hen I first acquired my 1948 Chevy three-window some years ago, I was kind of attached to the stock, painted grille … emphasis on “kind of.” But, once I swapped out the gray steelies and installed the chrome Cragar Star Wires, albeit a bit crusty, the blandness of the OE grille stood out, especially with the rechromed bumpers.

It was about that time of my aesthetic quandary that Golden Star Classic Auto Parts came out with their all-new deluxe stainless grille for the 1947-53 Advance Design pickups. It was also at that same time my truck just happened to be at Old Anvil Speed Shop, so I figured that was an opportune moment to swap them out … but it wasn’t going to be a simple straightforward job, as my initial test-fitting at home proved.

I’d been having difficulties with hood alignment—more so, getting the hood latch to open when it was fully closed—and had assumed it was simply an adjustment issue. Not so. Turns out, when the ’48 began its second life as a custom, it was put upon a heavily modified chassis, which included a whole-new front frame clip with what I’d call a “hot rod”-style front crossmember (picture an aftermarket Model T frame with a tube crossmember and a single mount for the core support).