. These are over 90 years old, after all.

 

Thanks Scott and TTR for your thoughts, I did have thoughts on doing the wire job but was concerned about visual effect but once I read your post and did the patch, my worries were over....last night we took it out for a seniors home tour and things stayed intact.... Thanks again!