I have had this question asked several time in the past 6 months. here are some pictures of a new right side reproduction grill from Fusick and a NOS original right side.

NOS


Repop
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NOS it nice and crips with sharp edges
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Repop is not as crisp and rounder edges
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NOS do not need nuts because the screw will thread into the plastic
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Repop hole is to big and require a nut on the bottom side

 

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Repop has big hole
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Nos bars are very even across them
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Repop are very uneaven
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Tops look pretty close to the same
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My opinion of the repops are that they are a nice part and fit just fine for 99% of all the 442s out there. If you are looking for that perfect original look you had better find some NOS but expect to pay out the nose for them IF you find them. This is a Fusick set. I have never seen any other brand but I hear that Fusick 70 grills are the best reproduction out there.

 

Wow...that repop looks pretty shoddy if you asked me. It's better than a old broken one, but the QC is TERRIBLE!

 

I agree they could be better but at $300 for repop and $1200-$2000 for NOS it is not to bad of an option.

 

On a related topic, does anyone have recommendations for masking and painting techniques to get the little black bottom supports just right? I assume the OEM didn't carefully apply masking tape.

 

You need to understand something relating to the Fusick '70 grills.....these were the FIRST grills they had repro'd and this took place A LONG TIME AGO (well before all the "offshore/outsourcing" trends were even a thought).

I'm thinking these were done WAY BACK in the '80's. So....imagine what tooling/mold making costs were then. My suspicion is the number would scare you especially given the "market" at that time. And there wasn't any massive musclecar restoration craze taking place. Since that time I also suspect that a person looking to repro something like this has a much larger choice of more accurate technologies, etc to produce molds, etc AND at a MUCH CHEAPER COST.

Put yourself in their shoes (and "wallet/investment risks") AT THAT TIME. ANY larger repro pieces like this, especially back then, were quite a surprise in terms of being made available.

 

I am told from a reliable source that Fusick just redid the molds in the past couple years and these are the new ones but I can not confirm that.

 

You are correct, they started selling the 70 442 grills sometime in the mid to late 80s.

 

I hand painted mine using a small paintbrush, it's time consuming but better than trying to mask it off with tape. You would probably have to remove them to notice it.

 

I don't know how the 70 grilles fit but I can tell you the 71-72 reproduction grilles fit horrible. There's a thread on them in the major builds section.

 

I'll take a repop one anyday, looks pretty damn close to the original if you ask me.
The slight variance isn't something I'd even notice with it on the car.

I notice the price went up about $75 in just 3 years ......parts places are jackholing their customers....

 

The originals were not always painted that well.You would be lucky if the whole grille was painted.You have to realize that these were production parts for production cars.they were not building them as show cars in 1970.My 70 Cutlass grilles had the bare yellow plastic exposed to the majority of the top & backside.These are one of teh least-painted grille sets that I have owned.I have since had them repainted to what I consider "better than original",as the whole grille is painted.
As for the reproduction grilles,yes,the tooling has gotton much better,as with most of the reproduction parts these days.Nate actually used a set of repop grilles on his red car,instead of the NOS ones that came with it from the previous owner.The NOS ones had a slight sag along the tops,as most do,whereas the repops didn't,and in his case,he found they fit his car better,so he used those,and sold the NOS ones.He did respray them,along with the headlight housings,to get everything to match.
I also have NOS,and mint original grilles,and I have matched them up to some of the latest repops,and the repops look real good.If I didn't already have the originals I would not likely go looking.I would just use the repops and respray them as needed.
The repop71-72 grilles are a great alternative as well.I haven't had any issues with them.All of the originals that I find have some sort of issue that I don't like.Even NOS ones.

 

I had Steve at Fusick ask Mike or Dave when the repro 70 grilles came out and the word is it was early 90's. They did not remember the exact year without researching it deeper but according to them it was not in the 80's. Remember, in the early-mid 80's most of this stuff was still available through GM. Year One was buying up all of it and selling it at a profit by the late 80's. Thats why Mike Fusick got into repro'ing the 70's Olds parts. To offer an affordable alternative to Year One jacking up the GM parts prices and profiting from it. He had Buick back then also but sold out that part of the parts business to concentrate on Olds.

 

Many years ago I did a 69. No grilles were available at the time that I could find anyway.(1989) We glued and pieced the original ones back together. They turned out pretty good all things considered. Now you can get pretty much everything you need from the internet. The mirror on the car was wrong. Jut some plastic cheapie until I could find a good one. I had the original rechromed and it came out with holes in it from the rust. No good.

 

Nice 69 442 !

 

Hello,
Just went through the same. Repop's were (I thought) bad....I complained about the first set paint (on top) and within 2 days they sent another set. 1st set was better... anyway I have the complete set two outer, two center, and the chrome bezel's around the headlights. Got the hardware install kit from Inline Tube.
What color should the (3) screws that ties the plastic parts together be? The kit from Inline Tube comes with 3 silver phillips screws (to connect the assembly) but as you know they are to small in diameter OEM was (.25) diameter so they would screw into the plastic.
Please let me know.
Thanks,
DRXOLDS

 

I am bumping this thread. I get this question often. Also, with repops getting some age they are popping up on the used market and people could easily be tricked into paying to much if they don't know what they are looking for.

 

This is excellent info

 

Thank you so much jensenracing77 for taking the time to give us all these pictures. Really appreciate the time and effort.

 

This is an old thread and took me a while to find it but wanted to bring it up again. I have been asked about this a few times over the past couple months.

 

It’s a great comparison for the 999 point crowd.
thanks for taking the time to do it

 

Love this write up!