72GS grille (what color ?)

[68 LeSabre 4dr]

Talked with some guy's that have 72 GS's and I hear different answers and also see them both ways .

I have a new 72 grille that is silver .Some say it should be black and some say silver .:Dou:

Which is correct or ....................................:Do No: :gt:


Thanx :TU:

[Joe Kelsch]

Here's a pic of my 72 GS 350 parts car/possible drag car...

[Brett Slater]

Bruce,

This topic has been discussed before.....here's (http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15732&highlight=72+GS+Grill) one of the links...hope that helps....

[68 LeSabre 4dr]

Brett thanx and yep , I'm still confused . Mine is silver with black honeycomb on the sides .

I really don't know the "right " answer on this one .


Thanx Brett ...........:TU: :TU:

[flynbuick]

I thought 72 skylark and GS were the same but the Skylark Custom was different. Two silver and metal and the one black plastic. But I have never owned one and will defer to the 72 experts.

[Joe Kelsch]

Looking at my grill again I believe it is original in color, though quite faded. It is silver on the edges (outlining) with black in the center. It looks like the grill in this link: http://members.shaw.ca/timcr/components.html

[68 LeSabre 4dr]

Thanx Everyone ...... I got it now !:Smarty: :TU: NOT ....:confused:

[TomGS72@aol.com]

My 72's grille has silver horizontal bars and black only in the boxed in areas on the sides. I know the previous owners and even have pictures of the car that the original owners took.

Tom Jenkins

[68 LeSabre 4dr]

Wow ....... Tom you have any pictures you could post . Sounds like the one I have . I was told mine was a GM replacement that Buick sold over the counter when a new one was ordered or needed in the shops.
Interesting .......:Smarty: :TU:

[tdacton]

[quote]
Duane
Member

Registered: Mar 2002
Location: PA
Posts: 907

I have been asked by several people to comment on this thread as they are interested in knowing the answer to the 72 grill painting scheme. So here it goes;
According to my assembly manual the part #'s are
Skylark 1239957
GS 1239958
Now, I got out my 72 NOS grill. It is painted exactly like the one Scott Miller posted. It is painted all silver except for the 2 eggcrate areas that are painted black. The part # cast into the grill is 1239956. I checked everywhere for a date code and there isn't one. The part # on the box is GM # 9608381 72 Skylark & Sport wagon grille (plastic) not GM # 9608382 72 GS grille.

I also called a friend of mine and asked him to look at his original 72 grills. Some are all silver, some have the blacked out bars. All of these original grills also had the 1239956 Part # cast into them.

Both the skylark and the GS grills used the exact same part. The only difference was in how they were painted. The skylarks used the silver paint scheme, the GSs used the blacked out paint scheme. They were assigned different part #'s based on the paint schemes and were put on the appropriate cars.

Now I wouldn't doubt for a minute that some Skylarks received GS grills, and vice-versa. The assembly line never stops, so if the factory ran out of something, a substitute was installed. The original owners probably never noticed, the only result of this type of thing is to drive people crazy some 30 years later. (My parents bought a 73 Gran Torino 4-door new and drove it for 2 years before we noticed 1 of the door panels had a different design then the other 3 panels.)

Now, if you are an original owner, and know the grill was never replaced, that's one thing. If you assume your grill is original after 30+ years, that's another. I myself would want to check to make sure the front end sheet metal was date coded correct before I made an assumption like that.

When we judge the concours class we do it according to what we know was correct for the car. If a 72 GS had a grill with a silver paint scheme, we would deduct points for originality, as that is not what was supposed to be supplied with the car.
I hope this helps answer this question.
Duane
[[quote]]

I believe the one on my ebay auction is painted correctly for a GS.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=42606&item=2437530315

[68 LeSabre 4dr]

Now I have to get up , put boots on , go to the garage , in the rain , to get the # off the GM box !!!!

Sounds like a country song , Huh ?:laugh:

Back in a few minutes :Brow:

[68 LeSabre 4dr]

I'm back with the # 9608381 . Silver with black out on the sides .:TU:

[tdacton]

So have you bought a can of black paint?
Or are you gonna leave it as is?

[68 LeSabre 4dr]

Probally paint it black later on before I put it on so I won't hear about the silver the rest of my life !!:Dou:

What would you do ?:Do No:

:TU:

[tdacton]

I would like my car to be as original as I can personally make it. I think it is more common for the GS to have black horizontal grills.
A blacked out grill and air snorkel grills look very good on these cars. I think they stand out better being black. Harder for them to stand out on a black car of course.


Paint it is my opinion.

[68 LeSabre 4dr]

I have to agree with you on spraying it black . It will be a while before I put it on but Black it will be .

Thanx and take care ..:TU:

[TomGS72@aol.com]

What is the correct silver and black paint to use for the 72 GS grille? I remember seeing a website of a member(?) who had detailed pictures he took after painting his. Does anyone have this link? Thank you!

Tom Jenkins