Oldssupreme

Hello. I have a brand new set of 72 supreme grilles in box produced by GM restoration parts lurchsed by me from Year one back in 1998 or so. I had a very nice core support from a 71 powdercoated and was going to use it until i saw a post by Allan R (and i spoke with him to confirm this) that the 72 grilles will not fit on it due to the lack of the small raised bumps on the 71. Therefore, its either find another nice core support from a 72 (not likely) or find someone to trade grilles with.
Anyone?
Thanks!
Chris.

Allan R

This is what Chris is trying to describe. ALL 71 A body grills and 72 442 grills will fit the 71 rad support. ALL 71/72 grills will fit a 72 rad support. Anyone spot the obvious error on this car besides the painted brake booster and broken grill?

RetroRanger

hey Chris I have a set of 71 supreme grills (cast metal ones) w no trim, trim is sold thru PP IIRC it was about $60 the grills have all tabs intact and are in good original shape they would be great w a repaint

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VI Cutty

Headlight bezels should be black on a '72, which I assume this car is?

sammy

I am gonna guess...a 71 rad support for a 72 grille?...sure does not foit above headlights.
I thought black headlight bezels were on the 72 Cutlass S only?

VI Cutty

From what I gather, Allan's picture shows a '72 rad support. The bump is on the right side, where the grill curls in. The '71 support continues straight until the drop above the headlight.

Both '72 Supremes I've dealt with had black bezels.

Oldssupreme

Hi retro. I hope all is well! Do you know if the trim on the 72 supreme grille is the same as the trim on the 71? And is your grille for a supreme or a "s"? Thanks!

sammy

Chris, I sent you a pm. I have a vg 72 core support, but geography is not in our favour

Allan R

ding ding ding...Winner!

Ted, ALL 72 A body Olds had the blacked out bezels with silver reveal.

RetroRanger

Hi Chris

The 71-72 trim is similar, but not the same I have some 71 hood trim that should match pp trim pieces assuming an accurate reproduction. I would trade the 71 hood trim for your 72 hood trim assuming = value if u bought the grills Right now I have the 71 trim on a w25 hood w 72 grill, I don't think anyone would realise the trim is different excep maybe an olds expert

The grills for sale are Definetly from a supreme.

Oldssupreme

Allan will everything else from a 72 supreme ie stone shield, headlight housings etc fit in a 71 support with a 71 supreme grille? Sammy thanks for the offer for a. 72 support but unfortunately the shipping would be nuts lol! Thanks guys

Allan R

Chris, absolutely. Just for clarification - the stone shield, filler panels, headlight buckets et al were generic and serviced the entire line up including Vista Cruiser. So it's not really fair to call them 'Supreme' parts. The ONLY difference in the front fitments is that rad support. The 72 grills were all moved forward instead of being recessed like 71 which made those bumps necessary. That means that everything else is interchangeable, right down to bumpers, braces, blinkers. Oh, the stone shield rocket is unique to 72. The 71 is slightly different but will fit the same holes in the stone shield.

re: the grill moldings? The 72 moldings have the ridge on the outside edge; the 71 moldings have the ridge smack dab in the middle. This feature is also duplicated on the grill accent/reveal trim that screws onto the hood.

Note: the 1972 442 grills have exactly the same profile as the 71 grills. Only thing that would make that wrong for your car is there were never any 72 CS 4257 models made as 442's. Only the 72 4267 had that privelege. You could always put in the 442 grills and put 'Oldsmobile' script on them instead of the 442 numerals. Just a thought if you really want to keep the 72 theme running.

Oldssupreme

Check out this pic. The 72 grille in the 71 support seems very crammed since there is no bump on the support. Does this look like it might crack the grille? Ill post next a pic of the 72 grille in the 72 support.
Thoughts?

Oldssupreme

Here is the correct setup. Is the previous setup with the 72 grille in the 71 support a disaster waiting to happen?
Chris

Allan R

Chris, I suspect some modification to the grill was done to get that effect in the second pic. IF there wasn't any issue with the fitment of the grills (72 in 72 rad supports) I seriously doubt it would have been modified. Notice the difference in the grill mounting on the 71?

Oldssupreme

Thank you all for the replies and info. Right now i am trying to decide to do the 71 grills or find a 72 core support. I have been talking with Geoff and Dean who have both been a great help too. Once i figure this out i will contact you both to give you a heads up. I posted a wanted ad for a trade of 72 tail lights for 71 supreme tail lights. if i go the 71 grill route then may as well get the tail lights too. I kind of like the 71 supreme recessed grill. Although i know, like some of you said. Someone is going to pull me chain about having the 71 stuff on a 72. And in that case ill just say, "well its still better than driving (insert car of choice here). If any of y'all want to trade tail lights let me know. Thanks guys.

sammy

As long as you like the car Chris!...I am driving a 71 w30 that looks like a 70...but I like it

Oldssupreme

Thanks Sammy! Thats the kind of words that make me feel better about doing a restoratiom that is not 100% oroginal but rather shows my respect for and love of the car and a passion for the hobby!
Chris.

Allan R

Not sure if you noticed or not, but that pic I posted of the 71 is an early production car. How to tell? Look at the fender. It doesn't have the ridges in the flat surface. They used up old 70 stock before the new crumple fenders were mandated.

BTW, the car also has the dealer showroom plate on the front. Hard to find nowadays.