73 Grill

[Orrasneb]

Hello, thanks for the great forum. Im in the middle of a full restoration of a 73 vert.
Has anyone blacked out their 73 grill? Im looking at all the chrome and grey and am like blech… Id like the whole thing black and know this will be controversial but was thinking a blacked out M1 grill because they just look better to me. Thoughts? Pics?

 

[Lazarus]

Do you currently have the polished aluminum headlight “doors”, or the ones that are mostly black? Either way, painting those fully black would go a long way. Assuming you have the large original big bumper on the front, you will need to keep the turn signals on the grille because you can’t have them under the bumper on the valence (like a 71-72). Those signal housings are pretty prominent, so a total blackout (I am thinking) would look pretty cheap given how far they stick out. If you look at the housings though, you could perhaps take them apart and shorten how far they stick out, or just paint the gray rear part of the housing black and leave the shiny trim at the edge. But otherwise, painting the trim around the lights and around the “corral” is pretty straightforward. For reference, here is a pic of mine I took while changing the grille out. The trim around the corral was off so maybe this will help you imagine it black.

I similarly wanted to change my 73 grille setup. I personally didn’t like the squarish “doors” around the headlight housing and preferred the darker look of the simple circles on the 71-72. I likewise preferred the horizontal accent lights over the vertical. So as others have done I opted for a 71-72 mach 1 grille and used the accent lights as turn signals. It was a pretty easy swap. Hardest part was carefully trimming the bottom lip of the 71 grille (an edge that was meant to fill in the space between the grille and the 71-72 bumper that is superfluous if using the 73 bumper). Next pic is of the 71-72 grille on after the trimming of the bottom, before I painted the inner portion of the bumper. This contrast helps you see how I trimmed it.

Last pic is the final.

 

[PoFoMoCo]

…. I opted for a 71-72 mach 1 grille and used the accent lights as turn signals. It was a pretty easy swap. Hardest part was carefully trimming the bottom lip of the 71 grille (an edge that was meant to fill in the space between the grille and the 71-72 bumper that is superfluous if using the 73 bumper). Next pic is of the 71-72 grille on after the trimming of the bottom, before I painted the inner portion of the bumper. This contrast helps you see how I trimmed it.

Last pic is the final.

Mike - that looks really good!

 

[PoFoMoCo]

… Id like the whole thing black and know this will be controversial but was thinking a blacked out M1 grill because they just look better to me. Thoughts? Pics?

We would love to see some other pics of your car! A pretty common thread on this great forum is your car, your way!

Welcome from Texas!

 

[Orrasneb]

That is really tight looking. The good news is Im in the middle of a resto So I can modify or use nonoriginal parts fairly easily.
here a pic of the front end that is “current”
I really like the blacked out grill. Im not opposed to the vertical lights but do like the lack of buckets around the headlights in the 72 or 71, or at least the less prominent appearance.
here she is today, literally, today lol. Going grabber orange with black hood and side stripe, unsure but thinking of a black accent at the rocker..

 

[giantpune]

Yeah, looks like you have the standard grille with the silver trim rings. I like the black ones like what came on the mach1 better. They are available on the aftermarket.
"Blacking out" the large center rectangle is easy, too. Just dont install the trim and you'll have black plastic.
The turn signals, are you talking about tenting the lenses, too? I think it would just look goofy with the white lights sticking out of the black grille. The trim helps break that up.

 

[detritusmaximus]

I suggest charcoal grey, not a full on black. In a matte or satin, not flat finish.
Actual flat black looks cheap and satin black is still too dark. There is a subtlety involved that you don't realize until you see them next to each other.
Something I've considered I'd to take the standard 71-72 grille and remove the horse/corral and egg crate in the center. Fill and finish the inside of the grille opening and back it with a honeycomb mesh. Then a couple of 5" or so driving lights in the grille opening.

 

[fmjcraig]

I did the same transformation, purchased 71/72 honeycomb deluxe grille assembly, from Motor City Mustangs right and left headlight rings and hood latch…swapped right in with no trimming and for me just liked the look better…

 

[Austin Vert]

That is really tight looking. The good news is Im in the middle of a resto So I can modify or use nonoriginal parts fairly easily.
here a pic of the front end that is “current”
I really like the blacked out grill. Im not opposed to the vertical lights but do like the lack of buckets around the headlights in the 72 or 71, or at least the less prominent appearance.
here she is today, literally, today lol. Going grabber orange with black hood and side stripe, unsure but thinking of a black accent at the rocker..

Hi there, and thanks for your current photos.

As to what treatment you want to end up going with on your '73 vert, is entirely up to you and your choice entirely regards the finished look. There are many custom mods that can be done on our 1,2,3's front grille/bar sections to bring about different looks. Since i've joined the Forum back in 2011, i have seen some really good grille mods from several Forum members over the years.

