Hi, I am going to be removing the front grill off my 1971 Skylark to swap in a restored one. I was wondering if I would have to remove the front bumper to remove the old grill or is there enough room to pull the grill foward once undoing the bolts and then just pulling the grill up and out? Any advice would be most appreciated.
Should be able to swap without removing the bumper. You will need to remove the headlight bezels. That is assuming the bumper is on straight & it is not bent. Changed mine last year, no problems. Tried to remove another from a parts car with a bit of a whip in the bumper.....had to leave it until the bumper was off.
>>Thanks for the info Steve! My front bumper definitely looks straight with no dents so hopefully the grill will come out with no problem.
Worst case, you might have to loosen the bolts holding the bumper brackets in place and tilt the bumper slightly.
Put a rag on the grille studs and hold them with vice grips. Lubricate your nuts first, then remove. To keep away unwanted birthmarks lay a plastic bag on the bumper during removal and the new grille installation. Droop the bumper rather than putting any pressure on the studs.
I agree with Jim,it's much safer to just loosen your bumper bolts and lower it rather than taking a chance with the studs getting bent or broken.Especially if it's an original grill in good shape ou:
My last 2 nuts are being stubborn. '71 GS Grill . Is there any reason to NOT just unscrew from the grill side ? Instead of braking/maring the studs ? Any and all advise appreciated. DL
Thank you Chris. I think It will be easier to get to the bolts if I remove the baffle and spoiler and get to them from the underside. My grill is "custom" painted Black as well. But not for much longer .....[/QUOTE] >>I didn't have a front spoiler at the time (recently installed a metal one) but I would probably remove the spoiler if I were you - easier access and you don't want to chip or break the spoiler when lowering the bumper.
>>I didn't have a front spoiler at the time (recently installed a metal one) but I would probably remove the spoiler if I were you - easier access and you don't want to chip or break the spoiler when lowering the bumper.[/quote] Do all the tubular bracing bolts have to be removed or loosened to "droop" Bumper ? I was thinking the chrome backed ones would do it, but not budging. o No:
loosen the bumper from the brackets, if necessary, not brackets from the frame. on my 72, all i do is remove the headlight bezels, remove the nuts from the grill bolts, tilt the grill forward/down and out it comes.
