1963 Fiberglass Fit for Inside Front Nose

[Frederick H.]

Attached is a somewhat dark photo of the inside front nose area that appears to be rough in fit and finish. I was unable to find any reference in the Judging Manual for this area so if someone can shoot me a photo or two, it would be greatly appreciated. I know the bonded areas around the upper inner fenders can be a bit "sloppy", but unsure about the nose area (If memory serves correct, it should be smooth with no gaps?).

Thanks in Advance,

Fred Hager
NCRS #6873
Texas Region

[Loren L.]

Re: 1963 Fiberglass Fit for Inside Front Nose

Looking ONLY at the hole for the driver's side of the nose emblem, I think more pictures would reveal that this front end was not installed in St Louis - at least at the factory.

[Joe R.]

Re: 1963 Fiberglass Fit for Inside Front Nose

Also, looking at the metal support. Did a 63 or 64 have that hole later used for the top of the grille rod to attach? The hole would not be necessary as 63-64 used the three tabs of fiberglass seen in the picture.

JR

[Ronald L.]

Re: 1963 Fiberglass Fit for Inside Front Nose

that is a glooped on top of existing glass poor excuse of a repair, please no offense, its just really bad and likely you will find other fit issues elsewhere with the lamps grilles etc, and....that hole was put in Jan 1966, my Dec 13 1965 (BB BTW) did not have it, and it was really needed at times... this one has not had a screw in it, and if a 66 service part, very few exist at all, because.....

what you want to is get a pic under side of the metal, are the holes too close together to reach the emblem nuts (1967 only) and with a sharp metal edge, or are the nicely rounded at proper location to reach emblem nuts?

Ok the reason is...and you can find it in this forum somewhere in the writings of John H, when they got to 67 MY the emblem changed to a narrow spacing, and this bar had not been changed. The early 67 pieces were double stamped to get to those emblem nuts, and you with have two 8 figure shape holes. After that stock was used up and the change effected, the 67 part and essentially all C2 service parts in inventory 1967 and beyond were of the narrower spacing where reaching those nuts on a 66 or earlier is a little bit of work. My 'guess' would be is you have the service part.


Now - for the secrets... AO Smith and ST LOUIS were very different cross bar HL supports......any one venture state two of the very visible differences???

[Frederick H.]

Re: 1963 Fiberglass Fit for Inside Front Nose

Thanks for all of the feedback. The metal support bar is original as I have photos of the VIN# handwritten on the underside of the bar but the fiberglass did have work done back in the early '70's (I've owned the car since 1970), so I guess that explains the poor appearance. Also, the tabs had to be re-built (3 on top and 7 on the bottom) as they were all broken off. The holes for the nose emblem had to be drilled and I referred to a photo of a '63 in this forum who had to do the same. The emblem fits as it should now.

Thanks,
Fred

[Ronald L.]

[Frederick H.]

Re: 1963 Fiberglass Fit for Inside Front Nose

Sorry for the really late response. If you are referring to the small hole in the metal support, that is where a small metal bolt/screw is used to attached a grounding wire from the headlight wiring harness (as seen from other photos).

Thanks,

Fred

[Frederick H.]

Re: 1963 Fiberglass Fit for Inside Front Nose

Agreed about the fit - car was hit lightly in left front (driver's side) - having to "re-finesse" a lot of the repair done in the '70's. During my detailing of the engine compartment, I noticed the last part of the VIN# handwritten on the underside of the metal support bar, so the bar itself was never replaced.

Thanks,
Fred

[Frederick H.]

Re: 1963 Fiberglass Fit for Inside Front Nose

Sorry for the late response. Car was not hit before I owned it - will try to get underside pics of the metal bar next time I am at the shop. Attached is the shot of the last part of the VIN. This was located toward the passenger side of the bar. I will take pics of the center next visit.

Thanks,
Fred

[Ronald L.]

[Frederick H.]

Re: 1963 Fiberglass Fit for Inside Front Nose

Ronald, it has been awhile since I have been active in judging and have had little time to catch up but apologize for sounding a bit hard-headed. I checked with another club member's no hit '63 and there is no hole in the center of the bar. I had not considered that the VIN may have been scribed by repair person instead of factory. I guess the next question for everyone is how to replace the bar with an original and whether it will be worth the expense/effort (any recommendations on how to fill the holes - liquid steel, etc.?). I intend for this to be a driver but want it to be as correct as possible. I knew this was a weak point going in and should have gotten a better estimate on the cost for paint and body work (to repair the poor previous repairs). It's too late to back out now as I have spent a considerable sum. Thanks again for everyone's help.
Fred

[Ronald L.]

Re: 1963 Fiberglass Fit for Inside Front Nose

Fred
Can be done very carefully

Where are you located

[Frederick H.]

Re: 1963 Fiberglass Fit for Inside Front Nose

I am located in Plano, TX. I looked at another club member's '63 that has been restored with an April build date and his has the small center hole in the bar facing towards the engine, with no signs of repair. The underside of the bar has the correctly aligned larger holes for access to the emblem nuts. Another club member who has a November car does not have the hole. I haven't made to the shop to check the access holes on my car yet - will report back when I do. My car has a March build date (not that it matters).
The guys that did the repair back in the early '70's installed '64 or later buckets instead of the '63's (I didn't know to check back then) but I have a complete set of '63 buckets to put back in.

Thanks Again,
Fred

[Ronald L.]

[Frederick H.]

Re: 1963 Fiberglass Fit for Inside Front Nose

I agree - didn't want to sound like I was disagreeing - just sharing what I found with other cars. The car has already received a pre-base coat so I can't really afford to tear into the fiberglass to replace the bar (if that is what has to be done). If I could replace it without having to do more fiberglass work, I would be interested in getting the proper bar and rivets to replace. Any ideas from you or others are welcome.

Thanks,
Fred