We have our first sample in and we are wondering if anyone knows the correct paint scheme for this? o No: Just Kidding... :grin: We are getting ready to ship it out to JW for fitment. We just wanted you to know how far along we are in the process. This thing is extremely strong and has a lot of detail in the plastic. Remember that the preorders are $135 on the shroud and that is good till the first shipment comes in. Attached are 3 pictures of it.
Hi, is this going to be correct for a 71 GS 455 car? If it is and passes muster at JW, put me down for one, pm me with payment details, Thanks
Fan shroud Shane Is the shroud that you have pictured strictly one for preliminary fitment? The reason I ask, is that in pic #2 the mounting tabs have no reinforcement ribs on them like the originals do. I have attached a pic of the original one in my 70 GS455. Is this something that you are going to rectify? Just trying to save you anymore :blast: like what has been said about the 70 grill. Thank you for making the parts to help keep our hobby alive!
Shane, The gusset for the hose hook is missing too. Please see my article below showing factory 70 GS 455 and 71-2 GS 455 shrouds for a comparison: http://www.buickperformance.com/BBShrouds.htm
It looks to be vacuum moulded and not injection moulded like the original. The material looks to be much thinner too. Right size and general shape, but would not be correct for concours judging.
Please check our prior posts. This is not being marketed as a 100% concours restoration piece, we are trying to make something that is nicer and closer to being original than that which is currently on the market. Our shroud is vacuum molded. We are trying to make a nice piece at a reasonable price for daily drivers and normal show cars. With this shroud, concours guys are still going to have to search for NOS or nice used pieces to use. We just want a strong, nice piece that people can feel good paying for because it is economical. You can go without a shroud, because for the part it is unseen under the hood. Who out there is happy with the fiberglass one available now, showing all the mesh on the inside and not having crisp lines? Ours is smooth on both the inside and outside. We sent it to JW; we will see what his thoughts are, good, bad, indifferent o No: We have no problem making this part for you guys. :Smarty: To properly make the shroud to concours standards it would cost more than the grilles, do its size. To make this thing 100% correct it would cost $50,000-$60,000 for the tooling and they would sell for about $500. The surface area is greater on the shroud than the grille increasing the cost of the tooling and material. Also keep in mind that this is a 1 year only and 455 specific piece, meaning that it is only good for a certain amount of cars out there. At least with the grille it can be used on any used on any Skylark model as long as it is the same model year; 350 cars-455 cars-clone cars, it a cosmetic piece you see outside the car. People are more like to pay $500 for a grille than $500 for a fan shroud. The shroud in the picture is basically for fitment, you are not seeing what the final product will look like, it will have the gussets on it for the hose hook and the supports added. This is the very first sample to show what is going on so far.
Thanks Shane I will take one if the gusset supports are on it and the holes to mount the upper hose hook is correct. But I would like to see the production unit before I commit 100%. Thanks again Shane... GSX Eric :3gears: PS...I would like to get one of the shorter studs for my 70 grill I received yesterday. I will post that request too on the grill thread.
Shane, Will you be sending the "finished" shroud (after the changes are made) to JW for final inspection and test fitting before they are mass produced? Thanks.
Yes, a very nice piece for a driver... Good fit. With the initial one that was sent here, I had them modify the depth of the fan recess to match the original, or a touch deeper, so there will be less fan interference problems on motor swap cars. The second one had the pads and reinforcements glued on it, and the deeper recess for the fan. Just remember guys, this is not a concourse show car piece, it's a nice functional piece, and much better than the fiberglass repop that was out there. I will put one in the TSP test car this summer, which is a 70 GS 455 clone, as there is no way I will risk my $700+ original one.. JW
Jim, Thanks for the reply. I received mine today from TPP, and it is also as you described with the bolt hole reinforcements and the radiator hose hook pad glued on, so I'm guessing that is how they all are. I just wish I would have known this before purchasing one, but I am not going to knock them for trying to provide us with reproduction parts for our cars. I totally agree, this is a nice piece for a "driver" or for the budget conscious "swap" in a '70, but not correct for show cars.
I have an Olds supplier that is selling these is it the same one with glued on hose hook and gussets ?
Don't think Olds Cutlass would even be close. I know they are not on the 350 shrouds since Cutlass models use screws to hold the lower section to the core support.
Hi George, in your article it says the 71 shroud had the loop for the upper rad hose....my 71 does not have this, was it plant specific or just 72 or...?? Thanks Tim
You can confirm with Duane. I believe the platic loop was for 71-2 models. Maybe yours was skipped at the factory????