To help you out, for starters, there are two basic choices you can go with. You can keep your standard grille (known as the egg crate grill design), or buy the Mach 1 grille to work with, and customize up. I personally like both grille designs, and so for me, i had a hard time deciding what choice i was going to end up with. In my case, my car was manufactured with the stock standard grille, and was in very good, original factory condition when i bought the car back in 2011. (see my photos below). It featured two different shades of mat greyish metallic color finish with the polished headlight bezels.( a dark charcoal grey for the egg crate section, and a lighter grey metallic for the internal grille surround)

After much time taken, i decided to end up keeping my standard grille,and customizing it up to suite my own taste, and preference. I went with a mat black treatment of the entire grille sections that were originally painted the grey metallic colors, and blacked out the two headlight bezels, leaving the polished edge around the bezel perimeters as a contrast. (sorry det, and with all due respect, i don't agree with you that mat black looks cheap) The overall color theme or story of my car was to be Gold Glow primary color with all mat black trims and decals, a white interior,and stainless/ ali/chrome bits and pieces around the car.(see my end result photo below).

I ended up going the full hog, and lit up the pony in the coral for good measure, and added high powered halo led headlights and two spots under the front bar. I'm happy with what i've ended up with, but it may not be to everyone's liking. My end result can certainly give you some ideas to help make up your mind as to what you end up with yourself. Welcome aboard and the best of luck with your project!

1. Original factory grille. (photos i&2)
2. The end result photo( overall color theme/story)
3. Recent photos of the front end/grille section, featuring the lit up coral/front halo headlights/ spots/black grille.

Cheers,

Greg.

 

[detritusmaximus]

Austin Vert, matte black I am fine with! Especially, Krylon Satin Black, it's has less of a brown tint than other brands.
My dislike is for flat black. It just looks like BBQ grille black and tends to look uneven...and then it chalks up and turns to uneven gray.
Other than that, in some areas black is just too strong of a contrast.

 

[Austin Vert]

Austin Vert, matte black I am fine with! Especially, Krylon Satin Black, it's has less of a brown tint than other brands.
My dislike is for flat black. It just looks like BBQ grille black and tends to look uneven...and then it chalks up and turns to uneven gray.
Other than that, in some areas black is just too strong of a contrast.

Thanks det.

Understood and no worries.

Greg

 

[1sostatic]

Thaaaaat's NOT a grille

this is a grille

 

[Austin Vert]

Thaaaaat's NOT a grille

this is a grille

What year Mustang was that off sostatic?

 

[1sostatic]

Oh... I'm sure you could nail it on somewhere

 

[Sheriff41]

What year Mustang was that off sostatic?

Looks like it may be off a mid-70s 'vette.

 

[947166]

Hello, thanks for the great forum. Im in the middle of a full restoration of a 73 vert.
Has anyone blacked out their 73 grill? Im looking at all the chrome and grey and am like blech… Id like the whole thing black and know this will be controversial but was thinking a blacked out M1 grill because they just look better to me. Thoughts? Pics?

I have a 1973 grille on eBay now that you might be interested in. It might give you some ideas of what you might want your grill to look like. Just search for 1973 Mustang grille.

 

[AcesArneson]

Do you currently have the polished aluminum headlight “doors”, or the ones that are mostly black? Either way, painting those fully black would go a long way. Assuming you have the large original big bumper on the front, you will need to keep the turn signals on the grille because you can’t have them under the bumper on the valence (like a 71-72). Those signal housings are pretty prominent, so a total blackout (I am thinking) would look pretty cheap given how far they stick out. If you look at the housings though, you could perhaps take them apart and shorten how far they stick out, or just paint the gray rear part of the housing black and leave the shiny trim at the edge. But otherwise, painting the trim around the lights and around the “corral” is pretty straightforward. For reference, here is a pic of mine I took while changing the grille out. The trim around the corral was off so maybe this will help you imagine it black.

I similarly wanted to change my 73 grille setup. I personally didn’t like the squarish “doors” around the headlight housing and preferred the darker look of the simple circles on the 71-72. I likewise preferred the horizontal accent lights over the vertical. So as others have done I opted for a 71-72 mach 1 grille and used the accent lights as turn signals. It was a pretty easy swap. Hardest part was carefully trimming the bottom lip of the 71 grille (an edge that was meant to fill in the space between the grille and the 71-72 bumper that is superfluous if using the 73 bumper). Next pic is of the 71-72 grille on after the trimming of the bottom, before I painted the inner portion of the bumper. This contrast helps you see how I trimmed it.

Last pic is the final.

I really like that. Could you find signal lights that are clear or slightly tinted and use yellow LED’s?

 

[fmjcraig]

Oh, Crikey!