64 Grill Disassembly

[Chris Codd]

Can anybody give me some tips for disassembling the upper grill on a 64 deVille? I don't want to force anything and risk breaking it. I have the upper assembly removed from the car. The pieces look like they lock into place. 

[Jason Edge]

The eBay listing Chris pointed to has a starting bid of $229 with 9 days to go.

[Chris Codd]

That's probably less than you would pay for a used grill for a new Escalade. That's very very cool. Here's the eBay link for anybody interested.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=14090660...

[Ray Schick]

creigslist has a N.O.S  lower grill for a 64 , $229.00  sweet!

[Chris Codd]

I can't even imagine trying to disassemble the grill now that I added that last grill tooth. I could definitely see something breaking in the process. I didn't have any rubber vice grips, but I really should invest in some. I'll hold off on taking the grill apart for now, but if anybody does know how to disassemble it, I wouldn't mind knowing how. Thanks for mailing me that grill tooth Jason. I'll try and post some photos soon. 

[Jason Edge]

Hi Christopher. I  meant to comment more when I saw you were just talking about the one vertical slat I had sent.  Yes, you can usually work one back in place with a little WD40, and brute force. I have some rubber tipped vice grips I will often use to get a strong grip on those slats and not damage.

My comments were addressing a complete dissassembly. Maybe someone here has that down to a sciene, but Chris, you having seen how tight it is to get the one slat in, probably see what a bear it would be to completely take one down and reassemble keeping everything perfectly straight.

[Chris Codd]

Brute force prevails! Rubber mallet and a piece of steel to distribute the force evenly was the only way to get that grill tooth on. Thanks Jason! 

[Chris Codd]

Oh, I had always assumed that it could be taken apart. I was trying to get the one missing slat in with a rubber mallet earlier with no luck, but I might just need to put some real force behind it. Thanks for letting me know. I would hate to take it apart and not be able to put it back together. 

[Jason Edge]

If you are talking about the core aluminum grill with the long horizontal slats and short vertical slats, my honest opinion is to leave it assembled other than replacing damaged or missing slats. It is my understanding that they were machine pressed into place and to remove you have to bend the top ear back a bit. Perhaps others have had luck doing a complete disassembly and reassembly, but they are a braver soul than me with more patience. Perhaps others will chime in.