When I was gathering parts for my car, I noticed that VA Mustang's price on a '67 grille was quite a bit less than NPD's. I get most of my stuff from NPD, but not when they're WAY out of line on price. I called both NPD and VA to inquire about the manufacturer of the grill each offered. It's hard to get straight answers to these questions, but as I recall, both were by Golden Legion.
Thinking they were the same part, I went with the cheaper one from VA.
It showed up, had the wrong bend in the middle (too flat), and was made of much thinner material than the '68 I was replacing it with. I was not happy.
I presume the grille in my car was a repop, but I guess it could have been original. Any way, I immediately thought I got shafted on the grille. But, I was at a point where I didn't want to delay the project further, and incur return shipping charges. Plus, I was still unsure that the NPD grille was any better. So, I made it fit and moved on. I had to cut a slit in the middle of the top and bottom flange so that I could get the peak bend right. I also had to remove the mounting ears and reposition them.
Twice since installing it, I have bent the snot out of it by casually "leaning" on the top of it. Under almost no pressure at all this thing caves in totally. The one I took out never did this. I now have to replace it.
I just need to know if there is a good grille out there (short of original), and who sells it. Is the NPD grille actually different and better? I'll gladly pay the difference, but I don't want to pay to ship another one just to find it's the same as what I have, ya know?
FWIW - I sold my "original" '68 grille recently at a swap meet, so going back to that is not an option.
Thinking they were the same part, I went with the cheaper one from VA.
It showed up, had the wrong bend in the middle (too flat), and was made of much thinner material than the '68 I was replacing it with. I was not happy.
I presume the grille in my car was a repop, but I guess it could have been original. Any way, I immediately thought I got shafted on the grille. But, I was at a point where I didn't want to delay the project further, and incur return shipping charges. Plus, I was still unsure that the NPD grille was any better. So, I made it fit and moved on. I had to cut a slit in the middle of the top and bottom flange so that I could get the peak bend right. I also had to remove the mounting ears and reposition them.
Twice since installing it, I have bent the snot out of it by casually "leaning" on the top of it. Under almost no pressure at all this thing caves in totally. The one I took out never did this. I now have to replace it.
I just need to know if there is a good grille out there (short of original), and who sells it. Is the NPD grille actually different and better? I'll gladly pay the difference, but I don't want to pay to ship another one just to find it's the same as what I have, ya know?
FWIW - I sold my "original" '68 grille recently at a swap meet, so going back to that is not an option.
